Fashion Clinic
The Time Wardrobe
Presenting Hong Kong’s fashion sustainability movement with local and cultural significance.
#BrandStory
#SocialImpact
#Editorial
+ Brief
How can we tell a story to inspire Hong Kong people to re-experience fashion and to reduce fashion waste?
+ Strategy
It is estimated that four in 10 Hongkongers have thrown clothes away after wearing them once. According to the Environmental Protection Department, on average, more than 340 tonnes of discarded clothes and textiles are landfilled daily, which is equivalent to approximately 700,000 sweaters.
To address this challenge with Fashion Clinic and founder, Toby Crispy, who is a local pioneer in fashion upcycling — a process in which unwanted clothes are redesigned, repaired, reshaped to be re-experienced by consumers — we had to devise a story to reach to the heart of Hong Kong culture in a way that would give much needed local context and celebrate the existing fashion upcycling community while encouraging more people to take part.
For distribution, we partnered with newly established online video channel PepperLAB, which aims to bring inspiring stories of new generation brands in Hong Kong to target audiences in Hong Kong and Greater China.
+ Solution
We presented the Fashion Clinic’s mission to fight fashion waste using a human and personal approach to resonate with audiences.
We cast Toby Crispy to be the central character to give voice to the upcycling movement from a relatable position. Using a cinematic documentary format to tell the story, we highlight the fashion waste problem; her journey, mission, and struggles toward making fashion upcycling more mainstream. At the same time, we explore the cultural history of textiles in Hong Kong and the legacy left for new generations entering the fashion industry in the present.
The result is that the audiences are touched by the people and their stories; real feelings and understanding are developed. The audiences are more equipped with the knowledge to take actions themselves after watching the film.
What happens to the 340 tonnes of discarded clothes and textiles landfilled in Hong Kong each day? The answer is mostly, nothing. The Time Wardrobe follows a day in the work of upcycling advocate, Toby Crispy, as she finds ways to save clothing from landfills through redesign initiatives. Tracing the once prosperous textile industry in Hong Kong, we examine remnants of the ‘old Hong Kong’ and meet people who are trying to make Hong Kong a more sustainable place.
Director: Arjarn Jin
Producer: Heather Kong
Cinematography: Arjarn Jin
Executive Producer: Wallas Lin, Oscar Ngok @PepperLAB
Production design & Post-production: TSESER
Colorist & Sound design: Arjarn Jin
Featuring: Toby Crispy | Fashion Clinic
Archival material courtesy of Toby Crispy
Time Wardrobe and Oi! exhibition by Phoebe Wong
Appearance
Petty Lee, Project Manager, Greenladies
Mr. & Mrs. Chan, Wing Wah Haberdashery Co.
Ichi Chan, Technical partner
Special Thanks
Viva Blue House
Eaton HK
Design Trust and MA Fashion & Textile at PolyU
Obie Chan, Screw Up Studio
SLOW STiTCH NOMADs
See, Ichi, Edwina, Sam (owner of XiaoShiQuang), Nike (upcycling jewelry designer of FLOW), Jim & Dominique