Ready to be lended.
Earlier I have written about how people have started to swap things with each other instead of buying everything new. But this weekend Stockholm experienced another phenomenon in this genre: the clothes library. As Stockholm Fashion Week has been going on, the concept of borrowing clothes has been tried out at the Ecoteque in the cultural centre Kulturhuset.
Trying on the evening gowns
Fifteen minutes after opening the Ecoteque was already full of people crowding around the clothes stands, flickering through both new, designer outfits and vintage garments. In the fitting rooms people were trying on everything from neat shirts to fantastic evening gowns and after filling out a form they could take the garment home for one week. I spoke to two Finnish visitors, who had just arrived in Stockholm for the art fair Supermarket and wanted to complete their light luggage with some sensational clothes for going out Saturday night.
24 kilos of textiles
I find this an excellent way of renewing one’s wardrobe without overusing resources. Faster and faster changes in fashion have led to a situation where the average Swede buys 24 kilos of textiles every year. That is 9 kilos more than in 1994. So I hope this idea has come to stay. And why not extend this concept to other areas, so that we can borrow tools as drilling-machines at the library instead of everyone getting their own and using it once a year?
