Laura Opazo: “Your wardrobe has to depend on your criteria, not on what is or isn’t fashionable”

Fashion communicator Laura Opazo talks about sustainability, creativity and self-knowledge to combat hyper-consumerism.

The textile world is not characterised by its respect for the environment, although in recent years concern for the planet has led to more steps being taken towards sustainability. Laura Opazo is a fashion communicator, works on esRadio in the programme Media Luz with her section Moda en Onda, collaborates with eltiempo.es and offers workshops and talks. Most of her time is dedicated to digital marketing and she is also a writer. In her book Armario Sostenible: Aprende a comprar de manera consciente e inteligente (Editorial Zenith) she presents advice on how to move towards responsible consumption.

Horse: In terms of sustainability, what is your day-to-day life like?

Laura Opazo: My mother has always been a very resourceful person. We never threw food away, we used to do batch cooking (when we cooked on Sundays to leave the food ready for the whole week) when batch cooking didn’t even exist . That has always been instilled in me. It’s true that when I arrived in Madrid I started to consume more unrestrainedly, I unlearned what he had taught me. But over time I started to relearn it. I don’t consider myself to be sustainable in my day-to-day life, I simply consider that I have common sense. In the shower, when I’m soaping up, I always turn off the water tap. I am very careful about the packaging that comes into my house, I try to make sure it is recycled or recyclable, biodegradable, plastic-free? (although we don’t have to demonise plastic either). I also always separate the rubbish for recycling.

In terms of fashion, I was used to wearing a uniform at school. Suddenly I found myself in Madrid, alone, with my first salaries and I became more consumerist. My wardrobe was full of clothes that didn’t fit my essence, that were of poor quality…. I realised that I had to start being more creative, to play with my clothes and combine them. You have to face your wardrobe, the bad (and also the good) decisions. You also have to do an exercise in self-knowledge and self-analysis as a consumer. With the clothes we have, you have to try to honour them and work on your creativity so that they make you feel comfortable. For me it was the most important thing: self-knowledge, facing my wardrobe and working on my creativity.

I don’t consider myself to be sustainable in my day-to-day life, I just consider myself to have common sense.

HM: And when we have clothes that we really like, but they go out of fashion, what should we do with them?

LO: Trends exist in order to be. They create needs so that people buy. But being fashionable or not is relative, as fashion changes with society. Sneakers are very fashionable now because after months indoors we are looking for comfort. It is a logical trend. The big fashion cycles are every 10 years, if you use and honour the same garment for 10 years, it is a long time and you can finish and complete its life cycle.

In the end, fashion is a channel of expression, it is one of the legs of non-verbal communication. It has an important sociological component. Although we all like to look fashionable, we have to know ourselves well and know what our references and tastes are and base ourselves on that. Your wardrobe has to depend on your criteria, not on what is or isn’t fashionable. You have to look for clothes that flatter you and represent you.

There are trends that are ridiculous, like those of low-cost shops that change every two weeks and what is outdated now is what was fashionable only three months ago. In the end, if something doesn’t suit you, it won’t suit you no matter how much they tell you. It’s like the case of Alaska, she’s super true to her style, she doesn’t follow new trends, but she still always looks modern. That’s because the look goes with Alaska, not the other way around. It’s about bringing out the Alaska in all of us.

HM: In your case, was the process towards a more sustainable fashion consumption gradual or was there a clear turning point?

LO: It was a moment of saying “enough is enough”. I was lying on my bed and the wardrobe door was ajar. I saw everything that was inside and I thought I would feel much better if I had less clothes but was aware of what I had. Also, I realised that it meant I had an emotional void.

In our society, consumption is not penalised, in fact it is even rewarded. A person who goes shopping alone is not unusual, it is even sometimes recommended to us: “If you have a problem, go to the hairdresser and go shopping”.

We have associated consumption with leisure. What was in my wardrobe was the number of times I resorted to shopping to relieve something or to feel better. Without realising it, I was creating an addiction to shopping because there was an emptiness in my life. After shopping I felt bad, empty. After two days, I would always return the clothes. I had strange behaviours and I realised it was called oniomania, the “compulsive shopper’s disorder”. My case is by far not the most extreme, but it was obvious that I had a problem.

When I realised that, I said this is it. Moreover, if you start looking and educating yourself, you also see the very questionable methods of clothing companies, especially the low-cost ones. After that I couldn’t look the other way, it didn’t make sense.

In Spain we have this concept of ownership very present and inheriting, for example, clothes from other family members is like a bad thing.

HM: This is also seen in very young people, who perhaps make these impulse purchases because they want to get out of the house to go to the shopping centre and be with friends.

LO: There are many young people who were ten or eleven years old in 2008, who have grown up in the context of the crisis, who now have a type of consumption where there is the possibility of second hand. In my generation (I’m a millennial) that doesn’t happen. In Spain we have this concept of ownership very present and inheriting, for example, clothes from other relatives is a bad thing.

But it is true that as consumption is associated with leisure, it is much easier for young people to stay in shopping centres. It is also true that in urban areas, staying in a shopping centre means more security. Still, there are many other ways to expand the mind and soul. We have become so superficial. I love fashion, but there are other things to do than shopping that I find more interesting.

HM: What is the secret to a more sustainable wardrobe, and where do you start?

LO: There is no secret. The first thing is to want to. You have to do a self-analysis to know where you are. A lot of people don’t do that. Normally, behind a big consumerist there is an emptiness and facing this can be hard. The first step is to face your wardrobe, to do so is to understand why you make choices: both good and bad. You learn why you have all those clothes and why you use them the way you do.

With all those clothes that you don’t wear, you have to take responsibility, not to put them in a bag and fight with them. But look at what you can do with the clothes. You do a reset so you can check yourself.

Behind a big consumerist there is an emptiness and facing this can be hard.

The second step is, as we said, to know yourself well. Be clear about your references, what suits you best? You can seek help from a professional or do it yourself with tools that you can find on the internet. On an external level, you need to know your skin tone: Are you warm or cold? What colour season suits you best? Know what suits you best through a process of trial and error. On an internal level, you have to know what your values are, what you like: nature, the city, cinema, music? It’s a part of your expression that you can encourage through creativity so that your clothes reflect it.

You have to be very selective with everything that is going to come in, be aware of your decisions to know what to buy. This affects many spheres, for me it was a catharsis on a personal level and on a complete level. That’s the first thing, and then I would also advise you to read my book: Sustainable Wardrobe: Learn to buy consciously and intelligently (Zenith Publishing).

HM: How do we find out what colour season we are?

LO: There is a theory that we all have a skin tone and undertone. You can tell that if you bring silver and gold jewellery close to your face. If silver lifts you up, you’re cool. If it makes you look more tired, you are warm.

For colours, we divide into autumn-winter or spring-summer. If you know this, you can base your shopping on what will suit you best. That’s why it’s important, as well as knowing what kind of patterns flatter your figure. And to know yourself internally, above all. No matter how beautiful a garment is, if it doesn’t suit me, why would I wear it?

Most of the garments’ life cycle is lost through domestic use, because we don’t know how to treat them well.

HM: When cleaning out your wardrobe, what do you do with all the clothes?

LO: In my case, I had bought a lot of quality clothes. My mother worked for many years in the textile sector, in accounting, and she had a keen eye for clothes that were well made. She instilled that in me. Although I also bought a lot of churros.

With the clothes that didn’t fit me, which were the majority, I took them to the dressmaker. We don’t have a standard body and, if we don’t buy made-to-measure, many times the clothes don’t fit us well and we’re never going to fix it. I’m a big fan of going to the dressmaker so that I look my best. I gave a lot of clothes to friends of mine who liked my clothes. There were clothes that I took to the bin because they were already in bad condition and others that I sold second hand. A mixture of everything.

HM: What is the importance of reading labels?

LO: We don’t have a culture of reading labels here. People just look at them to check the fabric but then when they get home they cut them off. Most of the life cycle of garments is taken away by domestic use, because we don’t know how to treat them well. No matter how sustainable the clothes are or how well composed they are, if we don’t treat them as we should, there is no point. We have to choose good allies for washing clothes, and not do so many washes because the garments don’t need it. Fibres suffer a lot when we wash clothes.

Your validation does not depend on what you have or what you belong to. You have to discover who you are and make your own choices.

HM: Is there a brand that is your favourite?

LO: I try to favour real made in Spain or designer craftsmanship, although I also buy from brands from abroad. Momoc makes really good shoes and Capitan Denim has really good quality jeans. No brand is 100% sustainable.

HM: How can you fight against the advertising industry and its hyper-consumerist messages?

LO: Nowadays a person receives more than 6000 impacts a day between social networks, street advertisements, series…. It’s all about slowing down and realising that this is there. Unsubscribe from all the newsletters you are subscribed to and leave only the ones that bring you the most value, keep an eye on the accounts you follow on social networks and know what brings you value and what does not. Your validation does not depend on what you have or what you belong to. You have to discover who you are and make your own decisions.