VORACIOUS

• JULY 2026
• ALTR
• VOL. 5

Michelle Thatcher ceo, us green chamber of commerce

• Ant Esi
• Amalia Harris
• Abby Yheaulon
• Dhanya Kolisetti
• Chelsea DeLalla
• Joelle Koh
• Alexis Emch head editor
• Independent Collaborators
• Erik Abeloe
• Garrett
• Aiden Trip
• Emma Howe
• Isabella Deyoung
• Jenny Kim
• Mylah Dorsey
• Peyton Hughes
• Jovana Nagj
• Vivian NG
• Andrea D'Souza
• Awesome Esi
• Paola Vita
• Special Thanks
• Saturn LA Wacky Wears
• Cover

Shot, edited & designed by Alexis Emch

ALTR Magazine Issue 5

ABOUT US

ALTR Magazine is a digital publication that aims to bring forth a new vision of how we see and interact with fashion. Like a traditional fashion magazine, we provide fashion news, style inspiration, and lifestyle tips. However, we push beyond fashion as simply an aesthetic concept or a consumer industry. We ask challenging questions about sustainability, ethics, and social and environmental justice. Questions that are not discussed frequently enough in the mainstream fashion industry.

ALTR is an open resource for anyone and everyone who wants to learn more about Sustainable Fashion. We invite you to challenge traditional perspectives of sustainable fashion that think it's all about leggings made out of recycled plastic. Sustainable fashion is a growing movement and an ever-changing philosophy. There is no such thing as "perfect sustainability." We are truly all just figuring it out together, and this magazine is more a collection of musings, discussions, and discoveries than a strict handbook or manual for sustainability.

There is a lot to learn about the environmental, social, and economic issues of the fashion industry, and as we discover the solutions we want to share and discuss them with you. Our hope that you will feel empowered to ask these tough questions too, and confident in your ability to interact with fashion consciously.

ALTR Magazine was born out of the recognition that fashion has been mistreating the planet and the people on it for a long time. And while we love fashion, destruction and exploitation is not a trade off we are willing to make. "Sustainable fashion" is a remedy to this standard of operation. While it is a complex term, at its core it calls for a fashion industry that confronts its negative social and environmental impact, and tries to reduce and make up for the damage caused.

ALTR is the brainchild of the Fashion Team working on behalf of the Global Climate Pledge, an organization that works globally to bring sustainable solutions into the private sector. We are a group of individual consumers, just like you, who recognize fashion's higher potential, and we are committed to working together to make that potential a reality.

Voracious July 2026

• CONT
• Buy Wear Repeat
• By Ant Esi
• Who Are You?
• By Joelle Koh
• 19 The Sustainable Party Girl
• By Abby Yheaulon
• 31 Confessions of a Recovering
• Maximalist
• By Chelsea DeLalla

56 Why Do You Look Like Me?

• By Alexis Emch
• 59 More Than Grillz
• By Ant Esi
• 44 Garden Party
• By Abby Yheaulon

ENTS

The Hidden Cost of Western Wear 58

By Chelsea DeLalla

My Obsession with Collection 67

The Art of Shopping in Your 78 Family's Closet

• The Hunt for Authenticity 91
• Fast Fashion, Fast Love 97
• Consuming Comfort 104
• By Alexis Emch
• By Amalia Harris
• By Joelle Koh
• By Abby Yheaulon
• By Dhanya Kolisetti

• BUY WEAR REPEAT
• >BUY WEAR REPEAT
• >BUY WEAR REPEAT
• >BUY WEAR REPEAT
• >BUY WEAR REPEAT
• >BUY WEAR REPEAT
• >BUY WEAR REPEAT

Designed by: Ant

• who are you?
• <tit th
• ERR
• <title> --N
• The price of finding individualism.
• XP/ ea
• Image: Joelle Koh

I scroll through my feed and notice something mildly unsettling — every person, every city, every country looks eerily similar. The same Uniqlo boxy shirt, the same girl boss black trousers, the same neutral palette. When did dressing up stop being personal? Fashion has always been about self-expression, defining how you uniquely belong to this world and figuring out your identity. However, with social media use growing day by day and fashion becoming more accessible, it's hard to find our unique style when we're bombarded with new clothing trends every week. I have always found it hard to justify whether I should buy a piece of clothing based on price, and now, another consideration is whether the piece I buy will remain in trend. I'm sure many of us face this dilemma. Do we invest in clothes we actually like or clothes we know will get compliments from others?

Especially with all the different trends, I find it hard to differentiate between clothing I actually like and clothing I force myself to like just so I can fit in with the current 'it girl' aesthetic. This makes me question whether the desires to fit into an increasingly globalized world have made individualism more accessible or act as a constraint in our journey to individuality. Here's my personal take on what it feels like to figure out my style in a world where perception matters most from a digital screen.

• LOADING...
• Yes
• Are you a robot?

In recent years, the 'it girl' aesthetic has changed from clean girl to mob wife to office siren as social media now defines what it means to portray yourself as a successful, well-organized woman with confidence and a sense of bearing about her. But success looks different for every individual, and these microtrends risk defining the expression of success as a woman too narrowly. We have to be mindful of the fine line between imposing a standardized way of expressing success and providing women a platform to proudly represent their confidence.

Note Pad

- Ox

The Paradox of Choice also plays a significant part in the feeling that we're drowning in a sea of never-ending trends, trying to keep up with algorithmically successful aesthetics in order to appear relevant. As much as we try to be unique, our uniqueness is also bounded by what is considered acceptable by social media. For example, Y2K clothing becoming relevant again has resulted in the resurgence of thrifting to find 'hidden gem' Y2K pieces. Most people who play into the Y2K aesthetic try to set themselves apart from consumers who wear mainstream basic pieces in an attempt to be unique. However, if everyone is playing into the same Y2K aesthetic to be unique, is Y2K truly alternative or just another socially acceptable way to express yourself?

Beyond that, there is a bigger player at stake that most of us forget about: the global clothing companies that dictate what becomes the next trending piece of clothing. As per the famous Devil Wears Prada 'cerulean blue monologue,' everything worn by consumers has trickled top- down from designer runways to the everyday consumer. The consumer is not entirely at fault for wanting to consume; after all, clothing brands have made it so easy for us to access such a large variety of clothing. Who can resist a pot of gold presented to them? In fact, I argue that social media microtrends have been manufactured by companies in order to sell products. Especially with the rise of influencer marketing, brands are tapping into emotionally charged ways to reach customers by engaging with influencers we trust and respect. Thus, when our favorite influencer declares that the 'clean girl' aesthetic is no longer in trend, we scramble to hop onto the next 'it' thing, which the big companies have puppeteered our beloved influencer to echo lilah b

COLOR REVIVER BALM

So, the next time you catch yourself thinking you NEED a wardrobe reset, think again, because you're actually under the carefully engineered influence of people who decided what the next trend should be in their corporate boardroom. Now, let's delve deeper into how global companies have made their way into influencing our closets, starting with the globally worn Uniqlo boxy shirt.

Images: Unsplash

WARDROBE

Ever seen the Uniqlo boxy shirt? Or maybe the question should be: have you ever not seen the Uniqlo boxy shirt? The boxy shirt has become the globalized uniform for men all around the world, with Uniqlo catching the world by storm with the boxy shirt's flattering shape and breathable fabric. There has not been a clothing item as popular or widespread as this shirt, nor have men put in as much effort into their style as we see right now. While it seems like every man now looks the same, is it really a bad thing? Not long ago, men were given much flak for being lazy dressers, so why are we criticizing them for looking presentable and wearing a shirt that clearly flatters any guy? I argue that the 'uniform' look is part of the journey of finding your own style because it gives you a comfortable fit to rely on if the quest for finding your style becomes exhausting. Personally, some of my guy friends have complained about how dressing up means wearing a suit, whereas dressing up can mean so many other things for women. So, let's start pushing men to care more about their individual style and being presentable ― after all, us women have had decades of stylistic freedom to do so.

Images: Unsplash

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UNI QLO

Amidst the emerging stylistic awareness of men, there still is a gap in the turnover rate of trends in men's fashion compared to women's fashion. While women are constantly exposed to a myriad of different 'it girl' aesthetics, men's fashion seems to be the opposite. Once a conventionally popular clothing item/brand has been decided upon such as the Uniqlo shirt or brands such as Carhartt, Stussy, and Nike ― men rarely deviate to discover other brands. It is an interesting observation because it also shows that women are much more exposed to consumerism than men are. Does this restrict how women appreciate clothing? Perhaps so, since being constantly overwhelmed by new social media trends prevents women from having the breathing space to really lean into a brand. That does seem to be changing, as brands such as Adidas have found a way to tempt everyone - male or female by designing clothing that appeals to all genders. Global brands have found a common weakness in consumers, which is the desire to seem unique by wearing stylistic features from other cultures. Adidas has found the perfect culture to exploit, with its 'Tang jacket' having flooded social media globally.

• IMAGE FILE
• EDIT
• VIEW
• Images: Unsplash

APPRECIATION OR APPROPRIATION?

The rise of global brands incorporating design features of clothing from other cultures has taken the world by storm. In particular, the Adidas 'Tang'-inspired jacket has been part of a recent wave of Chinese culture appreciation. While it raises awareness of Chinese clothing, there is still a long way to go for these global brands in their journey of representing design elements from other cultures. Chinese fashion goes far beyond the 'Tang' jacket, which I argue is not as revolutionary an exposure to Chinese fashion as the Western media has made it seem. The 'Tang' jacket has been the most commercialized representation of Chinese fashion in the Western world for a long time, from movies to music videos to the runway. Two thousand years of Chinese fashion have been diluted for the Western world to be represented only by the 'Tang' jacket, when there are in fact so many more elements that could have been used. Let's put into perspective what the Chinese have actually incorporated in their interpretation of modern Chinese fashion, also known as 'Xin Zhōng Shì' in China. We see motifs of bamboo and hanfu elements, amongst many others, which prove that incorporation of ancient aesthetics can be done even better by global brands if they put in more effort into understanding another culture's aesthetics.

Images: Jaquilin (Adidas Tang Jacket), Unsplash

APPRECIATION OR APPROPRIATION?

In fact homegrown Chinese brands such as Li-Ning, which is named after the legendary Chinese Olympian, have already been designing clothing that incorporate elements of traditional Chinese aesthetics and design. I doubt that any non-Chinese founded brand would be better able to represent Chinese aesthetics in clothing better than Li-Ning, which is considered Chinese sporting heritage. In China, this proves to be true as Adidas's share of China's sportswear market suffered a 9% decrease between 2019 and 2023, whilst Li-Ning saw a growth of 3% in the same period, proving that locally founded brands are increasing in status amongst Chinese consumers compared to global brands. Thus, consumers should start questioning if they are buying clothing that incorporates cultural aesthetics from global brands that do not actually understand the culture they claim to appreciate.

For now, Adidas's jacket is one step closer to encouraging an appreciation for fashion from other cultures, but more diverse cultures and more intentional usage of elements will indicate that global brands are truly committed to representing beauty from all parts of the world, not just the Western world.

Images: Unsplash

In a way, it seems that all of us are now even more susceptible to trends dictated by global brands because of social media. What we think is an exploration of individuality has been infiltrated by brands attempting to pursue their own agenda of increasing clothing sales by framing their clothes as the next trend. Can we do anything about it? Perhaps not, but it helps to be aware that 'it girl aesthetics', 'the male uniform,' and cultural design aesthetics such as the 'Tang jacket' might be a brand's way of stimulating consumerism. That Iway, we can be more intentional about our purchasing choices despite the pressures from social media trends - and having personal intentions is, in itself, individualism.

• WRITTEN AND DESIGNED BY:
• JOELLE KOH
• IMAGES ON UNSPLASH

DA ON MICROTRENDS MIRROR SPIRALS, AND MAKING.

ONE OUTFIT FEEL NEW FIVE NIGHTS IN A ROW

INSTRUCTIONS: COLOR, CUT, MIX & MATCH

You look into your closet: piles of tops, a few pairs of jeans, dresses for specific nights, and pieces you have barely touched since buying them. You already wore this this semester, and this, and this... maybe you need to go shopping. Except you don't. The problem is not that you have nothing to wear. It is that fashion has trained you to experience repetition as lack. With rapidly changing microtrends, that shirt you had to have becomes "out" before it even lands on your doorstep.

We joke about the pregame outfit spiral, but it does something to your brain. Getting ready can feel less like self-expression and more like performance.

You're not only asking "do I look good,"

you're asking "have I already worn this on a night out," and if the answer is yes, your brain files the outfit under 'cannot post again.' But going out isn't the problem. The hunger for newness is.

DOO

This is not about villainizing women for participating in the world we live in. It is about separating the fun of going out from the pressure to keep buying for it: laughing with your girls, flirting with the cutie you locked eyes with from across the bar, while opting out of the part that quietly eats your closet alive.

new, things on, and starting

Voracious, after dark, looks like an appetite for novelty and visibility: not just the desire for something but the desire to be seen as being new. It is the hunger underneath the cycle of trying rejecting them, over the need for proof that you showed up as your best self. Microtrends make that appetite feel urgent because they rise fast and fall fast, so the "right" look can start to feel outdated almost as soon as you commit to it. That urgency is not random. It is useful to an industry that needs you to keep buying.

Society has a way of framing women as the issue in problems they did not create. That is deflection. The real villain in this cycle is an industry dependent on disposability, one that sells short-lived newness as empowerment and quietly counts on your closet anxiety to keep the machine fed.

For each event, for each new theme, there seems to be a need for another five-dollar shirt from whatever fast fashion brand is trending. But the desire that sold the shirt will fade faster than the shirt itself can be washed, while the garment remains destined to linger as waste far longer than any trend cycle. That contrast should haunt us.

And "decay" isn't only metaphorical. One of the strongest and least talked about reasons clothes leave our lives is that they fail. Seams splitting, zippers breaking, fabric issues, and garments losing shape. Sometimes it is even more obvious than that. Unfinished hems. Wonky, rushed stitching. Thin fabric that pills before you have even had a chance to fall in love with it. This means a piece can leave your closet even if you still like it.

This is where the teeth show. The market sells clothes that don't survive the lifestyle they're marketed for. Going out clothes are often synthetic-heavy and built for the moment, not for longevity. Stretch. Sheen. Low cost. Then we act surprised when they don't last.

And when synthetic heavy clothing becomes waste, it's not just "trash." The apparel industry is a significant source of plastic leakage, with synthetic clothing becoming mismanaged waste. So the one- night outfit isn't just a personal purchase. It's a pipeline.

Repeating is not failure.

It becomes part of your signature. "New"

can mean newly styled, not newly purchased. The sustainable party girl is no less fashionable. She is just more skilled at making what she already owns feel alive again. She can make one piece work for five nights because she understands the difference between chasing a trend and actually styling a look. That is what makes it chic: the ease, the confidence, the intention.

You know the shirt that every friend has asked to borrow? Like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, there's just something about it that keeps everyone wearing it, and they all style it differently. Sharing clothes is a rite of passage between friends. How many different ways could you style the same piece and still make it feel like you.

To make that kind of shared, personal wardrobe possible, it helps to start with a few pieces strong enough to live many lives. The goal is to love everything in your closet. Choose one core garment that can survive a real night out and still feel good the next week. Something you can dance in, sit in, wash, and rewear without it losing its shape or falling apart. When your closet has a solid capsule collection, you stop shopping in a panic and start building looks with intention.

Now that you have your core collection of wardrobe essentials, clip-on embellishments, scarves, safety pins, and fashion tape are your best friends. Part of styling is getting creative with what you already have. Small details can change the entire vibe of your outfit. Even switching your bag or jewelry can take you from sweet to sharp, from casual to polished, from day to night. If you are feeling uninspired, that is okay. Ask a friend. They might see a combination you missed, or they might have a piece you can borrow that makes your look feel new without buying anything. Tailoring and small repairs matter here, too, because they keep your anchor pieces in rotation. It is important to develop a relationship with our clothes so they are not so disposable.

Back in front of the mirror, keep the fun. Keep the music, keep the pregame, keep the girls, keep the thrill of stepping into a night that matters more than the outfit. Just do not let a system built on disposability convince you that repeating is a failure. Let your style be voracious, not your consumption.

• WRITTEN BY ABBY
• VHEAULON
• ILLUSTRATED BY ABBY YHEAULON

I used to be a very mindless consumer when it came to my personal care products. My medicine cabinet was overflowing with various serums, toners, and acne patches. My shower shelves were consumed by plastic bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash. And eyeshadows, concealers, and foundation products spilled out of my vanity drawers and makeup bags.

These consumption habits were always something that I felt pretty ashamed of. I couldn't stand looking at the dozens of half-empty products under my bathroom sink or the collection of expired mascara tubes that I have accumulated over the years. And every time I threw out another shampoo or conditioner bottle, only to order another container on Amazon, I felt a little queasy.

The truth is, most people do not understand the impact their personal care products have on our planet. Between single-use packaging, questionable ingredient lists, and controversial business ethics, there is a larger picture behind each and every one of our purchases.

Early last year, I got to thinking on how I could personally lessen my contribution to these environmental crises. After doing a quick google search, I realized that one of the most interesting and effective ways to live more sustainably would be to transition my beauty and personal care routine to zero-waste products.

• Written & modeled by Chelsea
• DeLalla
• Photography by Andrea

D'Souza

In all honesty, this proved to be a much bigger challenge than I had originally anticipated. I had grown quite fond of my Pantene haircare, CeraVe cleanser and moisturizer, and Colgate toothpaste. And seeking out new products that avoided packaging altogether was a new and somewhat daunting task.

My first step to developing a more eco-friendly beauty routine was to decide which products were necessary and which weren't. Many of us have been raised under the assumption that every minor problem requires a specialized product. Zit on your face? Try a spot treatment. Yellow teeth? Buy whitening strips. Yet so many of these products fail to address our issues effectively. So, once we stop buying into this consumeristic mindset, we save time, money, and space.

I used to own a myriad of somewhat unnecessary items like detangler sprays, eyebrow gels, bath bombs, and sugar scrubs. After taking a hard look at my bathroom drawers, I realized these products served no real purpose in my routine. My hair is not tangly enough to justify a detangling spray, my eyebrows did not need any gel to keep them in place, I rarely took enough baths to warrant collecting bath bombs, and I could easily exfoliate with a sponge rather than a sugar scrub. After this realization, I decided to substantially reduce the number of products

I owned to just a handful of essentials. And by doing this, not only did I free up some room in my bathroom cupboards, but I also had peace of mind knowing I was lowering my ecological impact.

After cutting down the number of products I owned, my next step was to examine my current essentials and their packaging. To my dismay, a majority of my cosmetics were encased in excessive amounts of plastic. My favorite cool berry Fenty cream blush came in a plastic compact. My go-to Dior lip oil relied on a plastic wand and applicator. And my most-repurchased Tarte Tubing mascara used plastics for its tube, wand, and applicator. Truthfully, I had a hard time finding any product in my local Sephora that didn't use some form of plastic.

I admit, plastic is nearly unavoidable in the beauty industry, but there are definitely ways to limit your plastic waste. In my opinion, one of the most effective strategies is to buy solid-form items. I use bar-form shampoo, conditioner, hand and body soap, cleanser, and even perfume. These solid-form products eliminate the need for a plastic bottle, produce less carbon emissions during transportation, and are optimal for travel. My current favorite brand for solid-form haircare is Ethique, which sells shampoos and conditioners for a range of hair types.

There are also numerous brands that use a return-and-reuse system, where customers can return product packaging so the business can reuse the container. Some examples include the UK-based brand UpCircle, Lush, Kiehl's, and Aveda. Another option for zero-wasters is refill systems, where you can buy the product and packaging once and refill your product at in-store locations or online. Many major beauty retailers, like Sephora and Ulta, offer refillable products that help consumers reduce waste and save money.

Beyond adopting a more minimalistic approach to my beauty routine and prioritizing sustainable packaging, I also started caring more about what exactly is going into each of my products, as many beauty-related ingredients often inflict serious harm to our ecosystems.

To give an example, the production of palm oil has long been recognized as incredibly destructive to habitats in Southeast Asia, contributing to widespread deforestation and species endangerment.

When I began checking ingredient labels, I was shocked by how many of my products contained palm oil. It lurked in my shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, and moisturizer. An ingredient that was once completely unknown to me was silently wreaking havoc in areas across the globe, and my purchasing habits were funding this destruction. After learning more about the harmful effects of palm oil, I decided to opt for alternatives like coconut and shea butter that provide the hydration and versatility of palm oil without its environmental consequences.

My last step towards cultivating a more sustainable beauty collection has been researching companies' animal-testing policies. I was shocked by the sheer number of companies that still test on animals before bringing their products to market. Animal testing has been widely considered unethical, inaccurate, inefficient, and expensive, so it is essential that we, as consumers, boycott brands that continue to utilize these methods. When I am buying a new product, I usually look out for the Leaping. Bunny certification or PETA's Beauty without Bunnies to ensure that no animals were used at any stage of product development.

future.

After transforming my beauty products, I always find myself thinking back to the version of myself who needed extra shower shelves to hold all my miscellaneous products, or who packed an additional carry-on just to fit her skincare and haircare. Those moments now feel strangely distant. Having gone over a year without purchasing a single plastic container of makeup or skincare, I have realized that less is truly more and forgoing some products doesn't have to be a sacrifice.

If you are looking for one takeaway from this article, it's to start small. Try to identify one or two products you can eliminate from your routine or replace with zero- packaging alternatives. If we each make small, sustainable swaps in our personal care habits, we will collectively create a massive impact and push companies to invest in more eco-conscious, responsible beauty products to promote a brighter, greener

LIKE

FOR E

Saltwater crocodiles have been bestowed the honor of being one of the most voracious creatures on Earth. Of course, their appetite pales in comparison to our own, our teeth metaphorically sharper and our pallets eternal salivating.

For many years, individuals on all sides of the political spectrum have desperately tried to untangle humans from our animal brethren. Their attempts to snip away our intrinsic connection to nature to achieve their goals, whether it be “protection” from us to exploitation in the name of domination. This destruction is in vain, our connection will remain due to the unshakeable fact that we are all related. Descending from the same source that the smallest mouse and the largest elephant derive from.

Saltwater crocodiles are our cousins, our one common ancestor blessed us with our shared physiology. Our bones line up in a striking pattern, how we move practically the same. Their voraciousness is our own, our hunger is shared between meals that stick to our ancestrally- derived teeth.

Of course with all distant relatives, we have our differences. Humanity's hunger is natural, our tendency to overeat is anything but. Our excess voraciousness is manufactured in order to sell. Our four-legged ancestors are being handed to us with a price tag attached to their teeth, we are being trained to look at a river chock full of fish and see dollar signs. The West has fooled us all into wanting for everything yet receiving nothing but ruination.

This illustration touches on our (humans) intrinsic connection to nature. That no matter how hard we try, humans will always remain a part of it. The villainization of ourselves will do nothing but make our reflections seem even more foreign. This villainization that has been stoked in order to sell us more. Now, invisible hands have encouraged us to look at our reflections and see a stranger staring back whilst tying a dollar amount around our necks.

Illustrated & Written: Alexis Emch

Photo by LexScope on Unsplash more than grillz gold, grit and history

What was once a respected form of expression became stigmatized under colonial rule. Yet despite these efforts, such practices did not disappear, they adapted, resurfaced, and found new meanings. Grillz, as we understand them today, re-emerged most prominently within Black diasporic communities. In the 1970s, parts of the West Indies, particularly Jamaica, experienced economic hardship that limited access to dental care. Gold teeth became both a practical solution and a symbol of resourcefulness. Figures like Eddie Plein helped pioneer techniques for removable gold crowns, laying the foundation for modern grillz culture.

As the style evolved, jewelers like Johnny Dang and Dolly Cohen helped bring grillz into the global spotlight, where they became embedded in hip-hop culture as visible markers of success, wealth, and self-definition. For many Black children, memories of molding foil over their teeth to imitate grillz reflect an early engagement with this cultural form; playful, imaginative, and deeply symbolic. I was one of those children. I knew that when I graduated, the way I wanted to commemorate my experience was through grillz, something enduring, something archival.

Photo by Kelsey Shotit on Pexels

Through this lens, grillz become more than adornment. They are a language, one that communicates identity, resilience, and belonging. Whether marking a milestone like graduation or expressing cultural connection, grillz carry meaning beyond aesthetics. The journey of grillz is one of preservation, resistance, and survival, one that reflects the Black experience. They are not simply fashion statements but cultural artifacts, living symbols that carry histories of wealth, power, and creativity across generations. In a society that often pressures marginalized communities toward assimilation, grillz insist on visibility.

Getting grillz became, for us, a celebration of perseverance and resistance. Through further reflection, I understand grillz as a form of cultural sustainability. They are not static relics of the past but dynamic expressions that continue to adapt while maintaining their cultural significance.

Cultural sustainability involves preserving and engaging with traditions in ways that allow them to endure and evolve, and grillz exemplify this process. Ultimately, grillz are more than ornamentation. They are memory, inheritance, and defiance. They carry stories of adaptation and resilience, linking past traditions to present expressions.

To wear grillz is not simply to decorate the body, but to participate in a living archive, where the body itself becomes a canvas for reclaiming history and identity.

Effendy, Vanessa, and Zengrui Xiao.

"How Does Cultural Sustainability Promote Fashion Consumers' Purchase Intention?" Sustainability, vol. 17, no. 5, 2025, p. 2034. ProQuest.

“Crowned in Gold: The History of Grillz and Their Cultural Legacy." Ebony, https://www.ebony.com/crowned-in-gold-the-history-of-grillz-and-their-cultural-

Legacy/

"Delving into the Cultural Significance and Evolving Trends of Teeth Grills." Exotic Diamonds SA, https://www.exoticdiamondsa.com/blogs/blogs/delving-into-the-cultural-significanceand-evolving-trends-of-teeth-grills-1

"Grillz Fashion History Unveiled." Stretto Blaster, https://strettoblaster.com/wrong-ideas/grillz-fashion-history-unveiled/

"Mouth Grillz Evolution in Hip-Hop Culture." GotGrillz, https://www.gotgrillz.com/mouth-grillz-evolution-hip-hop-culture/

"The Ancient History of Grills.” Vice, https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-ancient-history-of-grills-456/ https://nr.world/eddie-plein/

Photo by Lexscope on Unsplash_Unsplash Photo 1 Photo by Kelsey Shotit on Pexels Pexels Photo 1

Photo by Kelsey Shotit on Pexels Pexels Photo 2

Party

A collection by Abby Yheaulon

Before Garden Party became a collection, it was a pile of fabric with too much history to throw away.

The collection is made entirely from secondhand materials: deadstock denim, vintage buttons, thrifted textiles, inherited jewelry supplies, and scraps pulled from my university's resource room before they could be forgotten. A large part of the fabric was given to me by an older woman whose mother had been a seamstress in the 1970s, which meant I was not just working with "sustainable materials." I was working with someone else's archive.

Every piece in the collection had a life before me. Some fabrics were stored away for decades. Some were leftovers from other students' projects. Some beads came from antique stores, and others came from my grandmother's old jewelry supplies. I made the jewelry by hand using the same logic as the garments: nothing had to be new to feel precious.

Visually, Garden Party is soft, excessive, strange, and feminine. It is lace, denim, satin, beads, bows, color, and skin. I was not interested in a version of sustainable fashion that only looks like beige basics and restraint. I wanted these clothes to feel abundant. I wanted them to feel like dressing up, like being seen, like finding glamour in the pile of things someone else almost threw away.

The photoshoot took place at the MSU Horticulture Gardens and the MSU Children's 4- H Garden, two spaces that made the collection feel like it had found its natural setting. The garden became more than a pretty backdrop. It became part of the story.

Gardens are places where care becomes visible. Things are planted, tended, cut back, rearranged, and allowed to grow again. That felt like the right place for clothing made from materials that had also been waiting for another chance. In the same way a garden is built through layers of soil, weather, labor, and time, Garden Party is built from layers of fabric, memory, and reuse.

The location also connects back to the sustainability of the work. These garments are not about perfection or purity. They are about attention. They ask what can happen when we look harder at what is already here, when scraps become silhouettes, when old fabric is allowed to become young again, and when inherited objects become adornment.

Garden Party treats secondhand materials as invitations instead of compromises. It is a celebration of what can bloom when we stop seeing old materials as finished.

• Designer:
• Abby Yheaulon
• Photographers:
• Abby Yheaulon Aiden Trip
• Models:
• Emma Howe
• Isabella Deyoung
• Jenny Kim
• Mylah Dorsey
• Peyton Hughes
• Jovana Nagj
• Vivian NG

• LIVE
• AUTO
• DIS
• The Hidden Cost of Western Wear

• ARGEN
• DeLalla
• Written by Chelsea DeLalla
• Photography by Erik Abeloe
• Modeled by Garrett & Chelsea

I have spent a majority of my life on the East Coast. Being born and raised on the Jersey Shore, vacationing in the small towns of Massachusetts and Connecticut, and eventually moving up to the Bronx for college, I rarely find the time to venture beyond my Northeast bubble. That was until this past May, when I had the opportunity to volunteer with a Montana-based nonprofit dedicated to conserving the American bison population, a topic that I have always felt passionate about. So in spite of my strong East Coast roots, I traveled across the country to the Pacific Northwest, landing in the Bozeman airport on a Thursday afternoon.

As I stepped off the plane, I was greeted by dangling elk-antler wall decor, wood-burning fireplaces, and gift shops that sold anything and everything huckleberry. It was a dramatic departure from the modern water fixtures and Dunkin' Donuts of LaGuardia Airport.

I was also met by a sea of familiar Western styles. Many passed in plaid button-down shirts with broken-in, faded denim, while others strode through the terminal in their raised-heel pointed boots and felt cowboy hats. Meanwhile, I trudged along in my white Brandy Melville tank top, Abercrombie blue jeans, and Reeboks, making it abundantly clear that I was not a Montana local.

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Though I mostly grew up around the Northeastern fashion trends of New York and Jersey, I have always admired the fashion of the American West. Staples of Western wear---leather boots, straight-leg jeans, and wide-brimmed hats---have caught my eye since I started becoming interested in clothes. I will admit, of course, my fascination with these pieces is hardly out of the ordinary.

Western style has made a massive resurgence in recent years. Though western pieces these have been worn by our nation's ranchers and cowboys since the 19th century, they continue to be popularized and reimagined by designers, influencers, and brands today.

My perception of Western fashion has been largely shaped by these contemporary interpretations. When my mind wanders to the subject, I picture Ralph Lauren suede fringe jackets, maybe white, floor-length Free People dresses, and Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner posing on horseback in cowboy hats. Through social media and runway, Western style has evolved into a more modern and refined aesthetic, and many of us, including myself, have come to view it through this that lens. Yet beneath these modern reinterpretations, at its core, Western fashion has its origins rooted in functional necessity.

range.

Long before Western wear became a runway trend, it served as practical attire for people who lived in the American West. Cowboys relied on durable garments that could withstand rugged terrain and harsh weather conditions. Brands like Levi's and Wrangler jeans were originally made with the intent of surviving years of ranch work, while Tecovas and Ariat boots were designed for herding cattle and working outside. Many of these pieces, such as boots, belts, hats, and jackets, have also traditionally relied on animal-derived materials to provide the durability and longevity needed for life on the Understanding the origins of Western fashion also means understanding the industries that produced it. Leather, wool, and other animal-based materials that define Western styles are often produced in the same regions where the fashion originated through the ranching and livestock industries.

While these sectors serve great importance to Western economic and cultural identity, they also contribute significantly to broader environmental issues, such as habitat loss, water consumption, and native wildlife conflicts. As a result, the pieces that embody Western fashion are inextricably linked to the broader environmental impacts that degrade the landscapes and habitats that they are worn. And nowhere is this connection more apparent than in the cattle industry, which supplies much of the leather used in Western clothing.

Cattle ranching remains deeply embedded in the West, wielding large influence over local land, politics, and culture. There exist millions of cattle grazing on public lands with nearly 20,000 cattle ranches in the 11 primary western states. When I traveled to Montana this past May, I felt somewhat surrounded by field upon field, often outnumbered by the herds of roaming cattle.

Given ranching's deep roots in the region and its role in producing materials synonymous with Western wear, many have begun to raise the important question of whether cattle are truly suited for the West's arid and fragile ecosystems. Cattle require access to an abundance of forage and fresh water to thrive, resources that are often hard to come by in the West. And as climate change continues to increase temperatures and create more unpredictable weather patterns, maintaining ranching systems that supply leather for boots, belts, and jackets will become more and more of a challenge.

These environmental pressures of cattle ranching therefore extend beyond the bounds of agriculture, reaching into the world of fashion itself. The leather that is used in so many Western fashion staples originates from an agriculture system that requires mass volumes of water and contributes to overgrazing, soil erosion, and habitat degradation. So although these style choices have been idealized and celebrated by many, including myself, the materials that often define its aesthetic come with significant environmental consequences.

When I slip on my favorite pair of knee-high boots, I rarely think about the cow that was killed for their hide or the sprawling ranch that helped produce it. Yet, despite my efforts to psychologically distance the cattle from my closet, ranching practices and leather products are deeply interwoven.

Though many argue that leather is merely a byproduct of the meat and dairy industries, buying leather- based goods is funneling money towards the cattle industry and contributing to the broader environmental challenges associated with it. To avoid supporting these unsustainable practices, the best option for consumers would be to forgo leather goods altogether and direct one's money towards more eco-friendly industries. I myself stopped buying leather products a couple of years ago, opting for vegan leather handbags, faux leather knee- high boots, and second-hand options if I am lucky.

Along with vegan and faux leather, another exciting alternative is lab-grown leather. Lab- grown leather is produced by cultivating animal cells in a lab to produce artificial animal hides. This allows scientists to take harmless skin biopsies from cattle to produce leather products, which avoids the factory farming process altogether. While many vegan leathers are petroleum-based, lab-grown leather is biodegradable and has an identical chemical composition to cattle-raised leather products, providing an authentic and durable alternative to traditional leather products.

There are many biotech companies that are currently exploring this space. This includes Faircraft, a French biotech startup, and Modern Meadow, a startup based out of New Jersey. Many notable brands are also jumping on the bandwagon, with Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent's parent company Kering investing in the California biotech startup VitroLabs. Some companies are even experimenting with the DNA of other animals, with the label Enfin Levé creating the world's first T-Rex leather handbag by reconstructing fossilized dinosaur collagen DNA. So while factory farming practices have perpetuated numerous environmental crises across the country, these leather alternatives could stand as formidable forces to lessen or eliminate the industry.

ecosystems.

When I look back on my trip out west, I no longer think about those plaid button-downs and heeled cowboy boots at the airport. Now, my mind tends to wander to the millions of acres of grasslands that those styles were born from. Fashion plays such an integral part of the American West, but it also shows how the industries have shaped those landscapes.

If we as consumers want Western fashion to endure, we must consider how the materials behind it can better evolve to protect our people, communities, and

Collection

cheaper than therapy

God, I love necklaces. And bracelets. And earrings. In my world, nothing is complete without a piece of metal strung up somewhere in my outfit. The euphoric feeling of perfecting a necklace stack so impeccable it takes a look from a 6 to a 10.

My maternal grandmother's collection kick- started it, finding stability after fleeing a dictatorship caused her to stack up a mighty collection of costume jewelry. My mother followed suit, her love of earrings distracting her from her experience as an immigrant in a new country. While me? I inherit both an insane collection and a need to hoard more.

fear.

I carry with me so many pieces with stories to match. Not all good, but it makes them all unique in a way that makes them hard to be rid of. Psychologically, I know I should get rid of these pieces that signify the darkest periods of my family's lives, but I can't. It's a strange feeling to have something that holds the final memories of a person yet at the same time invokes generational feelings of the

I feel guilty for keeping an expansive collection, it goes against so many of my values of sustainability. I know I should be better, but I also know that my jewelry makes me who I am. I toe a razor thin line of overconsumption and individuality constantly, I hope one day I can be better. Maybe I'm working towards that day, maybe not. So for now I collect...

• and collect...
• and collect...
• and collect.

Written, shot & designed by Alexis Emch

• Written by Amalia Harris
• EGMANN shre 1888
• POSTAGE
• USA 5
• 5.x
• 10.x
• GAUDIR

how did it begin?

Awaiting me at home after my freshman year of college were seemingly endless piles of used clothes to pick through. My family had spent the last year putting aside pieces of unwanted clothing for me to sort through before donating them, leaving me with a treasure trove of once-loved silky scarves and cotton sweaters facing my unrestrained greed.

But as my excitement wore off, I came to terms with the fact that I didn't need another five pairs of ill-fitting jeans. Despite the clothing being free, I didn't necessarily have a use for it. Instead of just moving clothes from the forgotten depths of my mother's closet to my own, I had to be particular with what to keep and what to let someone else fall in love with. Attempts to decisively pick out only a few pieces posed the following question.

How do you choose clothes you will actually wear and appreciate when offered hand-me-downs and free clothing?

Every item of used clothing has a story; take the time to listen to it. Unlike clothes bought from donation centers, these pieces were worn by your family. Every piece of second-hand clothing has lived a long life full of stories that make it even more meaningful, offering you a rare opportunity to learn.

When rifling through my mom's old t-shirts, I came across a faded purple Simon & Garfunkel graphic tee. I recently had the album Bridge Over Troubled Water on repeat, so it felt especially fitting. Excited about my new find, I rushed to ask my mom about it, oblivious of its importance.

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FREE

It wasn't just a graphic tee, but a souvenir from one of the best nights of my mother's life. Without taking the time to listen to why that particular piece was so important, it would have just become another ratty T-shirt in a pile of pajamas. Whenever the occasion feels important enough, I wear the shirt with pride, feeling as if I were dancing alongside my mom and thousands of others to Simon & Garfunkel.

The t-shirt was from a free benefit concert in Central Park in 1981, where Simon & Garfunkel performed for half a million people. It had been my mom's first concert, and her parents allowed her to tag along with her older brother, unaware of the massive crowd it would gather. Only just beginning her freshman year of high school, she had unwittingly experienced one of the most monumental concerts in history.

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ATTA DOG

Tip

#2 break your rules

Everyone has those pieces or styles classified as 'what if?' - fashion taboos that you may see on others but doubty you could ever pull off. Whether it is an eccentric print or an unusual silhouette, no clothing is really off-limits. Now is the chance to try something new, give yourself an opportunity to make it work.

by my own

In a pile of hand-me-downs from my aunt, I discovered a circular wooden pendant with a large floral white design. Initially, I tossed it aside, dismissing it as much flashier than any piece of jewelry I would pick out myself.

But after sifting through the pile, the loose pendant lay idly on the floor, begging me to try it on. More to amuse myself than anything, I held the pendant to my neck. To my surprise, it wasn't as hideous as I had been expecting. I decided to give it a try, knowing my aunt would happily take it back if I changed my mind.

Although the pendant was never an item I would choose for myself, it easily became a recurring feature in my necklace rotation. It is now my fallback accessory for overly plain outfits. The necklace pushed me to try out bolder jewelry without the risk of wasting my money on unused pieces. Once I gave it a chance, it quickly became one of my new favorite items.

• A #3 rework it
• JANOME
• BH 1 2 3 4

RESET

If the piece is otherwise being donated or thrown away, imagine how it can be remade. Whether with a quick sewing job or some creative trims, items can easily become something new. Clothing received secondhand may sometimes feel dull or worn out, but if you look at it with a new perspective and a willingness to break out of your comfort zone, you can allow it to become reloved

Try to take in the sides of ill-fitting shirts, hem long pants, crop or cut the necks off old T-shirts, or alter necklines. Secondhand clothing is the perfect chance to get creative with fashion and learn how to either hand-sew or use a sewing machine.

Last fall, while fruitlessly moping about my lack of well-fitting jeans, my mother brought me her old pair of low-waisted bootcut Mudd jeans. When I tried them on, I nearly jumped up and down with excitement. They were the most perfect pair I had ever laid my eyes on. They were hand-me-downs my mother received over 30 years ago, and were now being passed on to me.

get For the following 6 months, I wore the jeans as much as I could away with, but their age began creeping up on me. Even the slightest force would cause a tear, causing my most prized possession to disintegrate before me. As the gaping holes became unnoticeable, I knew I had to do something. After collecting old lace and crocheted doilies from my grandmother's collection and various flea markets, I got to work. I carefully sewed lace patches under each ripped knee, upscaling it into an item I now love even more.

Now is the time to experiment. When borrowing clothes from your family, you are relieved of the burden of high prices or the hassle of returns. If you decide the piece doesn't work for you, it can easily be put back in your family's closet or donation pile. Trying a new style is often a risky investment, but borrowing provides the perfect chance to test out clothing and creative with fashion, risk-free.

get

After rummaging through old boxes, my grandmother pulled out a long piece of crocheted fabric. She insisted it could be worn in my hair or as a belt, but it seemed too bold alongside my usual taste. Debating whether it was a scarf or a table runner did nothing but worsen my concerns.

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Although I had always appreciated the eclectic 70s bohemian style on others, it was never something I felt comfortable enough to try. I worried it was too much of a statement, something to be reserved for a music festival or Halloween costume.

Yet as my grandmother stubbornly tied it through my hair, I entertained the possibility that I could pull it off. Although it was never an item I would feel brave enough to choose for myself, it dawned on me that this was the perfect opportunity to try it. This seemed like chance to take a risk and wear an item despite my fears, because why should a piece of clothing scare me?

The next day, I wrapped it around my waist as a makeshift belt. While it seemed out of place to me, no one around me batted an eye. I decided to keep the fabric, whether it was intended to be a headband or table decor. If it weren't for my grandmother finding it tucked among old linens and photo albums, I never would have gotten the chance to experiment, letting unfounded fears get the better of me.

Tip

#5 be decisive

A 25C NEDERLAND

Even though hand-me-downs and borrowed clothing are free, they shouldn't go to waste. Don't let clothing go from collecting dust in one closet to another. Taking clothes from friends or family members offers the perfect opportunity to try something new, but if you realize it's a bad fit, acknowledge it. Every item of clothing should be valued equally, regardless of price. If you realize you haven't worn a piece in a few months, give it a new home through donation.

ROP

While searching through my grandmother's pile of clothes awaiting donation last winter, I found a red overshirt with a button-encrusted collar. The buttons immediately caught my eye, even though the color wasn't something I would reach for, and the sleeves were a bit too long. I convinced myself I could hem the sleeves and that trying a new color would be good for me, attempting to silence the nagging doubt in the back of my mind.

In the following weeks, I tried to wear it out, but something always rubbed me the wrong way. For the next six months, I ended up forgetting about it until I found it, left wrinkled, at the bottom of my drawer a few weeks ago. Part of me wanted to keep it just in case the perfect opportunity arose, but I knew that it wasn't worth it. It's now added to my own pile of donations, where hopefully someone with longer arms and a love for the color

R red can offer it a new home.

Looking back at the mountain of hand-me-downs patiently waiting for me to pick through, I am grateful I didn't mindlessly accept it all. Instead of letting the clothing be left unworn, I chose only the pieces which I would appreciate the most. The remaining clothes I passed on to other friends and family, or donated to find a better home. Hand-me-downs aren't just a budget-friendly alternative to shopping, they are an opportunity to be creative, connect with others, and minimize consumption. Every borrowed sundress and t-shirt provides the chance to appreciate fashion while extending the life of a garment. In the current era of endless consumption, sometimes your next favorite item is already waiting in someone else's closet.

POST credits

Written, designed, & modeled by Amalia Harris

Photographed by Paola Vita

'It's day one to the launch of my brand, I'm sooo excited to share this with everyone..' I bet you've seen at least one video of a micro-influencer announcing the launch of their 'unique' personal clothing brand because they were sick of being unable to find clothes that suit their style. Yet, some of these brands have recently been outed for dropshipping their clothes from fast fashion platforms such as Taobao and Shein. So how do we know if we are actually consuming consciously or duped into thinking we are?

In theory, purchasing from a small business sounds great, you get thoughtfully designed clothing whilst being more sustainable because these small brands usually produce less or are made-to- order. There is no doubt that if executed with well intention, these small clothing brands are the answer to expressing individuality whilst reducing clothing waste. However, the small clothing brand industry has been dirtied by brand owners whose aim is to make a quick buck by taking advantage of style arbitrage from fast fashion platforms. So, how do we identify small brands actually promote conscious consumption?

Through the analysis of unique brands from four different countries, certain characteristics will become evident to identify what makes truly unique brands stand out. Let's start your journey on uncovering your next hidden gem clothing brand!

NAVIGATING THE NEVER-ENDING PURSUIT OF IMPACTFUL CLOTHING BRANDS

Disclaimer: This article is not sponsored by any of the brands mentioned. All opinions and analyses expressed are the author's own.

Authentically unique and original designs

Own Four Pic

The signs of a legitimately unique small brand is simple. Firstly, look for the visuals! Does the brand produce clothes with a common art style, such as using thick lines, or does the brand use their own characters such as a smiling cat? I find that the most obvious piece of clothing to evaluate using visuals are graphic tees because having such a wide surface area often brings out the creativity of the designer. It is always easier to identify uniqueness when there is a large visual to look at.

NEED

OING

The Singaporean-based company Wacky Wears is the perfect example of a brand that provides authentically unique and original designs. Wacky Wears aims to 'illustrate everyday apparel and goods that resonate', with a focus on childhood nostalgia and slice of life graphics. At first glance, Wacky Wear's designs are easily identifiable because of their emphasis on doodles that tell a story, whilst incorporating relatable and uplifting quotes. Since their inception, Wacky Wears has remained true to this art style which stays consistent through their many sold out collections and collaborations with local Singaporean brands, as well as, global brands such as Oatside, Meta and Canon.

Look Back At The Past Only To Learn

Wacky Wears page uses images owned by the brand with express permission for non-commercial use in this magazine.

Images: Wacky Wears, Joelle Koh

Leaning into sustainable production

Unique designs and sustainable production practices often come hand in hand. For most small businesses that produce their own collections, the founders are intentional with the amount of stock they keep, or even use the pre-order method to determine how much they should stock. These two production methods are not only practical for a smaller scale business, but also show a brand's commitment to reducing fabric wastage.

Mode Mischief from Australia is an exemplary example, a brand that uses the 90s aesthetic as design and production inspiration as their collections are made of deadstock fabric. Which makes their pieces all the more unique because there are rarely any restocks once a collection sells out. Thus, their buyers know that they have purchased clothes that are truly one-of-a-kind, whilst supporting a brand committed to sustainable practices.

To further verify that a small brand is truly sustainable, cross-check with articles on local fashion magazines that feature the brand's founder that provide readers further insight into the ethos of the brand founder. If the brand founder mentions values that you align with, it is a clear sign that the clothes they make is what you look for. For example, Australia based fashion magazine 'Fashion Journal' interviewed Mia Zotos, the founder of Mode Mischief. In which Mia expanded on how Mode Mischief played into the 90's aesthetic that 'prioritises wearability by fusing vintage silhouettes with contemporary slow fashion practices.' Knowing more about the founder's vision and the brand's values is key to deciding whether your own values align with the brand, and whether you would like to support the brand!

Images: Unsplash

Lastly, look for brands that focus on encouraging conscious consumption rather than compulsive spending. Traditional fast fashion/mainstream brands rarely produce multifunctional clothing because they want you to BUY MORE whereas small brands that are truly sustainable focus on how their clothing can serve you throughout your different style changes throughout your lifetime.

Therefore, you will tend to find basic pieces that incorporate a touch of the brand's identity as the designers want you to wear their clothes for a long while. Ghostboy, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, embodies the spirit of rebellion and individuality in their designs. With a focus on 'a curiosity to subvert normality', Ghostboy's designs are multifunctional which fits their target audience, the youths who maximise life. Their bestsellers such as the 'Reverent' Maxi skirt also doubles as a dress, and the 'Amity' top can be styled in different ways using the many hook and eye fastenings.

Images: Unsplash, Joelle Koh

On that note, this logic also applies to small brands that target a very specific audience such as Saturn LA, which focus mainly on climbing apparel. By targeting a niche audience, it shows that the brand is dedicated to optimising their clothing for their audience as they put in research to understand the features that their audience would appreciate. Saturn LA's clothing and accessories have features specific to what climbers would need, such as the 'Pleated Climb Pants' and the 'Saturn Carabiner' which features a unique locking system with keys. Saturn's apparel provides climbers the perfect clothing that can simultaneously be worn on the streets and to pursue their hobby, creating convenience for their wearers.

Perfect! Now you're all equipped to discover your favourite small brand, because shopping sustainably isn't just about shopping less, it is also about shopping consciously, and there's no better way than finding clothes that you feel comfortable in, actually saves the planet and suits your lifestyle.

Saturn LA page uses images owned by the brand with express permission for non-commercial use in this Saturn

magazine.

Images: Saturn LA

Perfect! Now you're all equipped to discover your favourite small brand, because shopping sustainably isn't just about shopping less, it is also about shopping consciously, and there's no better way than finding clothes that you feel comfortable in, actually saves the planet and suits your lifestyle. So now...

'THE HUNT

OVER!'

Wacky Wears and Saturn LA pages use images owned by the brand with express permission for non-commercial use in this magazine.

Written by: Joelle Koh

Abby Yheaulon

You're using she/her pronouns

If loving this is wrong, I don't want to be right

FAST LOVE

HOW DO WE FALL IN LOVE IN THE AGE OF DISPOSABILITY?

There is something strange about how dating starts now. You sit on your bed, or on the couch, or in line somewhere half-bored, and sort through people with your thumb. It does not feel all that different from online shopping. The same scroll. The same quick judgment. The same little rush when something catches your eye. Another face, another outfit, another possibility. It all feels close, easy, and weirdly disposable.

That is what keeps sticking with me about dating apps and fast fashion. They are obviously not the same, but they do ask us to behave similarly. Both give us a huge number of options with barely any information. A dating profile is a few pictures and a prompt or two. A garment is a product photo, a price, and maybe some suspiciously glowing reviews. In both cases, you are being asked to make a quick decision. Do I want this? Do I keep looking? Can I do better?

At first, that kind of abundance feels exciting. It feels like freedom - more choices, more chances, more versions of the life you could have.

However, too many options rarely make people calmer or more satisfied. They usually make people more unsure, more picky, and more likely to keep searching. Dating apps are built around that feeling. Fast fashion is, too. Neither one wants you to feel done. They want you to stay in motion.

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"f" "The overlap between them is not accidental. On both sides, the goal is continued participation.

That is the part I think matters most. These platforms are not just reflecting modern behavior. They are shaping it. Dating apps train people to move through other people quickly, making choices with very little context. Fast fashion trains consumers to move through clothes the same way. Browse. Compare. Discard. Refresh. The overlap between them is not accidental. On both sides, the goal is continued participation. If you are satisfied, you stop swiping. If you feel complete in your wardrobe, you stop shopping.

Both rely on a kind of surface-level appeal. They give you just enough to imagine the rest. A profile gives you the illusion of knowing someone before you have heard them laugh or watched how they carry themselves in a room. Shopping online does something similar. You cannot touch the fabric, try on the garment, or see how it really moves. In both cases, what you are reacting to is not depth, but projection. You fill in the gaps with fantasy. That is part of why both can feel so promising at first and so disappointing later.

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Dating apps also change the way people present themselves. You are not just being yourself. You are trying to make yourself readable in seconds. Attractive, but not trying too hard. Funny, but not embarrassing. Interesting, but still easy to understand. Fashion slips right into that process. Clothes stop being just clothes and start acting like shorthand. They tell people what kind of girl you are supposed to be before you even speak.

That is where fast fashion becomes especially useful. It offers quick identities for quick recognition. One week it is clean girl, then coquette, then downtown, then something else. The names change constantly, but the pressure stays the same. Be current. Be legible. Be appealing at first sight. Fast fashion works so well in this environment because it makes those identities cheap, fast, and easy to cycle through. It turns the self into something endlessly refreshable im in love with everything about you

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_ str ne he cause its hold. while ropes cured, and the beast was secure ragged into the pr here it was firm ed up by the kee The poor boy was by Stewart, the ficer, in a state o affering with two acerated wounds arm and right side face and was "They are built to keep you consuming."

And after a while, that does something to your brain. When you are constantly fed curated, edited images of other people, you start looking at yourself the same way. You begin to see yourself from the outside, like a profile, like a product, like something being compared against a thousand other options. Dating apps intensify that feeling because desirability starts to seem measurable. Fast fashion intensifies it too, since it keeps offering little fixes. A new top, a new aesthetic, a new version of you that might finally get it right. But that satisfaction never really lasts, because these systems are not built to satisfy you. They are built to keep you consuming.

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That is why I argue this is a sustainability issue, even if it does not appear like one at first. It is not just about overbuying, though that is part of it. It is about the mindset underneath all of it. If you are taught to always crave the next thing, then it gets harder to value repetition, attachment, or patience. Wearing the same look too often can start to feel lazy. Staying with one version of yourself can feel like falling behind. Sustainable fashion asks us to push against that, not just by buying less, but by questioning why constant newness has come to feel so necessary in the first place.

"It is about the mindset underneath all of it."

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Maybe that is the real connection between fast love and fast fashion. Both are shaped by platforms that make endless options look like freedom while quietly making satisfaction harder to reach. Both flatten complicated things into quick choices. Both reward surfaces that can be understood immediately. And both keep us chasing the feeling that the next thing might finally be the right one

So how do we fall in love in the age of disposability? I do not think the answer is by pretending romance or fashion should be pure, serious, or stripped of pleasure. The answer might just be slower than that. Less optimized. Less disposable. Maybe the most sustainable thing we can do is learn how to desire without always wondering if something better is one swipe away.

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• WRITTEN
• AND DESIGNED
• BY ABBY
• YHEAULON citati

CONSUMING COMFORT:

How Moving 8,000 Miles Taught Me That No Amount of Shopping Could Fill the Gap

By Dhanya

"I tried on new identities like costumes I cou simply purchase."

• THE APPETITE AWAKENS
• PLATE mes I co
• THE FEEDING FRENZY
• RELEARNING HOW TO EAT
• OUS
• THE EMPTY

Seattle greets you with rain that isn't really rain— more like the sky weeping in slow motion. But that's not what steals your breath when you land. It's the cold-dampness that crawls under your skin and makes a home in your bones, turning the 80-degree Bangalore warmth into something that only exists now in the phantom limb of memory.

I was eighteen years old, carrying two suitcases and a hunger I didn't yet have words for.

It wasn't hunger for food, though I'd spend months chasing the ghost of real spices. This was a different kind of starvation-a gnawing need for belonging, a desperate appetite to shed the foreignness that clung to me like the coconut oil my mother insisted would protect my hair from this alien climate.

II. THE FEEDING FRENZY

The hunger should have been satisfied. Instead, it grew teeth.

Every semester became a reason to buy. When I transferred to Michigan-trading Seattle's rain for Ann Arbor's snow-I convinced myself I needed a complete reset. New city, new closet, new me. The delusion was immaculate.

Tik Tok became my scripture. I watched girls in golden hour lighting transform themselves into aesthetics I didn't even know had names. Clean girl. Dark academia. Cottage core. Each microtrend crashed over me like a wave, and I let myself drown every single time.

"The shopping bags grew heavy with more than fabric. They carried hope-foolish, desperate hope."

The mall felt like a temple of transformation. Everything gleaming under fluorescent light-sterile in its perfection. The fitting room became my confessional. Under lighting that turned brown skin sallow, I tried on new identities like costumes I could simply purchase.

North Face fleece. Ankle boots that would never survive one monsoon. Jeans in that specific shade of blue that somehow communicated: I belong here. I've always belonged here.

The shopping bags grew heavy with more than fabric. They carried hope-foolish, desperate hope that consumption could equal assimilation.

My credit card statements read like bad poetry. SHEIN. Zara. Urban Outfitters. Princess Polly.

The cycle was almost meditative: scroll until 3 AM, desire until it physically aches, add to cart like a prayer, wait for shipping notifications like waiting for a text back. Feel the three-second high. Then— nothing. Just emptiness rushing back in.

And still standing before this textile graveyard of who I thought I should be—I'd whisper the universal incantation: "I have nothing to wear."

IDENTITY CO. - EST. THE MOMENT YOU LANDED

• 8,000 MILES FROM HOME
• SEATTLE
• FALL SEMESTER, YEAR ONE THE ALGORITHM
• DATE:
• CASHIER:

GIRL, 18, NEWLY FOREIGN MAXED CREDIT CARD + DIGNITY

• CUSTOMER:
• PAYMENT:
• ITEMS PURCHASED

BELONGING of yourself

North Face fleece, ankle boots, the right shade of blue jeans running total: 49.9% gone

ASSIMILATION (DELUXE)

134% full wardrobe reset, new city, new climate, new me. logic airtight.

of your wages running total: deeply in the red

27.75% of your comfort

SELF-WORTH the influencer swore these jeans were life-changing. worn once.

AUTHENTICITY unavailable sold separately. not in stock. check back never.

mkt.rate fluctuates

INVISIBILITY the kind where you blend in so well you disappear entirely

THE RIGHT AESTHETIC clean girl → dark academia → cottage core. all at once, somehow.

flash sale

3AM ONLY running total: closet full of costumes

• APPROVAL bulk discount applied.
• of your still not enough.
• voice

HOME price varies by zip code, nonaccent, and what you smell like refundable

• SUBTOTAL everything you had
• + your mum's voice $0.00
• TAX
• DISCOUNT (NONE)
• EVERYTHING.
• TOTAL COST
• ITEMS KEPT

TIP LINE (GRATUITY FOR THE SELF YOU PERFORMED) if you felt seen

20% if you felt American

25% if you forgot yourself what's left of you custom note: tipping culture assumes a baseline worth. protecting. what is yours, exactly? percentage is suggested. the self is not.

CUSTOMER SIGNATURE:

I agree that identity is non-refundable.

see.

III. THE EMPTY PLATE

The reckoning arrived in an Environmental Science lecture.

My professor was discussing fast fashion's carbon footprint. Seven hundred gallons of water for one cotton t-shirt. Textile dyeing: the second-largest polluter of clean water globally. The fashion industry: ten percent of humanity's carbon emissions.

I thought about the three packages waiting at my apartment. A "haul" from a brand that greenwashed their website with sustainability buzzwords. Clothes that had probably traveled farther than I had, assembled by hands I'd never

That night, I stood before my closet like it was a crime scene. Tags dangling like evidence. The romper for "when I lose five pounds." The jeans some influencer swore were life-changing, worn once.

The guilt hit in waves. Deeper: guilt for the water wasted, the carbon released, the garment workers whose labor made my overconsumption possible.

But the most devastating realization—the one that made me slide down to sit on my closet floor-was this: Despite buying America through clothing, I still didn't feel at home. The hunger remained. Wholly unsatisfied.

"Despite buying America through clothing, I still didn't feel at home. The hunger remained. "

There's this secondhand store on South University that smells like mothballs and memory. I started going there out of desperation—my credit cards were maxed, my conscience was screaming.

The first time I found a vintage kurta there—hand- embroidered cotton, probably from the seventies- something in my chest loosened. The fabric felt different. History. The woman who wore this before me lived in it, and somehow it survived long enough to find me, an Indian girl trying to remember how to be Indian while learning how to be American.

I started mixing my grandmother's old Kanjeevaram silk with thrifted Levi's. Wearing jhumkas with my Michigan hoodie. Not as a statement, but because these combinations felt true.

RELEARNING HOW TO EAT roommates.

The voracious energy didn't disappear—I'm still intense, still the kind of person who goes all in or not at all. But I started feeding it differently. Midnight scrolling turned into midnight conversations with my

The same intensity that made me buy thirteen white t- shirts now pushes me to understand supply chains, to invest in pieces I'll repair instead of replace.

I'm still hungry. I think I always will be. But I'm learning that the most satisfying meals aren't the ones we consume mindlessly while scrolling. They're the ones we prepare with intention, share with people we love, savor slowly.

• ALTR
• CIOS
• VOL. 5