“Shift happens” says Designer Mara Hoffman on Sustainable Fashion
Alongside pastels, tropical prints and patterns that evoke Native American baskets, “green” is the new black for designer Mara Hoffman. In a panel discussion hosted by The New School, the fashion designer talked about sustainability and what it meant for her company. After establishing a name for herself through vivid prints and unique shapes, her eponymous clothing brand will increase designs and materials that strut past fast-fashion, creating clothing that’s durable, environmentally friendly — and a little bit more expensive.
Prints and patterns may have made her label famous, but sustainability is what she hopes will differentiate her company and drive it into the future of fashion.
As it turns out, sustainability was not a founding principle of her label. “When I started this, the idea of sustainability wasn’t…such an emphasis.” She started out by experimenting with hemp fabric, moving on to dyes and eventually alighting on prints, while becoming more aware of the damage the fashion industry was doing to both people and the environment.
Her ultimate inspiration for sustainability came several years ago after seeing her son, then two years old. Hoffman began wondering about the legacy she was leaving behind, and the disposability of fashion compared to the many pieces of clothing she inherited from her own mother. After a discussion with her director, her company decided to change everything and pivot into sustainable design.
This is what excites Hoffman most about her company’s current position. To her, sustainability means “realizing that there is so much you can do as an established company to change your course.”
Fast-fashion retailers like H&M, based in Sweden, and Zara, owned by the Spanish multinational Inditex, have upended the traditional fashion market. By creating apparel based on the latest trends and quickly pushing it to market at a cut-rate price, fast-fashion capitalizes on consumer demand before traditional fashion even leaves the runway.
Hoffman believes these companies have altered consumer tastes. “I think that fast-fashion has really messed our brains up as far as how we ingest,” she said. “The value system around things, any kind of thing, has become completely skewed.” She says the disposable nature of fast-fashion means a lot of it ends up in the landfill. “She said that…‘I can’t afford cheap things,’“ quotes Hoffman from a panel she previously attended.
UpstartCity has reached out to H&M and Inditex for comment.
“I think it’s inauthentic,” says Nicole Ianniello, discussing the fashion market as a whole. Nicole is an arts management major at The New School and former freelance fashion consultant. “A lot of people have lost sight of being original and true to themselves and kind of just follow the next trend.”
For others, sustainability means being aware of the world at large. “It’s important to realize the planet is not the way it was, and we as the consumer have a lot of power,” says New School student Paula Fernandez.
Hoffman believes the shift to sustainability must come from both consumers and producers. “First and foremost shift happens, as far as how we consume, and what is the mentality around that,” says Hoffman. “It’s ours as the designers, makers, manufacturers, and it’s also the responsibility of the consumers.”
In doing so, Mara Hoffman has staked out a brand that is distinctly environmental — and uniquely her own. Hoffman believes consumers should invest in quality clothing that will outlast fast-fashion.
“I grew up watching my mom buying one beautiful piece,” says Hoffman. “And I have some of those pieces now, and this is like 25 years later.”
