Fashion is something that gets us excited in our daily life. However, fashion itself has contributed a lot of waste. 

On average, consumers throw away 60 percent of their clothes in the first year. In 2020, an estimated 18.6 million tonnes of clothing will end up in a landfill. The Ellen Macarthur Foundation reports that if this trend continues, over 150 million tonnes of clothing waste will clog landfills by 2050.

So what do we need to do? Buy clothes from sustainable brands. 

More and more fashion brands take into account the environmental and social impact of their production. However, sometimes a sustainable brand is not available for everyone, right? Because sustainable fashion brands tend to have a higher price. 

But, S.Y. Studio,  a brand located in Semarang, is trying its best to produce a better fashion brand. 

Hi Sefania, may I know more about what S.Y. Studio is? How did you get the inspiration to establish S.Y. Studio?

Since 2007, I've been on the fashion scene as a model. I was so inspired by my work environment at the time and fell in love with fashion that I wanted to be in this industry forever. Finally, after graduating from college, I decided to take a course at LPTB Susan Budiharjo. S.Y. Studio itself was actually my final project during the course. I am pleased to be able to create a brand that is directly mentored by competent people in the fashion field, starting from scratch until finally being able to continue to become the current S.Y. Studio.

S.Y. Studio also adheres to slow fashion; in your opinion, does slow fashion actually have a broad market in Indonesia?

The market may not be as comprehensive as fast fashion, but I am pretty satisfied with the appreciation of the work I produce. The market is there and sufficient for this field, and so far, it is adequate.

Actually, you wrote that S.Y. Studio is not a slow-fashion product; why did you suddenly realize that we have to start reducing the use of cloth?

Because we want to be a more sustainable brand. One supply for one demand means not wasting effort, energy, and materials that will eventually become textile waste that can damage the environment.

Apart from using cloth, what else can be done for a brand like S.Y. Studio to further reduce waste? How do you get the materials for each outfit?

Materials are always hand-picked from me and bought only as needed, so every person got exactly what they wanted and needed.  I also choose the most eco-friendly packaging material.

In your opinion, what are the trends in social media hauling fast-fashion clothes?

Indeed, slow fashion is much more difficult for everyone to access. Yes, maybe ready to wear with a lot of stock according to the trend that is in demand without any particular value.

What are your tips for those who want to start their slow fashion business? What's the most important thing that they should do?

They should have a good intention about their own taste, how to manage their references, and put them into one original idea. That was the form value from the very beginning.

There you go, our short interview with S.Y. Studio. You could also customize your favorite design to them. Most of their clothes are affordable ranging from Rp 200 thousand up to Rp 300 thousand. The best part is, the owner is trying her best to create a sustainable fashion line.