Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Tuesday 19 September
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
Over the past 20 years, retail giants like Zara, H&M and Topshop, have become incredibly adept at ripping off the latest catwalk looks and offering them to the mass market at affordable prices.
But we’re starting to see a backlash. Many consumers are wising up to some of the unscrupulous labour practices of fast fashion outlets and to the massive amounts of waste this consumption model generates. In Australia, Topshop has gone into voluntary administration. Is fast fashion going out of fashion?
In this Question Time discussion, our panel will take questions on the issue from all angles. Does the fast fashion business model preclude ethical or sustainable practices? How might a backlash affect retail workers here in Australia as well as textile workers in developing countries? What are the alternatives to fast fashion and who can afford them?
Featuring
Madeleine Morris
Madeleine Morris is a Melbourne-based reporter for ABC television’s 7.30. She was formerly a presenter for the BBC in London and reported from dozens of countries before returning to her native Australia. She is the author of Guilt-Free Bottle-Feeding: Why Your Formula-Fed Baby Can Grow Up To Be Happy, Healthy and Smart, published by Finch.
Jessica Perrin
Jessica Perrin is a co-founder of Not My Style, an app that rates fashion brands on how transparent they are about the women and men who make our clothes.
She was formerly the Head of Global Programs at the Thomson Reuters Foundation in London, and now resides in Melbourne.
Clare Press
Clare Press is a sustainable fashion expert, author and podcaster. With a background in journalism, previously she was the world's first Vogue sustainability editor. Her podcast, Wardrobe Crisis, based on her 2016 book of the same name, is now in its 9th series. Her fourth book, Wear Next, Fashioning the Future (Thames & Hudson, October 2023) explores ideas for creating a more sustainable, socially and ecologically just relationship with fashion consumption, as well as looking at new materials and the future of tech.
View ProfileClara Vuletich
Clara Vuletich is a designer, consultant and educator who has worked in the sustainable fashion and textiles space for ten years. She has a design PhD in sustainable fashion/textiles with the MISTRA Future Fashion research programme (Sweden/UK), and has consulted with brands including H&M, VF Corporation and David Jones Australia.
Clara is currently establishing a consultancy business to work with brands, consumers and organisations on an ethical and circular Australian fashion industry.
Rebecca Hard
Rebecca Hard has been general manager of Sussan for four years, prior to which she worked as the brand’s national retail operations manager. In total, Rebecca has worked in the Sussan Group for more than 16 years – serving in senior roles at Sportsgirl until 2008.