Why last-season’s clothes are a more sustainable way to dress

Fashion needs to change.

The trend cycle works at a breakneck pace, with new styles being adopted, spread and dropped in the span of months or even weeks. Once they’re ‘out of style’, these clothes are left to gather dust in the back of wardrobes or, even worse, sent to landfill.

While the traditional fashion calendar has granted designers and brands a framework to release new and exciting collections, keep the industry innovating and influence the fashion zeitgeist, it has also created a culture of consumerism and waste. To be considered fashionable or stylish, consumers are expected to always have the latest and greatest thing. Wearing something you bought and loved six months ago means falling behind.

‘Last-season’ shouldn’t be a dirty word. As a society, it’s important we recognise that clothes don’t just lose their worth the moment the cycle has moved on. The DOM’s Seasonless Edit embraces this notion and celebrates staple pieces that are designed to last for years to come.

Lou Ashton, Head of Marketing at The DOM says, “as an online fashion outlet, I believe our role should be to encourage more meaningful conversations around mindful purchasing and exploring personal style that’s timeless. We want to change customer perceptions about the trend cycle and notions of what fashion really is.”

To encourage customers to buy clothes more thoughtfully and consciously, we’re looking at iconic pieces that never go out of style. The versatile white tee, the timeless nineties jean, the effortlessly elevated two-piece set – these are styles that have kept the world’s interest season after season.

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Embracing these seasonless essentials and resisting the temptation of the trend cycle benefits consumers, the environment, and the industry as a whole. Buying less and loving your clothes for longer means fewer clothes clogging up landfills - fewer precious resources going to waste.

His emphasis on creativity and the more personal aspects of fashion trickles down to consumers, too. Buying one shirt – or pair of pants, or dress – and holding onto it even when the rules of the trend cycle have changed is one of the most fashionable things you can do. Finding new, inspiring ways to style the pieces you already love is a great way to challenge your creativity and develop your personal style.