For the fourth year in a row, pre-owned designer resale and renting platform The Collectives hones in on what it means to be a conscientious fashionista in the age of fast fashion proliferation and ubiquitous hyper consumerism. Often times it may seem that this is the problem of the industry’s very design, and thus irresolvable—fashion is ever-moving, sure, but certainly so is personal style; it is precisely this endless yearning for self-expression that drives the founder Aarti O’Varama to seek a rehabilitation of our often times mindless shopping behaviour into a rational celebration of quality and longevity, one meticulously curated pre-owned piece at a time.
For this season’s lavish presentation held at Amsterdam’s Hotel De L’Europe, The Collectives collaborated with French Collection—a brand championing pre-loved jewellery, founded by Celine Catalaa—creating 40 special looks to honour contemporary femininity. Restricted to an eternally chic palette of black and white, the showcased outfits played with a range of textures, volumes and proportions to propose bold solutions to any number of potential “I have nothing to wear” dilemmas. Ranging from the pared down clean luxury of classic tailoring, casual sophistication of cropped shearling jackets and lustrous blouses, to elegant cocktail dresses accentuated with just enough sparkle, all the way to dramatic embroidery and imposing gowns—or how about a leather fringe cape hitting the floor? or wearing three mini bags at the same time?—the presentation indeed rises to the label’s ambition of creating the ultimate wardrobe at a lesser cost (both personal and environmental). Most of the pieces presented on the catwalk were also immediately available for (re)sale at the hotel—the circularity of fashion brought to a conclusion at once indulgent and pragmatic.
Photo’s by Isabelle Bucx
