Kit Willow has struggled with making clothes at her ethical fashion label Kit X for nearly 10 years. Designing dresses that sensually drape the body is simple, but participating in an industry that pollutes our planet has been a problem.
But now, the battle is over, and earth has won, with Willow pulling the pin – and needle – on future collections. “I’m hopping off the treadmill,” Willow says. “I’m getting off because I stepped onto it thinking I could change it.”
After 20 years of designing clothes, Kit Willow is switching to focus on the environment.Credit: Louise Kennerley
“It’s costing more to create clothing, yet we’re producing more fashion, and then we’re throwing it away. We need to regenerate and circulate.”
Following the release of research from Canberra think tank The Australia Institute showing that Australians consume more textiles than any other country, buying 56 new items a year, Willow will stop making seasonal collections and launch a decarbonisation consultancy called Cirkit.
“The fashion industry needs to address the impact it has on our planet’s resources so we can achieve at minimum a 43 per cent decline in greenhouse gases by 2030, as part of the Paris Agreement.”
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“I had to decide whether the best use of my time was continuing with Kit X or helping large corporations get on the fast track to net zero carbon emissions.”
This is Willow’s second time getting off the fashion treadmill, although last time she was pushed.
Raised in Melbourne, Willow launched her first label in 2003 at Australian Fashion Week with lingerie-inspired designs. After moving to Sydney, Willow took her eponymous brand to New York, London and Paris, with supermodels Cara Delevingne, Linda Evangelista and Karolína Kurková wearing her designs on and off the runway.