Sustainable Conversations: Gabriella Delaney on her Sustainable Habits & the Future of Fashion

You’ve read my opinion on sustainability, how to implement it into your life and which sustainable designers to look out for! But wouldn't it be nice to have a perspective on sustainability and fashion from someone other than me?

Allow me to introduce my best friend, Fashion Institute of Technology student (@fitnyc) and thrifting connoisseur Gabriella Delaney (@gloomxghoul). As a fashion design major specializing in knitwear and minoring in fashion history, art history and English, she is exposed to the fast-changing fashion industry every day. She views sustainability as mindfulness and an easy way to make an effort to positively improve the earth.

“Sustainability is fundamental to my creative process as well because it forces me to find solutions within the resources I already have.”

After speaking with Gabby about her experiences with sustainability, she made it clear this is something she has been passionate about for a long time. “I was five when I was first introduced to the term “sustainability” long after practicing it. My family has used many sustainable practices during my life, such as always carrying a reusable shopping bag and donating or upcycling unwanted clothes.” To be exposed to such an important term at a young age is crucial, especially because you grow up with those habits that will ultimately carry through the rest of your life. I really only became familiar with sustainability when I was 16 because I had to put together a business plan for my college application for Cornell.

Gabby might have been exposed to the idea of sustainability at a young age, but it wasn’t until 2016 when she figured out the relationships between sustainability and fashion and went on a research frenzy. Before attending FIT, she took numerous pre-college classes there like fashion forecasting, where she learned about the negative impact of the denim industry. “This class opened my eyes to the life cycle of products, as well as supply and demand and marketing strategies.” Gabby and I used to go into the city together to take these pre-college classes at FIT and we would always have such interesting conversations about fashion and sustainability while wandering around.

Around the time of taking pre-college courses, Gabby began thrifting with friends frequently. So for any of you who want a second opinion and other tips on where/how to thrift, Gabby is definitely one to trust. Gabby’s favorite places to thrift are Beacon’s Closet, L Train Vintage and Urban Jungle. She suggests going early in the day, try to go on weekdays, understand that thrift stores range in quality and price and buy what you need.

Once Gabby began her time at FIT, one of the first classes she took was a Textile Principles for the Fashion Designer class where she was required to read articles in order to familiarize herself with current textile news. “For the final project, I wrote a review analyzing and studying the practice of various companies within the mass-market fashion industry,” and it “Opened my eyes to how wasteful a single fashion design student can be.” Gabby went on to talk about how she kept a detailed log of her supply use, which included 60 yards of muslin. She realized that there were other ways of obtaining fabric, so she made some changes and started shopping for materials secondhand from thrift stores, other students and second-hand shops in the garment district.

On another note, we started talking about the future of fashion. With so many new trends, especially with a more “woke” generation and the use of technology, the fashion industry is constantly changing, and it’s important to keep up with the trend of sustainability. Gabby had her own ideas and suggestions for brands to implement sustainability into their lines. “Companies need to spend time developing products with sustainable materials that are functional, lasting and utilitarian.” Gabby brought up the importance of being transparent and accountable, and that the consumer can only do so much.

When I tell you Gabby has had her fair share of sustainability discussions, thrifting adventures and sustainable habits, it is the truth! She is so beyond passionate about fashion and the sustainable and ethical ways in which you can go about creating garments. Let me know in the comments if you want more posts like this where I explore sustainable trends in the fashion industry with fashion students.

#greenstitch #fitnyc #sustainablehabits

Sources for images:

L-Train vintage: https://www.ltrainvintagenyc.com/