"Love is at the root of everything" : Kaara Mary

Kaara Mary is a Textile Artist and Content Creator. Before starting her career, Kaara received her Bachelors in Fashion Design from Parsons The New School of Design. Currently based in Long Island, New York, Kaara now works on freelance projects, is an artist assistant to Yto Barrada, and YouTuber. Kaara’s love for holistic fashion has pathed her to share her sustainable fashion journey and knowledge through her YouTube channel Kaara Mary. Kaara is determined to promote and reshape the fashion world through slow fashion and build a new love for our wardrobe. Together with her viewers, Kaara aims to make everyone love and see fashion as a kind, warm, and creative tool for all individuals to express their style. Even her artistic work unfolds a narrative of reclaiming the democracy of our clothes, where upcycling and craftsmanship of handcraft techniques like embroidery, darning, cross-stitch, etc. are brought back to modernity as a way to fight fast pace fashion and the saturation of clothes. You can reach Kaara at kaaramary@gmail.com and social media @kaaramary.

Tell us about your earliest fashion memory. Does it impact your work in ethical and sustainable fashion today?

Earliest fashion memory...there are many that come to mind, first to mind is disagreeing with my Aunt about my outfits, me not wanting to look girly. She always wanted me to wear skirts and bright colors. I only wanted to wear shorts and pants, be comfy. Huh...out of my pool of memories the most special was when I was probably 7 or 8. I remember I had to go get a dress

tailored to my size for a wedding.

The memory of standing in front of the mirror, extending my arms, the tailor taking my measurements, of getting this garment custom to my size...felt special.

How did you get involved with the fashion industry?

I became involved in the fashion industry after attending college. I pursued a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design. After studying for 4 years about the Fashion Industry I realized more how much I truly want to build my life career in this extraordinary field. Filled with psychology, social sciences, mathematics, science, internal affairs and dear to my heart...art.

And how did you become involved with the sustainable fashion

field? How, in your view, is this different from traditional fashion?

Well, to be exact it all began in the Fall of 2015. In this moment in time I discovered the issues happening in the supply chain and labor laws. I felt outraged. Before I did not know anything of the horrors happening. Sustainable fashion is waayy different than traditional fashion in many levels. To start, in sustainable fashion workers are not overworked, they are paid living wage and are not exposed to harmful chemicals. Brands also do not use harmful chemicals to produce their products and know where their materials are sourced from. A good depiction between the two is slow fashion vs. fast fashion. In these adjectives their differences are clearly explained. In slow fashion, it becomes a conscious awareness to take the time to think of every detail that goes on with the creation of a garment and its life in continuation with the owner. Whereas in fast [fashion], it is careless, one time use, disposable without soul or history, something to be forgotten, and clearly this is not right.

Can you tell us more about how you became aware of the intricacies and atrocities of the issues behind the movement for sustainable and ethical fashion (and which then dictated the direction of your career)?

My college education made me aware of sustainable fashion. I recall it was 2015, and by this time I was a Junior in college questioning what I wanted. I wasn’t looking forward to working in the commercial sector of fashion and saw working in an atelier to be a difficult opportunity to achieve in NY.

I have always been attracted to fiber arts, the craft of embroidery and the handmade, but the business of fashion made it seem as what sells is what leads. To me, the ideas of constant capitalistic growth and monetary profit feel demotivating.

Since the summer of Freshman year, I [always] couldn’t wait for summer because I spent it learning languages instead of ‘fashion’, because learning languages felt more fulfilling than thinking of mass production. Then on the Fall 2015 semester our teacher, Liz Spencer, asked us to research an issue in the fashion industry. I remember feeling surprised, asking, "are there issues in the industry?" I was clueless. It was at this point I discovered my purpose, I understood and loved more the fashion industry because of its flaws: the opportunity to be a part, a pioneer in an era where the capitalist marketplace can be changed to good values allowed me to see myself in it now. Because before I felt, it was not me, I am not competitive, nor do I like over-individuality. I prefer collective work— collaboration and caring for the environment. I like honoring handcraft, human connectivity, and material quality. I feel especially thankful to my Senior year educators (Pascale, Lucia, & Otto), they are the ones who saw in me, in my thesis, my vision, and ever since then my stamina stays growing, engaged and present.

Who are your favorite sustainability influencers. Why?

(1) Goodtrade Blog : Very informative blog about conscious living and clothing. Clothing guides are fantastic and whenever I am looking for recommendation of sustainable brands, I find them right here. Plus their Week of Outfits series is beyond incredible! I love reading about all the inspiring women who share their background in fashion while sharing their week's outfits.

(2) Kathryn Kellogg: I am very interested in zero waste living. I have gotten a large input on how to improve my clothing choices, now my current craze is learning more about reducing my waste. I believe this goes hand in hand with sustainable fashion because I want to contribute to a style of living that is healthy for the environment. Kathryn’s blog Going Zero Waste aids in providing key tips and guides on how to reduce our waste and use what we already have in multiple ways.

(3) Lauren Singer: Lauren is another Zero Waste Influencer I am in love with! She is so inspirational, she literally fits her trash in a jar! Trash is for Tossers is the name of her blog and I find it is one of the easiest blogs to read through for an easy transition to zero waste living.

Being based in New York, your experiences with fashion are going to be

vastly different to other places in the U.S. Can you expand on this fact? Do

you think people in Middle America care about sustainable fashion?

I think this is because New York City is cosmopolitan. It’s a diverse ecosystem, so by nature it will care for [many different] issues. Middle America just isn’t as exposed to this diversity and the ones that do care tend to move to big cities like New York which causes those other states to stay outdated in their ideas. For instance in college I met a friend from Wisconsin, and after college he decided to stay here in NYC because the opportunity to continue his work in sustainable fashion is greater here. So I would say yes, people in middle America do care, but the pool of those who do is small because of the lack of diversity and job opportunity in the [sustainable fashion] field.

Are you frustrated with how the fashion industry is set up? Why or

why not?

I am concerned with how the fashion industry is structured because right now it is an industry popularized for consumption of new products. An industry whose reflection to the large population is an industry of vanity. And this is not how I vision the future structure of the fashion industry. The fashion industry [could be] one that connects us to our roots, preserves the history of our rituals and handmade work. It is a needle and thread that continually protects us from nature and allows us to express our nature. The fashion industry is special and the way it is currently structured does not reflect this fully yet; I am sure it will get there!

What changes have you made in your daily life that reflect your sense of

values and beliefs?

I shop secondhand. 80% of my clothing purchase are secondhand because I believe in reusing and buying what already exists. I'd rather shop like this because for [the creation of] new products, more natural resources have to be used. When I do buy a “new” item, I make sure I buy from a brand whose values of labor rights and environmental safety are aligned with mine. Because these items tend to be at a higher price point, I consider my purchase for longer [prior to purchasing]. When I do buy it, I am always very happy with the purchase and I believe it's because I slowed down to think about the garment or accessory. Also, I changed my consumption of plastic,

carrying my own bottle and utensils. Importantly, I also buy more/research for locally made produce and products to reduce carbon footprint. I continually seek knowledge to learn more about sustainable habits.

So you seldom buy new things, but then how do we expect small designers to keep up the good fight? When it comes to shopping and the influencers/blogs/shopping guides you love, what is your budget?

Well, my economic background is low-income, and because I have always lived with monetary limitations it's taught me to consider my purchases [carefully]. Saying this, my budget depends on the price of what I want. I divide the price tag by the number of months I think I could save money for. For example, there is an ethical luxury brand called Mother of Pearl, beautiful garments! In their recent collection, I want their iris knit sweater for $386. I ask myself, do I really need it? Do I really want it? If yes and yes, then I divide the price by 6 months, totaling $64 to save per 6 months. The amount of months is based on the price tag. The higher the price, the longer I need to save. In this process, I am able to consider my purchase more and dwell on the idea of owning the garment.

When it comes to supporting [the brands I love], I promote the brands in my Instagram, instead—because monetarily I am not their immediate target audience. I am not the customer that can buy right away, which is fine. But the key is to bring awareness and press to their work, this way more people know of them, and these small designers can be recognized. Ultimately this leads their reach to individuals who can support them monetarily with purchases, thus growing their production and sustainable practices.

For people who say thrifting isn’t an option/is something they have no interest in doing, what types of sustainable or secondhand fashion would you recommend for them?

Well when you are low-income as I am, I thrift much of the time, I also find it very enjoyable the hunt for the unknown. But if this was not an option, I would recommend to upcycle the clothing, take a needle, scissor and thread and get creative with the clothing in your closet. Another recommendation that is easier for those not interested in redoing their clothes is to attend or host a clothing swap. A clothing swap is a great opportunity to socialize and

exchange clothing in a fun, festive way.

At what point do you think sustainable fashion will be really sustainable?

What role do you think the consumer plays in that? If at all?

Really good question. Sustainable fashion is already sustainable. If what you are asking is at what point in time will our society fully emerge itself towards a sustainable way of living, well then this connects to the follow up question: the answer, in my perspective, is when all the systems in our world are linked together in one common cause. This will cause us to live with a circular economy where everything is conceder sacred. As humans although we walk in the same earth, our minds run different paths, concerns, aims. And so not until our policies, behaviors, and models of living coordinate will we fully be sustainable by the definition of the word (to uphold rightful environmental living practices). There is no exact time to be quantified, as these variables are qualitative, and so the case goes as the phrase, ‘it’s human nature.”

What do you ultimately see as fashion’s role in society? Why do you

think it is what it is?

Love is at the root of everything, a light kindness is fashion’s role in society. A ray weaved in our threads of time. Fashion’s role is clearly cultural and based on the current dilemmas of our century, it must respond to the issues facing our environmental and business practices globally. When I think of fashion’s role, I think of The Little Prince: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly: what is essential is invisible to the eye.”