MDX Redbeat

Prosecuting the Fashion Industry

This graduate is putting the fashion industry “on trial” for its unsustainable practices

In a world where the public is taking corporate social responsibility into their own hands, tweets from the ‘woke’ call for sustainable and ethical practices. For hundreds of years, the fashion industry has been getting away with exploiting cheap labor and materials in the name of ‘fast-fashion’ but the last 20 years have uncovered scandal after scandal. Now, a recent fashion graduate takes a stand.

Well aware of the fashion industry’s fallibilities, Nathaniel Mackie is putting the practice he loves “on trial”. He is candid in his realisation as he admits: “It’s a dangerous game I’m playing.” Exhibiting at the Dubai Design District for the Global Grad Show, Mackie’s project is just one out of 150. Visitors over the week are granted access to these innovators and their ideas, fresh out of university. Tucked away in Building 4, Mackie’s project is for ‘The Planet’ in hope that the world will adopt more sustainable practices, especially in the fashion industry he plans to one day join. 

Having just graduated from Ravensbourne University, a design and media institution based in London, Mackie is taking an unconventional route out. His graduate collection, of seven outfits, brought a cause down the runway, one that attacked the companies that, perhaps, Mackie is now looking to work for.

“I wonder if they’ll hire me at all after this,” Mackie laughs nervously. “The Justice Collection is about looking at the fashion industry and how everybody blames the consumer for all this mass production and fast-fashion but actually, the industry itself has a lot to account for. They’re exploiting the fact that they can pay manufacturers very little and use interns who work for years, till 5 am and without pay. I think in any other industry, they wouldn’t get away with that but for some reason, in fashion, they can.”

Mackie stands facing his two outfits that are showcased on mannequins, one with a missing arm. From patterns and prints to ruffles and buckles, there’s a lot going on. Having meshed the historical with the contemporary, a quick peek into his look book of mood boards reveals historical images that he’s drawn inspiration from.

“The idea is that the whole collection is a big court scene. Lots of the garments and details are taken from court gowns, it’s where a lot of my research came from. All to put the fashion industry on trial.”

To raise awareness, Mackie has conducted two runway shows. The first being his graduate show at university and the second at an abandoned tunnel in Stratford, London. “It’s very theoretical, in the sense that I’m attacking the fashion industry that’s so big. Everybody in fashion knows it’s unsustainable and I think people appreciate that I’m aware of that, but mainly because they have to now,” shares Mackie.

“If people brought attention to their shortcomings, then the industry wouldn’t be able to afford to keep up with the pace they’re going at. They would have to take back the amount they produce and really put work in pieces, to last and be loved” he continues.

Having designed, patterned, cut and sewn all the outfits in his project, Mackie chose to hand stitch certain areas for character rather than opting to use a sewing machine. As he explains, bit by bit, where each design trait came from, Mackie stops at a pattern of what looks like a red-figure riding on a branch with leaves.

“There’s a certain expression on the face that reminds me of the fashion industry – fun and playful but actually so much worse,” he explains, “and I’ve got him sitting on a fig leaf because, in art history, it’s always used to cover something up but here, he’s pushing away the cover-up. I’m revealing how garments are really made, it’s a rather artistic way of showing it with this sample piece.”

Some of the inspiration for these pieces came from as far back as 300 years ago. As a designer who dabbles in contemporary clothing rooted in history, Mackie is looking to reintroduce colour into menswear after its disappearance almost 200 years ago. Dressed in an old-fashioned white shirt and khaki trousers, Mackie seems to have included most of his colourful aspirations into his graduate project – The Justice Collection. From a bright red coat to tri-colour loose pants and a patterned skirt, this menswear fashion designer is not holding back – all in the name of raising awareness and sparking a conversation.

“Ethically, the fashion industry is a lot better, they’re having to treat people a little nicer and behave a little better. But, in terms of the industry’s pace and amount of unsustainable clothes, fashion’s very good at it being critical and saying lots but they’re not good at actually following through and doing it. Let’s hope this changes.”