Our obsession with fast fashion is well documented, with the average Australian contributing as much as 31 kilos of fabric waste to landfill each year.
With increasingly rapid trend cycles that are only exacerbated by TikTok, many shoppers have lost sight of the art, story and emotional connection behind clothes that genuinely represent who we are.
For designers, store owners and innovators in the fashion space, this poses many challenges. But for Collective Closets founders Fatuma and Laurinda Ndenzako, succumbing to these pressures was never an option.
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"From the very beginning, we have wanted to make clothing and accessories that are thoughtful, considered, and of lasting quality," they tell Refinery29 Australia.
"Slow fashion is about creating timeless pieces that our customers can wear forever. Our garments are trans-seasonal and well-tailored, manufactured at the rate that they are sold to minimise wastage and lower our environmental impact."
Inspired to open the store after a family trip to Kenya and the vibrant colours of the streets of Nairobi, Fatuma and Laurinda have always had a clear goal for Collective Closets — to marry their African heritage with Melbourne's signature laidback style, help all women feel beautiful and express themselves sustainably and give back to their community.
It's clear that their vision for the store (located in the heart of Melbourne's Queen Victoria Markets) runs deeper than just serving style-hungry shoppers with the latest sought-after piece.
However, with the challenges of the pandemic and the financial burdens that come with placing ethical business practices front of mind, how exactly do they do it all? Here's a deeper look into how the sisters are reinventing intentional shopping in Australia.
What inspired you to start Collective Closets?
Fatuma: Laurinda and I always wanted to start our own label, but we weren’t sure which direction to go in. We started a vintage label called 'Grandma’s Finest' in 2013. We loved our time running the business but knew there was a flaw in our model. All our customers would love a handful of styles but dislike several others. The best items would sell out in minutes, and the other items would sit in our inventory for months.
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During an amazing trip to Kenya, it was really apparent just how special the fabrics and textiles available there were. Everyone we saw in Nairobi was dressed up in a way you never really see in Melbourne. As we visited more and more markets, the answer just hit us in the face. We had one of those Oprah Winfrey 'Aha' moments. Gorman was huge back then (and still is), and they were the brand you went to for colour. We realised that we could offer colour and coolness in our own way.
We were also excited to share our culture and change the perception and idea of the African continent in Australia. We knew how rich, beautiful and talented the artisan trades of Africa were, and we wanted to share it with our audience.
What is the ethos behind Collective Closet?
Women are at the core of our collective, our tribe and everything we do. We can and will continue to be part of a conversation that promotes successful women from all backgrounds and a code of conduct that lifts up our sisters. We are passionate about designing and creating forever pieces with longevity in mind, and it’s very important that what we create makes women feel strong and beautiful.
Each collection we create celebrates our African heritage, a homage to our roots and the inspiration behind all that we do. The story behind our fabrics is the essence of our label — we travel at least once a year to Nairobi, Kenya, to decide upon our fabrics for our upcoming collections.
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We believe in fair, standardised and equal wages, environments that uplift and give opportunity and, above all, running a socially conscious enterprise from the ground up.
When we started Collective Closets we had no idea where the journey would take us. From the very beginning, we've worked on building connections with amazing like-minded people and using systems like Square has helped us get there as well. For us, the in-store customer experience has always been about stepping out from behind the counter and making genuine, meaningful conversations. Using it as our point-of-sale is intuitive and simple, so we're able to keep the conversation flowing with our customers without being distracted. We love that is it's paperless, which keeps with our no-waste philosophy
How did you ensure that your business practices were ethical?
We believe in honouring our social responsibility in any way we can through our manufacturing and production processes. We only produce three collections a year and only produce in quantities we know we can sell and only go on sale at the end of every season. We constantly have conversations with our customers about fabric care, encouraging our customers to mix previous collections with current collections. We are also about to start a 'mend and alter' program, where customers can bring their old Collective pieces to be mended or fixed, ensuring they are getting the most life from each product.
We also only work with suppliers who have a conscious element or a give-back program to their business. All our T-shirts, packaging, swing tags, wrapping paper, as well as electricity for the shop, are all ethically sourced.
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Every year, we choose to give back in various ways. The first of these is our Missions of Hope, a program we take part in through ANPCANN and The Child Education Sponsorship programme. The programme empowers girls through education, meeting their school needs by giving them access to education and vocational skills training in Kenya through sponsorship.
We also make a conscious effort to give back to the community and our environment on a product level. Second Stitch Studio is a not-for-profit social enterprise that celebrates the unique skills, traditions and stories of refugees, migrants and people seeking asylum. We have worked in collaboration with Second Stitch in the past and stock a variety of their products in our store.
How do you go about importing your textiles?
We have a great relationship with our wonderful supplier in Kenya. Pre Covid, Laurinda used to fly to Kenya every year or two to select fabrics in person. But after Covid, we had to pivot, so samples, emails, and Zoom calls became the law of the land.
It’s not always easy, but with really great suppliers, trust, and many deep breaths. The current shipping costs and the long lead times can be extremely challenging, but we also know they are worth the cost and time.
Has the pandemic brought any challenges around producing sustainable fashion to the forefront?
It’s been a challenging experience trying to stay ‘positive’ and having a can-do/problem-solving outlook when there is so much uncertainty. With so much changing on a daily basis, it’s been hard to mentally process what’s going on — especially in the first three to four months. It’s been difficult at times to process the changes and not get stuck in a ‘woe is us’ headspace.
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We’ve had to take on some of the shipping costs of importing our fabrics because of the increase in costs to freight our goods to Australia. These costs have been significantly higher during this time. Even with all of this, we have still tried to stay true to our vision. Since we have been doing this from the start, there is no alternative for us. All our future plans will actually strengthen our current philosophy.
For more stories on how small business owners have levelled up, head to our Square One section on site.
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