Jessie Frances (@cappuccinosandconsignment) on the complications with resale's *moment* — fast fashion addictions becoming secondhand addictions, luxury's obsession with exclusivity & the gentrification of thrifting
Release Date: 07/18/2023
Personal stylist Jennine Jacob on welcoming the multiplicity of personal style while interrogating the language we use around fashion and why that matters
Conscious Chatter
In Episode 329, Kestrel welcomes Jennine Jacob, a personal stylist and Instagram phenom, to the show. You may know from viral videos that explore the many layers of nuance connected to the power of finding your own style. “Anytime I see people quote unquote dressing for their body type, those outfits that look good, they can all be explained through style principles. The rule of thirds, contrast, proportion, texture, color theory. So why do we have to attach a value to a person's body shape when that's not even necessary? I really want to call into question why we use certain language...
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Environmental scientist and microplastics researcher Dana Zhaxylykova on the links between fast fashion, toxicity and microplastics
Conscious Chatter
In Episode 328, Kestrel welcomes Dana Zhaxylykova, an environmental scientist & microplastics researcher, to the show. Originally from Kazakhstan, is currently based in Germany — through her Instagram platform, she shares practical and actionable tips about microplastics through a scientific lens. “As a scientist, I want to assure you that every little action in avoiding plastic, it can have an impact. And as scientists and as a scientific community, we expect people, not only the governments and corporations (they have a huge responsibility, of course), but we as people, we also can...
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Sanchali Pal of Commons Commons on why they developed their own sustainable brand ratings, one way to combat fast fashion this month, & the importance of connecting data with storytelling to shift behavior
Conscious Chatter
In Episode 327, Kestrel welcomes Sanchali Pal, founder and CEO of Commons, an app that rewards you for living and spending sustainably. On app, you can get rewarded for shopping sustainable brands and for taking climate actions like thrifting, taking public transportation or eating plant-based. “When people think about the actions they can take that are sustainable, the most obvious ones are things like flying less or recycling or eating more plant-based. People don't always think about their clothing habits, but I think that's really changing with the conversation around fast fashion. I...
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Anna Bario of Bario Neal on why jewelry is integral to pushing fashion to be more sustainable, why small businesses have power to instigate change & how "investment" in jewelry can reflect economic trends
Conscious Chatter
In Episode 326, Kestrel welcomes Anna Bario, the cofounder of Bario Neal, to the show. creates stunning jewelry while being committed to respecting human rights and environmental sustainability. Anna cofounded the brand alongside Page Neal, in 2008, with an interest in bringing sustainability into the discourse surrounding creativity, fine jewelry and craft. An exceptional designer and also a specialist in responsible gold and gemstone sourcing, Anna’s work in sustainable initiatives and social impacts defines the framework for Bario Neal’s ethical jewelry roadmap. “I think [for]...
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How do you define *investment piece*, what makes you feel comfortable spending more on certain items & why is this integral to the sustainable fashion conversation?
Conscious Chatter
In Episode 325, Kestrel welcomes Emily Fenves, the founder of lander line - a platform she created in September 2021 - after feeling burnt out with her own consumption habits. As a regular shopper, found herself spending an exhaustive amount of time browsing, buying, returning, and purging. She embarked on a journey to learn more about the “why” behind her overconsumption, and decided to help others do the same. “I think a lot of people assume that investment pieces mean luxury. For me, specifically, I always think about – can I pass this down to my daughter? Investment pieces can be...
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Motherhood, entrepreneurship & sustainability: navigating impossible expectations while caring for yourself and others, and building things that center care
Conscious Chatter
Episode 324, Kestrel welcomes Camille Forde, a mother and entrepreneur working at the intersection of business, sustainability, and community-centered solutions, to the show. With over a decade of experience, has led corporate responsibility efforts at top professional services firms, earned an MBA from UC Berkeley with a focus on sustainable business, and spearheaded seller and brand partnerships at one of the largest fashion resale platforms. As a mother of two, Camille is deeply committed to building a more equitable and sustainable future that prioritizes community care. “Vulnerability,...
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Kestrel on vulnerability, personal health, podcast evolutions & a question to sustainable fashion folks: are you OK?
Conscious Chatter
Episode 323 features Kestrel (just me!) in the first-ever solo episode of the show. With a primary focus on vulnerability, Kestrel shares some of the rollercoasters she has faced personally over the last year (from health to finances), why she and Nat are parting ways when it comes to regularly hosting the show, the true costs of producing a podcast, as well as a question on whether performative vulnerability is what we are seeing too often from the industry. “To all of you interested in sustainable fashion or those of you who work in the industry - I want to ask you a question: are you...
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Nelson ZêPequéno of Black Men With Gardens and Cayetano Talavera of Hecho By Caye on why fashion needs to listen to nature’s lessons on slowing down, tuning in, practicing patience & cultivating creativity to better center sustainability
Conscious Chatter
Episode 322 features Nelson ZêPequéno, a Ghanaian-American Artist and the founder of Black Men With Gardens and Sustain Creative, alongside Cayetano Talavera, a fiber artist, zero waste fashion designer, and the creative force behind HECHO BY CAYE. Through ‘Black Men With Gardens’, a digital and print publication, Nelson spotlights the connection Black and Brown communities cultivate with nature through agriculture and the arts. He further exploring cultural identity and environmental stewardship through his Los Angeles-based studio 'Sustain Creative', his current body of works offer a...
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Teju Adisa-Farrar of Black Fiber & Textile Network and Author Layla K. Feghali on geography and what our relationship to place can teach us about *sustainability*
Conscious Chatter
Episode 321 features Teju Adisa-Farrar, the founder and co-creator of the Black Fiber & Textile Network and the creator/host of the Black Material Geographies podcast, alongside Layla K. Feghali, the founder of River Rose Remembrance, a Plantcestral & Ancestral Re-Membrance practitioner, cultural worker, author & story re-collector (archivist). Teju is currently the Director of Outreach & Programs for the Fibers Fund, and co-creates with members of BFTN. Layla’s book, The Land In Our Bones, showcases an exploration of the herbs & land-based medicines of Lebanon &...
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Wafa Ghnaim of Tatreez and Tea & Dr. Tanveer Ahmed of Central Saint Martins on preserving culture, decolonial frameworks, and how intersectional reform can be a pathway toward sustainable fashion futures
Conscious Chatter
Episode 320 features Wafa Ghnaim, a Senior Research Fellow at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Curator for the Museum of the Palestinian People and Founder of The Tatreez Institute, alongside Dr. Tanveer Ahmed, a Senior Lecturer in Fashion and Race at Central Saint Martins and also Course Development Lead for MA Fashion and Anthropology at London College of Fashion. “Inherently, just by being Palestinian and by teaching about Palestinian life and history, and including oral history in my work as a foundational aspect of my research, I am threatening these kinds of structures, in and of...
info_outlineIn episode 302, Kestrel welcomes Jessie Frances (@cuppuccinosandconsignment) to the show. Highly knowledgeable on the world of preloved fashion, Jessie holds a BFA in Fashion Design and French with a Minor in Art History. Through her work, she shares ideas around luxury vintage savviness, smart travel tips, and slow-living hacks, and also consults companies on luxury resale.
“It is an addiction. Even when you look on YouTube and whatever social media, you see thrifting hauls. I remember hauls were just specifically for new items — you only did hauls with your fast fashion. It was very singular. Now, there are thrifting hauls multiple times a week. And we have just replaced fast fashion with thrifting.” -Jessie
I think it’s pretty undeniable that RESALE is having a moment.
If I think about the shifts in recent years, when it comes to the secondhand market, it’s overwhelming. I remember thrifting in high school, growing up in the midwest – and for me, it was always about searching for pieces that no one else had – and thrift shops were where I could find those unique pieces.
But the changes since then – almost 20 years later – are immense.
I was looking at thredUP’s 2023 Report, and in it, they say that – The global secondhand market is expected to nearly double by 2027, reaching $350 Billion. And the global secondhand apparel market is expected to grow 3X faster on average than the global apparel market overall.
Clearly, there is a lot of GROWTH happening in resale fashion.
This week’s guest is highly knowledgeable on the world of preloved fashion – she started thrifting as a kid out of necessity. As she reflects – at that time, you didn’t want anyone to see you at a thrift store and you didn’t want anyone to know you were wearing thrifted styles. So, she would always find ways to customize her secondhand pieces, to give them an extra edge.
Since then, as I mentioned, a lot has changed. This week’s guest now consults companies on luxury resale.
We talk about whether this growth in resale is connected to folks simply transitioning their fast fashion addictions to secondhand instead. We talk about luxury’s obsession with exclusivity and how that conflicts with the potential accessibility of the resale market. And we touch on the gentrification of thrifting and how this weaves into the luxury resale conversation today.
Quotes & links from the conversation:
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“So, it’s being very, very strategic when you’re shopping with thrifting because it really is a thrill. It has turned into like modern-day hunting, it’s for sport now. People get such a thrill because the prices for the most part (depending on what city you’re in), the prices are so good that you just want to buy, buy, buy. You love saying — look how much I got for $100. But you want to know — how much out of the $100 haul are you keeping? Are you returning $85 of that to your next thrift store run? So, it’s really being strategic when you are thrifting.” -Jessie
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“Not just in fashion, we’ve all seen what happens when big brands come in and take over smaller ventures. I mean, look at ride sharing, without naming any names. You see how it changed things. So, it makes me question — ok, now you’re offering me, let’s say 80% of what I paid. Now, once you wipe out these smaller consignment shops, once you wipe out these smaller resellers, what’s gonna happen then? Cause now you have the upper hand. So, are you now gonna offer me 50% for what I purchased? Or are you just not gonna offer anything at all because you know — there’s no competition.” -Jessie (27:19)
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“How Are Luxury Brands Creating (Even More) Scarcity In The Resale Era?”, article in Fashionista Kestrel mentions
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“It’s accepting, knowing and being secure in your style. Once you know who you are, you’re not swayed by a trending hashtag, by what the princess is wearing — when those things no longer matter, when you know who you are, it makes life so much easier.” -Jessie (47:07)