The spotlight at this year’s Australian Fashion Week was not just on designer labels and bold runway looks—it was on thrifted clothing, as more Australians embraced second-hand fashion and sustainability. This shift reflects a broader movement that’s taking hold across the country: conscious consumption in the face of fashion’s environmental toll.
Among those leading the charge is Molly, who has pledged not to buy any new clothes this year. “I’ve put myself on a total ban from buying clothes,” she told the ABC. “I looked in my wardrobe and saw all these pieces that I would wear once a year, and it just seemed really wasteful to me.” Her decision echoes a growing sentiment among Australians, particularly younger generations, who are rethinking their relationship with fashion.
At Australian Fashion Week, sustainability wasn’t just a side conversation—it was central. Attendees like Molly voiced frustration over rampant overconsumption. “The overconsumption is crazy,” she said. “To me it just seems ridiculous and excessive when we have so many beautiful pieces in our cupboard.”
This movement is backed by data. The fashion industry remains one of the largest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, and Australia ranks among the highest in clothing consumption per capita. But this tide may be turning.
Dr Harriette Richards, a senior lecturer in fashion and textiles at RMIT University, notes a major surge in second-hand shopping both in Australia and globally. “It’s becoming one of the largest markets globally,” she explained. “There’s a huge growth in awareness of the issues about sustainability in terms of production … but it’s also part of a trend as well. It’s become fashionable to be sustainable.”
That trend was on full display at Fashion Week, where Risna and Priyanka, two style-conscious attendees, proudly wore mostly second-hand or inherited clothing. “Eighty per cent of my wardrobe is from Depop or thrifted in some format,” said Priyanka. For Risna, older styles are not only trending again but offer better quality. “A lot of the older styles are trending again, and also I feel quality-wise, thrifted things are still really good,” she said.
Priyanka added that thrifting makes economic sense. “Quality is going down, prices are increasing. So for me, that’s just not sustainable.”
It’s not only consumers turning to pre-loved fashion. Local designers are joining the shift, blending sustainability with creativity. Marta Marcos, founder of Mine Yours Theirs, has been repurposing vintage and pre-loved items into new statement pieces for over a year. Her love of vintage textiles—particularly doilies—inspires her signature designs. “I turn them into pieces with blouses, cuffs or collars,” she shared.
Marcos also embeds a deeper layer of meaning into her garments by stitching buyers’ names into each piece. “It’s made to be passed along because I stitch your name in the back, and then you can sell it back to me,” she said. “To create this community of people who wore the same piece and keep it alive.”
After leaving a career in marketing, Marcos returned to the fashion world determined to disrupt fast fashion’s wasteful model. “The fact that fast fashion exists is what made me create this brand and create it in this way,” she explained. “There’s enough clothes out there to dress the next six generations … that’s pretty wild, isn’t it?”
From her studio in Sydney’s Surry Hills, she sells through local markets and pop-up events. Despite fierce competition from fast fashion brands, she remains optimistic. “It’s very sad and very damaging to the planet and the industry,” she said. “But I think people are starting to understand. Governments are starting to understand. Brands are starting to understand.”
Dr Richards agrees that sustainability must be at the heart of Australia’s fashion future. “There’s too much evidence now of how much environmental degradation the fashion industry produces—in terms of waste, energy use, water use,” she warned. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, 800,000 tonnes of textile, leather, and rubber waste were discarded in the 2018–19 financial year, with nearly 75% going straight to landfill.
“The only way forward for the fashion industry is to take seriously the demands of sustainability and social ethics in terms of production,” Dr Richards said. “And ensuring we have resources going into the future.”
Though she acknowledges the ongoing “tussle” between fast fashion and sustainable alternatives, she remains hopeful. “I like to think the ethical, sustainable side of the battle will win out, but it remains to be seen.”
That optimism is shared by Jay Walton, founder of Re-Loved Apparel, who is taking action at the policy level. As the head of an Indigenous-owned brand, Walton is advocating for a nationwide rollout of clothing recycling bins. “We feel a deep connection to Country and a responsibility to protect it for future generations,” he said.
He sees recycling infrastructure as a practical step toward solving the textile waste crisis. “By introducing accessible clothing recycling bins, we can divert textiles from landfills and give them a second life through upcycling and recycling initiatives,” he explained.
Walton believes the issue is one everyone can relate to. “Every single person wears garments. Every single person either grows out of garments or they stay in them and they don’t want them anymore,” he said. But current donation centers like Vinnies are overwhelmed. “They cannot keep up with the demand and the volume.”
His solution? Add a clothing-specific bin to the existing waste system. “Instead of just having a yellow and a red and a green bin, have whatever colour lid you want on top of it and that could go to recycling.”
This year’s Australian Fashion Week proved that sustainable fashion is more than a fringe movement—it’s becoming a defining part of the industry’s future. From individual consumers and thrift-savvy attendees to designers and policymakers, there’s a shared recognition that fashion must evolve.
And as second-hand fashion becomes more stylish, affordable, and socially conscious, it may not be long before the thrifted look becomes not just a trend—but the new normal.
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