What is Slow Fashion Festival?
Welcome to the Slow Fashion Festival! Founded in 2022, we’re on a mission to celebrate and promote the exciting world of slow fashion—where sustainability, ethical practices, and thoughtful consumption meet. Since our debut, we’ve produced a variety of events and publications that inspire and connect fashion enthusiasts, makers, and advocates. From runway shows to workshops and a bustling marketplace, we’re all about learning, creativity, and building a more conscious fashion industry—together!
But wait — what is slow fashion?
Slow fashion is a holistic movement that embodies a way of life focused on sustainability, ethical practices, and conscious consumption. It’s not just about making mindful purchasing decisions; it’s about caring for the garments we already own and rejecting the exploitation of workers and the environmental degradation caused by rampant consumerism. Slow fashion encourages us to cherish quality over quantity, understand the true value and impact of our clothing, and build a community where we can rely on each other rather than on big corporations focused solely on profits. By embracing slow fashion, we commit to a lifestyle that values fairness, creativity, and responsibility, fostering a more sustainable and equitable fashion industry — and world — for all.
Slow Fashion Festival: A Timeline
October 2022:
We kicked off our first-ever Slow Fashion Festival with a 3-day extravaganza in Austin, Texas, featuring panels, a fashion show, a vibrant marketplace, and an art gallery. Over 300 attendees joined us to celebrate the beginning of a movement that puts sustainability and ethics at the forefront of fashion.
April 2023:
Our first Spring Fashion Show + Zine Launch brought together over 270 attendees. The event highlighted new slow fashion collections and introduced the inaugural edition of our Slow Fashion Zine, celebrating the community’s creativity and passion for sustainability.
We went national! Invited to curate a fashion show at the Hollywood Climate Summit, this marked the first time Slow Fashion Festival took its ethos beyond Austin. With actors from Netflix's Never Have I Ever as emcees, we reached new heights and made a lasting impact.
June 2023:
September-October 2023:
We hosted our second annual 3-day Slow Fashion Festival, once again featuring panels, a fashion show, a marketplace, and an art gallery. With over 350 attendees, the event was bigger and better, continuing to educate, inspire, and connect the slow fashion community.
March 2023:
Voted in by our community, we proudly became part of the official SXSW programming, hosting a Slow Fashion Meetup. We also held an unofficial happy hour, ensuring everyone in our community—whether they had SXSW wristbands or not—could join the celebration.
April 2024:
Our second annual Spring Fashion Show + Zine Launch sold out a week in advance! Despite a smaller venue, we welcomed over 220 attendees and introduced a panel discussion, further deepening our educational outreach and engagement.
October 2024:
We held our third annual 3-day festival at RichesArt Gallery in Austin, Texas. Over the course of three days, we held a variety of programming featuring 10 designers, nearly 90 models, nearly 20 speakers, 25 artists, 15 vendors, and more. It was our largest event to date, welcoming over 400 guests from Texas and beyond!