A twister mat, a tablecloth, a bag of plastic oranges- these are just a few objects you would never expect to see on a garment. But artist, designer, and upcycler Caity B. somehow makes it work. Caity, known online as @ca8ty, is a pivotal leader in the resurgence of upcycling and DIY fashion. Caity was born with dwarfism, and she originally began creating and upcycling clothing as a response to a lack of accessible fashion. Her online platform is dedicated to her creative expression and upcycling projects. Over the years, she has amassed a significant following on social media, inspiring thousands of others to adopt a more sustainable and creative approach to fashion. In this photo, Caity is sporting an upcycled patchworked top that she sewed to match a painting she made. Upcycling is a regenerative practice that independent fashion designers and artisans have taken on as a way to reduce fabric waste and to advocate for sustainability in the fashion industry. It’s the process of taking secondhand or old garments and fabrics, and turning them into new, fashionable, and unique pieces. Caity B. represents a larger group of Generation-Z who have created their own fashion movement centered around the regenerative practices of thrifting and upcycling. This movement draws upon the 1960’s Youthquake and Counterculture revolutions, specifically through the ideals of self expression, sustainability, and social activism.
The 1960’s was an avant-garde decade when it came to fashion, and it was largely defined by the trends amongst a rebellious Baby Boomer generation. This decade saw the impacts of a youthful clientele pushing the norms of fashion through Youthquake, as well as the rise of the hippies, who rejected mainstream ideas altogether. These movements were a result of a period of impactful social change surrounding second wave feminism, the civil rights movement, and the beginning of the environmental movement. Counterculture, also known as the Hippie Movement, was an anti-establishment political movement that began in the late 1960’s and led youth in the western world to adopt alternative lifestyles based on principles of creative expression, self sufficiency, and social activism. Hippies in the 1960s believed that Capitalism turned people into consumers who felt the need to continually buy new material goods, including clothing, even if their old ones weren't worn out. Hippies rejected society’s consumerist approach to fashion in a counterculture movement known as Youthquake. It was then that e vintage and upcycled fashion began being practiced on a large scale. Teenage and young adult Baby Boomers challenged social and fashion norms of the past and the result was spirited and youthful designs dominating the fashion industry.
The cultural and social impacts of the 1960s are once again evident in the fashion industry today, and we are starting to see a revival of these movements through the lens of Generation Z. Gen Z has endured a great deal of political and social conflicts in recent years, including the Covid-19 Pandemic, racial justice movements, a domination of fast fashion, and wars in the Middle East. In an age that is troubled by many global hardships, Gen Z has instinctively taken on political and social activism. Similarly to the 1960s, the youth of today are reacting to social issues by embracing beliefs and fashion trends associated with the Hippie and youthquake movements. Today, we are again witnessing the boundaries of fashion being pushed, this time by Generation Z and their revival of upcycling clothing and wearing vintage fashion.
Both the Youthquake and Counterculture movements of the 1960s redefined self expression through fashion, and Generation Z has taken their own spin on it through thrifting and upcycling unique garments. Thrifting inspires today’s youth to explore their creativity through garments you wouldn’t typically find in a retail store, and it allows people to create their own one-of-a-kind style. Upcyclers, like Caity B., prefer to take thrift store items a step further by reworking them into avant-garde designs. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Caity began collaging as an output for her creativity, and seen in her room is a collection of past collages which inspire her current fashion creations. As someone with dwarfism, she has a unique approach to upcycling. Caity has always had a hard time finding cool and trendy clothes tailored to fit her body. Caity’s creativity and self expression beautifully emerges from the limited access within the fashion industry and she uses sewing as a crossroads for both her passion for accessible fashion and her artistic expression.
Our clothing has a lot to say about what we believe in, and Gen-Zers choose to wear clothing that advocates for a new mindset when it comes to the consumption of fashion. Our capitalist-driven society encourages us to keep consuming when it comes to clothing, and to replace garments when they become out of style, rather than upcycling them. Market competition leads to a deflation of costs in the fashion industry, and a quickening of trend cycles- thus creating the fast fashion industry. Although fast fashion is a rather new practice in the fashion industry, it has completely changed society’s mindset when it comes to clothing. The fast fashion industry now plays a crucial role in the harmful system of overconsumption and materialism. Fast fashion pushes consumers to purchase cheap clothing, some as cheap as a cup of coffee, that they wear a handful of times and then toss in the trash. Many view clothing as disposable and replaceable, rather than items of longevity. Someone has to pay the price for cheap clothing, and unfortunately it’s underpaid garment workers and our planet that are the most hurt by fast fashion. Much like the hippies, Gen Z is collectively a social activism focused generation that isn’t afraid to take a stand against practices and industries they deem injust. A large number of Gen-Z have rejected fast fashion all together, as Gen-Z’er Rebecca Ewnteu states, “I haven’t bought an item of fast fashion clothing in five years…I think it would be best to just not buy clothes at all, people should upcycle or do clothing swaps.” Upcycling and thrifting clothing can be considered a means of protest of the fast fashion industry, and an act of social activism. Caity B.’s dwarfism has made her consider fast fashion’s impact in a different light. In an interview with Sustainable Baddie, Caity quotes that “Most mainstream brands, especially fast fashion brands, fail to understand that all human bodies are built differently. Fast fashion would rather actively marginalize people with disabilities than do the work to make long-lasting clothing that also tailors to diverse bodies.” Her unique and beautiful upcycled designs show that it is possible to overcome the harmful effects of fast fashion on accessible clothing, and her success energizes her to advocate even further for accessible design.
One of the most notable movements that the hippies began was the environmental movement, which set society on a path towards sustainability. Given that we are in what many consider an environmental crisis, it is increasingly important for us to embrace eco-friendly practices when it comes to consumption and fashion. The rise of the fast fashion industry has had a tremendous negative impact on the environment. Clothing is now produced at a larger scale than ever before and over 92 million tons of clothing end up in landfills each year. Most garments are made from plastics or other materials that are harmful to our planet. Gen-Z recognizes these detrimental effects, and seeks to not participate in an industry that harms the planet. Instead, they have reformed clothing consumption into more regenerative practices such as thrifting and upcycling. These practices save textile waste from the landfill and prevent excess garments from being produced. Caity B., along with the many Gen-Zers, find joy in prowling through the aisles of the thrift store, searching for one-of-a-kind vintage pieces to take home, or unconventional materials to make into a new upcycled piece.
Gen Z is a generation passionate about sustaining our future, and they are doing it through a myriad of methods, including their approach to fashion. Both a force for self expression and a representation of beliefs, fashion has a powerful impact on our society, and both the hippies and Generation Z believe that it can be used as a tool for social change. It’s admirable how Caity B., along with the rest of Gen Z have revived the Counterculture and Youthquake movements of the 1960s, and have embraced thrifting and upcycling clothing as a method to simultaneously reject the negative impacts of the fashion industry while expressing their own creativity and individuality. It will be exciting to see how Generation Z will continue reformation in our society, and how future generations will approach positive change.
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