By Kavya Sawrikar
The Green Team, Wayland High School’s environmental club, brought sustainability to the runway at its annual Slow Fashion Show. The event, organized in protest of the fast fashion culture, showcased thrifted and upcycled clothes to encourage students and community members to rethink their consumption habits.
Although the snowstorm posed some planning challenges, the show was fully booked, with students filling the floor.
“It was hard planning everything with the snow day and delay, but the results speak for themselves,” said Kavya Sawrikar, co-president of Green Team.
Fast fashion is a business model defined by the rapid, high-volume production of inexpensive clothing that replicates current runway trends. It relies on low-cost materials, low-wage labor, and short-lived, fast-cycle production to encourage impulsive, disposable consumption, often leading to significant environmental damage.
The Slow Fashion Show encourages students to express creativity through sustainable fashion. The three-part show included a slideshow explaining the impacts of fast fashion and how people can help reduce its harm, models showcasing their sustainable outfits, and a question-and-answer session.
This year’s student and faculty models included Saize Wrentmore, Jules Edgar, Sylvia Haley, Kaileigh Walker, Abigail Fallace, Madame Langelier, Noa Ferdman, Michelle Angelova, and Vlada Sargsyan. Cordia Wang and Kavya Sawrikar served as emcees for the event, with Ms. Snow as the club’s advisor.
Participants commented favorably about the show. Student model Abigail Fallace described the experience, “It was really fun to be a part of it.” The show highlighted how sustainable clothing is not only good for the environment but also fashionable, she said.
Teacher/model Madame Langelier, the advisor for the high school’s sewing club, said the Slow Fashion Show inspires student creativity.
“I really liked being a part of the slow fashion show over the last few years,” she said. “It is a great way for students to showcase their creativity by expressing themselves through clothing, whether it be thrifting, refashioned clothing, or handmade.”
She also said the event helped spark students’ interest in sewing and has contributed to the school’s sewing club growth.
Green Team’s annual Slow Fashion Show is one of the club’s most impactful events, inspiring people to stop simply consuming and to start caring about the impacts of their consumption, according to Sawikar.
The team is led by co-presidents Walker, Wang, and Sawrikar. The club’s goal is to protect the environment and fight for environmental justice by making its community more sustainable and committing to local environmental causes. In addition to organizing the Slow Fashion Show, Green Team runs composting at the high school, maintains the high school garden, hosts trash cleanups around Wayland, and coordinates Earth Week events.
