Sustainable fashion is not a new topic. In fact, this conversation has been going on for a long time; Cynthia VincentFounder and designer of BAACAL, her approach could be the future of sustainable fashion.
Before you start BakalVincent has dabbled in and belonged to several brands. But like many women, she once attended an important event where she had to dress wonderfully, but couldn’t find the right outfit. So she took it upon herself to create her own costume.
“I thought to myself,” Vincent said. “As a creator, I can manage to pull myself together at thrift stores, but what does the average woman do if I can’t find something to wear? What does the average fashionable woman do?”
Although Vincent had created many garments before founding BAACAL, he knew that if he was going to re-enter the world of fashion, he needed to put sustainability at the forefront, and that’s exactly what he did.
Before Cynthia Vincent steps into BAACAL
“I did some research and found out that the average American woman at the time was a size 16. So I took 16 and divided the difference to go up or down. That’s why I call it the True Size Majority, because I wanted to go after the missing and ignored women. My sizing was initially only offered in four sizes: 1, 2, 3, 4. 10/12, 14/16, 18/20, 22/24, and over time I realized I actually needed 5, or 26/28.”
But by putting sustainability at the forefront of BAACAL, she started with 80% sustainability and has since surpassed it.
“Currently, I don’t produce in China. I produce maybe 1-2% in China. So I would say my number is over 80. Sourcing is becoming difficult,” Vincent said. “As a designer, you have some things you want to create, some things you want to do, and you have this idea, and you want to make all these ideas come true, but you have to backtrack. First you source the materials, and then you design from what you source.”
“So I don’t design and then find all the stuff and fabrics. Or I start with this amazing fabric that I found. And you can order as much as you want. That was my life. That’s not the case anymore. Direct to the factory, I use their leftovers. I’m always looking at things that I’ve spent a lot of time on, but maybe they’re not in production. Or whether this is 50 yards or 100 yards. I have to decide what I want, test it as much as I can before I buy it, and then design what’s actually available. ”
But her sustainability function at BAACAL was about more than clothing. Vincent was as focused on getting rid of single-use plastic bags as he was on the clothes he added to this world.
“I made these giant cement bags. I bought these cement bags and sewed them so that I didn’t use single-use plastics and could reuse and renew them. I was trying to eliminate single-use plastics throughout the process. But four and a half years later, those bags are gone. They don’t know what happened to them. It’s an ongoing challenge.”
But making fashion sustainable requires more than just BAACAL. Through her work at BAACAL, Cynthia Vincent wants to prove that sustainable fashion doesn’t have to be “crunchy granola” or gross.
Vincent believes that more education is needed on the subject to keep fashion truly sustainable.
“I think it’s important to seriously want change. I think we all have to really, actually, personally want it because the money is coming in. I think people are afraid to go into it thinking they’re not going to make money, oh well, they’re going to lose money. And I would say, it’s the other way around.”
Cynthia Vincent knows this can happen. Fashion can be sustainable if enough people put in the effort and put in the effort. Until then, BAACAL and Vincent will continue to lead the conversation and lead the way.
Source: The Curvy Fashionista – thecurvyfashionista.com
