In our first interview for 2023, we make the case for why fashion’s New Year’s Resolution should be to slow the f*ck down... What does it mean to thrive in your career? How do you define success? Is that the same way that society, or your industry, defines it? Chances are there’s a disconnect. Because capitalism has been telling us for so long that it’s all about the hustle and the speedy output, that's become the dominant narrative. It's time you set your own pace. Fashion has a pretty terrible record on this, says Georgina Johnson, but it doesn't have to be this way. This inviting interview with the author of The Slow Grind is full of wise insights and practical inspiration.

NOTES

GEORGINA JOHNSON is London-based sustainability expert, artist, writer, designer and curator, dedicated to transforming our creative ecologies. She studied Womenswear and Pattern Cutting at LCF. In 2021, she published her first book The Slow Grind. Find her on Instagram @saint_lovie

ABOUT THE BOOK: “THE SLOW GRIND Edited by creative polymath, curator and founder of The Laundry arts curatorial incubator, Georgina Johnson, The Slow Grind brings together the formidable minds of biotechnologists, educators and vital cultural actors. Through conversations, essays and think pieces, the anthology formulates an approach to life and work that centres care for people and care for the planet. Johnson says of The Slow Grind project that ‘It is our legacies that shape history.”

Buy your copy here: www.theslowgrind.world

NURODIVRGENCE “Neurodivergence is the term for people whose brains function differently in one or more ways than is considered standard or typical…It is not a disability but a difference in how the brain works.” Read more on Very Well Mind.

MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS is a theory of motivation proposed by American psychologist Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation". It states that five categories of human needs - physiological, safety, love and belonging needs, esteem, and self-actualisation needs - dictate our behaviour.

MAISIE SKIDMORE is a British culture writer and editor known for her essays on fashion and art and their intersection in contemporary culture. She is the editor of Noon, a biannual magazine which explores art and commerce, and a contributing editor of Apartamento. She was previously digital editor of AnOther Magazine.

IBRAHIM KAMARA is the editor-in-chief of Dazed magazine. “After a journey that began on the war-torn streets of Sierra Leone, [he] is now one of fashion's most influential stylists.” Read the rest in the NYT.

SEETAL SOLANKI is a materials designer, researcher and author of Why Materials Matter: Responsible Design for a Better World. She is the founder of materials research design studio Ma-tt-er.

DIOR & I is a beautiful documentary about Raf Simons’s first couture collection for the iconic French house, but how did he cope with the stress of the workload? How do any of these designers in charge of multiple collections? We rarely hear about the difficulties because Fashion puts the most successful creatives in pedestals - until they fall from grace.

FURTHER READING Georgina mentions THE BODY KEEPS THE SCORE, Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk, which spent more than 150 weeks on the New York Times best seller list. In WHEN THE BODY SAYS NO, Gabor Maté makes the connection between illness, and stress and trauma.

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