Year: 2022

Runtime: 92 minutes

Director: Becky Hutner

By Joan Amenn

To be a fashion designer is a lofty enough goal, but to be an environmentally aware designer creating sustainable couture is truly a nearly impossible dream, as “Fashion Reimagined” (2022) shows. Amy Powney, creative director of fashion label “Mother of Pearl” ( https://motherofpearl.co.uk/), has more heart, dedication and vision than many so called “activists” who are calling for action because unlike some of them, she does more than just talk.

Director Becky Huntner takes us on a journey with Powney and her staff as they set out to make the most of the cash prize endowed to them by the 2017 Vogue Awards and British Fashion Council. Their goal is to reinvent the creation of couture by focusing on the processes that are toxic to the planet and exploitive of laborers. The statistics that the documentary show about how the current fashion industry is one of the most damaging businesses on the planet will leave you gasping. It is infuriating, horrifying, and heartbreaking to learn that only 2% of clothes factory workers earn a living wage, for example.

Who knew that determining the source of cotton that was used to make a pair of jeans could be as convoluted as an Agatha Christie novel?

Powney is so driven, and yet so creative that it is a wonder how she can maintain her composure and her vision as roadblocks arise again and again. Who knew that determining the source of cotton that was used to make a pair of jeans could be as convoluted as an Agatha Christie novel? The twists and turns of getting a new fashion line completed before the buyers start knocking on doors for the next season make for a suspenseful ride. Powney is a wonder and her staff are obviously totally devoted to her and her mission.

If you enjoy thrifting clothing, you’re going to love “Fashion Reimagined.” If you love to flip through the pages of “Vogue”, you’re in a for real eye-opener. Powney is a hero that deserves more recognition for being on the vanguard of calling for change in how fashion is created and mass marketed. This is a must see film for anyone concerned about how they spend their money and how their purchases impacts the planet.