IMPACT 0417: PASSION FOR SLOW FASHION

Clarissa Ann, 25, is a lover of the arts, dancer, teacher and business owner. Her passion lies in sharing the love for naturally dyed handmade carryalls and daily wears. She is an advocate for the slow-fashion industry and its craftsmen, and owns Feudal Crafts, a sustainable merchandise brand. She shares some values that she has learnt on her journey thus far.

A headline from The Guardian on January 25, 2022: “Nanoplastic pollution found at both of Earth’s poles for the first time.” Crazy times we live in, right? Feudal Crafts was a platform that my partner and I built to advocate for people to make firm and quick decisions to escape a consumerist lifestyle and pursue a more sustainable one. We just need to start somewhere. Find what draws you and fight for it.

“If ever you start to feel weary of the mundane and completely restless in all that has not changed, and rather numb to the mention of grace, let today be the day you make the mindful decision to find joy in the ordinary places.” – Morgan Harper Nichols

Starting something brand new and dedicating so much energy to pursuing it will really push you. It will also never stop demanding the best from you. It was very trying to stay in the rhythm of things at first, but at the end of the day, I still found myself happy, bright and courageous. For me, it wasn’t solely because doing what I loved fed that energy in me, but also because I intentionally decided to shine for myself, the cause and everything that this could transform into.

If you want to stick out from the crowd, keep digging deep and you will always discover something astonishing about yourself. And when you do, enjoy it and flaunt it!

I personally love celebrating small wins, and I think that might have pushed Feudal to become what it is today. I remember celebrating the brand’s first international sale, first feature and first successful photoshoot like it was just yesterday. Since then, I found that appreciating these milestones gave me focus on what nurtures and sustains the brand and the people who have poured their love into it.

“How?” you might ask. It definitely is a struggle in the best-planned city in the world.

I used to hold a desk job in a bank for three years as an Analyst, for reasons you already know. “Is this all there is for me?” was the only question I had for myself at the end of every day. I was blessed enough to have allowed the mundaneness to work counter-intuitively for me. Overtime, I gained courage to start fighting for the small things, which progressed to bigger ones, from fighting for my passion, to finding an “out” from a stable 9-5. It takes way too much inner strength to seek freedom. But for what it is worth, do it anyway.

Feudal started off as an idea that we wrapped in endless and boundless possibilities. Despite the fashion societal norm of mass production, over-pricing and endless material wastage from monopolising brands, my dream of having the ability to tweak consumer mindsets still sticks today. Giving the brand its space to breathe and grow on people has played an integral part in allowing me to achieve this goal one person at a time.