Coming Full Circle with Jane Shepherdson & Dion Terrelonge
With the thrilling launch of our vibrant capsule collection, we've reached an incredible milestone in design and innovation! To commemorate this special occasion, we gathered together our cherished friends who are also inspiring women, for a day filled with celebration and the sharing of incredible stories about remarkable full-circle moments. It's a time of joy, connection, and inspiration!
Jane Shepherdson
Once described as the most influential person on the British high street, Jane Shepherdson has transitioned her illustrious career toward a passionate focus on circular fashion. As a green retail champion, she now serves as the Chair of My Wardrobe HQ, where her leadership embodies a commitment to more responsible fashion practices.
An esteemed Director of the London Fashion Fund, Jane passionately promotes sustainable fashion start-ups and leverages fashion to empower individuals as a Trustee of Smartworks. She continues to shape the industry, advocating for a more sustainable future in fashion.
What does coming ‘full circle’ mean to you in the fashion industry?
Coming ‘full circle’ means that we’ve stopped wasting the incredible amount that we are currently wasting and finding innovative ways of reusing clothes to give them a second life. At the moment we are buying stuff and throwing it away and sometimes not even wearing it at all.
What does coming ‘full circle’ mean to you in the way that you live your life?
I’m currently doing the ‘Rule of Five’ where I only buy 5 new items a year. This means that I’m now looking at everything in my wardrobe currently and either having it altered, remade, or slightly re-styled so that it has a new life again.
My current clothes don’t just sit there and get ignored or wasted; rather if I have something that was once really beautiful, I try to find a way of making it work with my current wardrobe.
Why are you passionate about transforming the fashion industry?
Having run Topshop for so many years I feel partly responsible for the state that the fashion industry is currently in. So I’m now trying to use all the experience that I have to try to change behaviours and invest in businesses that are trying to make the future of the fashion industry a better place than it was.
Dion Terrelonge
Dr. Dion Terrelonge, often referred to as the “Fashion Psychologist”, seamlessly bridges the worlds of psychology and fashion. With a unique blend of expertise, she explores how understanding human behaviour and motivations can unlock customer participation in circular fashion. As such, she is a pioneering figure in the realm of circular fashion systems.
What does coming full circle mean to you in the fashion industry?
Coming full circle in the fashion industry involves a renewed focus on valuing materials and fabrics, with a strong commitment to repurposing them. In today's fast-paced world, there is often a lack of consideration, with people fixated on superficial 'Instagrammable' moments highlighting fleeting trends instead of appreciating the value of building a timeless wardrobe.
The fashion industry should continue prioritise waste reduction and design with longevity in mind, thereby creating purposeful products we can proudly endorse.
What does coming full circle mean to you in the way you live your life?
Unfortunately, treating fashion as disposable has now become the norm, but this wasn't our reality.
Growing up, money for clothing was scarce, so I learned to cherish every garment. Whether we shopped for brand new items or explored charity shops, I was taught to scrutinise fabric quality, hems, and stitching because we couldn't afford poorly made clothing and needed our items to last. Today, I've circled back to being more discerning in my purchases, because I want to make choices that are kind to people and the planet.
More personally, coming full circle has meant accomplishing things a young Dion could only dream of including completing a Doctorate despite leaving home at 16, and building on that to help develop and rive forward the area of fashion psychology.
Why are you passionate about transforming the fashion industry?
The transformative power of fashion has the ability to change our moods, to inspire, to bring us together, and to allow us to shape and manipulate our identities - That's why I adore it!
The majority of the fashion industry as it stands, is an industry that harms. Harming environments through pollution, and workers with unfair labour practices and on top of it coerces consumers into excessive consumption.
Ultimately, we cannot continue to exist in a world where we prioritise profit and the latest must-have items over alleviating human suffering. This is one of the many reasons why I'm passionate about transforming the industry.