We love your language around climate equity. What exactly does it mean to you to "lead" with a regenerative mindset & methodology?
It means radical generosity and reciprocity—both are values that are very common in my culture, in most cultures in the Global South and across Indigenous communities as well. The idea of taking only what we need and giving back twice as much.
Like you, we see fashion as a fertile arena for social and environmental change (you call it "fashion activism") but there are still tensions with these pervasive "myth of the individual" narratives, both as producers and consumers. How do you think we can shift further into realizing a more collective power?
Know your neighbors. Connect with your community. A lot of it has to do with reading the room and showing up with a good energy—I hear a lot of people talking about community engagement or building community. I don’t see these strategies as sustainable, I think cooking for your community, hiking with your community, repairing with your community or planting with your community fosters meaningful and stronger relationships.
When we zoom out on "climate justice" and "social inequity" the crises feel SO massive, manifold, layered and entrenched— and the intractability of some of the obstacles seems purposeful, which itself is a kind of violence. What gives you direction through this sort of inertia AND entropy?
See, when I zoom out and look at the big picture, I see us as Nature, we are not part of Nature or "On this Planet" we are this planet. Whatever we feed her, we eat. I feel despair when I witness colonialism and oppressive narratives try to separate us from Nature and delay our awareness and collective resilience. I find guidance in community, in open education and peer to peer knowledge, but most importantly I find direction within myself. There are a lot of distractions, and we are socialized to separate everything, even ourselves from our own spirit; I find the most guidance when connecting within.
How do you want to feel in your clothes?
I want to feel ease and grace—both comfortable and confident. Effortless.