The overwhelming aura of Fashion Month.

It’s the time of the year every fashion girl looks forward too, and the time most fashion editor’s dread. This year I viewed fashion month as both a fashion girl/ creative and a fashion editor- they were equally overwhelming. But it’s nobody’s fault but mine and let me tell you why.

As a creative in the Fashion Industry, whether you’re a designer, stylist, creative director, etc.…you’re constantly trying to stay ahead of the curve because people look to you for your expertise. Apart of being an expert is being able to provide valuable insight and knowledge that not everyone would know or be aware of, which in a way feeds that overwhelming feeling of always having to be “in the know”. Especially if you display your expertise on social media- where people are looking for you to post your opinions, comments, and feedback and sometimes silently judging you if you had no direct input on certain shows during a discussion. Like……I didn’t have the time or capacity to digest the show- and that’s ok. On the other side its exciting and invigorating to see what’s coming down the runway- the prints, colors, styles, and concepts, I LOVE IT. But I think I’ve lost the plot and my excitement got swallowed by my anxiety.

I was introduced to the fashion industry through slow, handmade B-Corp brands by my first fashion job at Vert & Vogue located in downtown Durham N.C. They taught me the true value of craftsmanship and the importance of slow and intentionally made clothing versus mass produced clothing. Everything I wore, everything I did and everything I studied around fashion was rooted in intention and meaning because that’s all I knew! As I got older, I realized that not everyone shares the same sentiment and value of slowly made fashion…from magazine editors to fashion media as a whole…. people rarely appreciated anything “slow” in fashion. So, when I decided to launch COMPACT, I promised myself I would go against the masses and stick to what I love and appreciate- which is slow, intentional, and meaningful media. COMPACT is not Vogue, its not ELLE, Maryclaire, or BAAZAR- its curated fashion media for people who value a small niche of impactful brands. I’m not trying to be or keep up with anything or anyone else, and as a creative in any industry that’s something you have to grasp before you slip and fall into the hands of comparison. Which only results in a personal loss of happiness, joy, motivation, and confidence.

So, how am I going to practice what I’ve preached? I’ll tell you.

1.) Keeping a firm understanding of my values, ensuring my media reflects that.

2.) Constantly filtering my social media intake…. I don’t need to follow every fashion media page or fashion influencer.

3.) Keep a running list of topics that not only pique my interest but make me think. The human attention span gets shorter every day- if it only interests you for the moment, how do you expect people to read a 10 min article about it?

4.) Quality over Quantity. I know we’ve heard this all before, but it’s the mindset you should have for 90% of the components of life.

This list may get longer as I grow as a creative and an editor, but this is a good start for me. If you’ve stayed and read to the end…all I can say is thank you, and I hope you stay around for a while.

XO,

COMPACT Founder MP