What Does Slow Fashion Actually Mean?

As the founder of Triplicity, I've spent a lot of time thinking about what kind of brand I want to build. Not just what it looks like, but what it stands for. And right now there's a whole conversation happening on TikTok and beyond about fast fashion versus slow fashion. A lot of strong opinions, and a lot of people asking the same question: what does slow fashion even mean anymore?

I want to talk about it, not as an expert in environmental science, but as a designer who studied at FIT, worked in fast fashion, and is now building Triplicity from the ground up while trying to do better.

So let's talk about it!

Fast Fashion vs. Slow Fashion: What's the Difference?

Quick definitions first, since these terms get thrown around a lot. Fast fashion is basically the business model of producing huge volumes of cheap, trend-driven clothing as fast and as cheap as possible, then moving on to the next trend before the last one is even worn out. Slow fashion is essentially the opposite. We're talking fewer styles available, made better, in premium quality.

Fast fashion is more about a business model than a style. It's designed to pump out new styles constantly, using the cheapest materials and labor possible. We've all seen the brands that release a hundred new styles every week. The whole goal is speed and profit, not quality. The clothes are made fast, sold fast, and tossed just as fast.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the equivalent of a garbage truck full of clothes is dumped in a landfill or burned every single second.¹ Around 100 billion garments are produced globally each year, and about 92 million tonnes of textile waste ends up in landfills annually.² Less than 1% of used clothing gets recycled into new garments.³ Shein is the obvious example of this kind of system, but they're not the only ones doing it, not even close!

Slow fashion is the polar opposite. It's about creating fewer pieces with more care behind them. It means choosing fabrics that really last, paying attention to fit and function, producing ethically, and encouraging people to actually rewear the clothes they own instead of constantly cycling through trends. But a reminder here for those who need it: slow fashion is not about being the perfect brand, or about selling some specific number of pieces. The whole point is to be more intentional in what you produce, and how. 

Can a Clothing Brand Be Slow Fashion and Still Grow?

That's the big question. Because I'm not here to make three styles a year or sew dresses in my apartment to sell one by one on Etsy. I could (and no shade to people who do that, because honestly that's amazing) but my goal is to build a real brand. Something that scales, something that sells, something that can grow year after year in a lot of different directions.

But I also don't want to build a brand that mimics the cycle I used to work in, where speed and constant newness outweigh purpose and longevity. That was the part of fast fashion that always made me uncomfortable, and it's the part I refuse to recreate.

The honest answer I've landed on is that yes, you can grow and still hold onto slow fashion values. What matters is how you grow.

Triplicity is about creating wardrobe staples you can style a hundred different ways. Pieces that adjust with your body, garments you'll actually want to reach for over and over. It's about choosing fabrics that feel good and hold up, being deliberate with how many styles I launch and how many units I produce, and being real with the community I'm building about how to wear, care for, and keep each piece. 

How Triplicity Fits In

Right now I'm in the process of finalizing fabrics for the first collection, and I'm asking these questions: Recycled synthetics or natural fibers? What's actually better for the planet and for real people's day-to-day lives? On TikTok, people say they'll never wear microplastics. But when I ask my friends, they tell me they don't want to hand wash their clothes or worry about wrinkles every time they sit down.

So that is exactly where I am right now. Trying to design clothes that feel amazing, wear easily, and last for years. Every piece in the collection is designed to adjust to your body, literally! 

I'm not going to get everything perfect right off (or ever, honestly?) but I'm committed to transparency, to growing the right way, and to making something worth keeping for years. I don't want to make more clothing just to make clothing. I want to make better clothing, and I want to build a community that genuinely cares about the same things.

And to me, that's what slow fashion actually means. 

Xoxo, Arianna

Founder of Triplicity

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