Rows of clothing racks lined the back of the McInnis Room at Dalhousie University on Wednesday evening, filled with vintage jackets, reworked denim and thrifted pieces waiting for new owners.
At the front of the room, an auditorium with nearly 200 seats faced a stage draped in fabric, thread and yarn. Layers of textures and colours form the backdrop for a fashion show built around sustainability.
Students and community members browsed racks of clothing while chatting about thrifting, sustainable fashion and the environmental costs of fast fashion.
The event, called The Fashion Revival, was organized by Dalhousie Students for Ethical Fashion (DSEF) and marked the group’s first runway show.
Arden Goodfellow, a second-year environmental science graduate student at Dalhousie and one of the show’s three directors, said the idea had been developing for more than a year.
“We’ve kind of had this idea in the works for over a year now,” Goodfellow said. “But we put it into full swing in October and November.”
The show highlighted six Halifax vendors who either create their own clothing or curate and rework second-hand pieces, including Better Day, Sadie Preloved, Presto Thrift, Venture Thrift, Stoke Duds and the Elizabeth Fry Society’s Abundance Store, a free thrift shop that provides clothing to women and gender-diverse people.
Designers styled the show’s models, turning second-hand clothing and vintage items into runway-ready looks.
“We’re discussing how we can shift away from fast fashion and that idea that you buy clothes and then they get thrown out,” Goodfellow said. “How can we reuse our clothes, rework them and repurpose them?”
The show drew a broad audience, though organizers initially expected mostly students.
“We started off wanting to do this for our Dal and King’s community,” Goodfellow said. “But it’s become pretty far-reaching. We have community partners, professors and some families here as well.”
One of the designers featured in the show was Sara Shabnam, founder of the Halifax-based slow fashion brand Better Day.
Shabnam’s connection to the fashion industry began long before she launched her brand. She grew up in Bangladesh, where her father owned a garment factory that employed around 200 workers.
“My dad was a garment factory owner, but he always put people first,” Shabnam said. “A lot of people assume factory owners are ruthless, but that wasn’t the case for us.”
Her perspective on the industry shifted dramatically in 2013 after the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh, which killed more than 2,000 workers.
“At the time I was studying occupational health and safety,” Shabnam said. “So I looked at it through that lens and started thinking about what the impacts of fast fashion really are.”
That moment pushed her toward slow fashion and sustainability.
Shabnam said events like The Fashion Revival help build awareness and community around more ethical approaches to clothing.
“I think the DSEF group has such a beautiful and empowering vision,” she said. “I wish communities like this existed when I was in university.”
Organizers say the show is about more than fashion; it’s about changing the way people think about clothing consumption.
Tickets for the event sold for just over $14, and the show aimed to bring together students, designers and community members around a shared interest in sustainable style.
Shabnam said community members who want to support the initiative can do so in several ways.
“People can get involved by supporting the designers, donating preloved clothes or connecting with the student society,” Shabnam said. “This is a growing community, and events like this show how fashion lovers and sustainability advocates can come together. Hopefully, people stay tuned for the next show.”