The Good Clothes Show to launch in September

A new three-day consumer fashion event, ‘The Good Clothes Show’ aimed at consigning fast fashion to history, is launching this September at Birmingham’s NEC.

Running from September 20 to 22, ‘The Good Clothes Show,’ not to be confused with ‘The Clothes Show Live’ will offer shoppers a “fresh, alternative way to enjoy shopping for, and engaging with fashion”.

The event will bring together a curation of pre-loved and vintage fashion alongside “responsibly motivated” independent labels, customisers, menders and makers, all under one roof.

The organisers state in the press release that the aim is to “inspire positive change within the mainstream market,” by looking beyond the “‘take, make, waste linear model” by giving life to the concept of ‘The Circular Machine,’ which will be the first visual experience visitors see as they enter the event.

The showcase will feature three pillars of the circular fashion model swapping, donating, and upcycling side-by-side, with visitors invited to bring along items that no longer work for them, which can be dropped at a central collection point on arrival.

Unwanted workwear-appropriate garments will be filtered to Smart Works, which helps women re-enter the workforce and prepare for interviews, while all other donations will be sorted for suitability for the TGCS Swap Party. Any pieces that do not make the grade will be directed to White Rose, a charity that cleans, repairs or reworks pieces.

There will also be a mix of vendors designed to inspire visitors with new ways of thinking about fashion by enabling them to customise items with demonstrations on how to upgrade what they currently own, as well as shop “one-off gems” from vintage and pre-loved sellers, and discover how designers are giving life to ‘new’ collections “with deeper consideration around their impact on the planet through mindful material choices, innovative production techniques and care for the people involved in their creation”.

‘The Good Clothes Show’ will also have talks and panels with celebrity guests led by former Vogue Australia editor and Wardrobe Crises podcast host Clare Press and Tiffanie Darke, former editor of Sunday Times Style.

In addition, the event is working closely with sustainability activist Carry Somers, who founded Fashion Revolution in 2013 and more recently founded the League of Artisans, and Amelia Twine, founder and director of Sustainable Fashion Week, which runs from September 20 to 29.