Isabella Rossellini has a sheep farm. Bet you thought you’d never read that sentence in your lifetime, but she does. In her youth, Rossellini loved animals and ethology. Instead of going into science, Rossellini took her talents to modeling and acting. With money earned from that illustrious career path, she bought her own farm. The breezy but passionate Farm to Fashion follows a slew of designers and local manufacturers in upstate New York, including Rossellini and Donna Karan, that are bucking against mass consumerism and fast fashion with a push toward fiber farming.
With the advent of fast fashion, the quick manufacturing of cheap clothes keeping in line with current fashion trends, and its rise to prominence over the last two decades, the public does not know how most of its clothes are made. Brands like H&M, Temu, and Zara offer affordable clothing, but they come at an ecological cost. We wear it less and dispose of it faster. According to the documentary, we now purchase garments and wear them fewer than five times.
Slow fashion does away with mass production with cheap materials by handcrafting clothes and reducing waste. Farm to Fashion shows the behind-the-scenes of how slow fashion clothes are created, from shearing to conceptualization to the runway, and the environmental benefits of fiber farming.
Rossellini tends to her sheep with a deep care and compassion that could rival your favorite grandma. You wouldn’t think this unassuming person could have graced nearly 40 Vogue magazine covers. But here she is, tending to the herd with a warm smile and sweat on her brow. She collaborates with Mimi Prober, a designer who incorporates fiber farming and ethical production. Prober works to bring Rossellini’s visions to life through custom wool ponchos, while her own designs cover the gamut of a traditional women’s clothing line.
Donna Karan’s Urban Zen boutique incorporates her recent fashion designs with a more Zen-like approach. Of the interviewees, Karan feels like a true throwback to an artist channeling all their experiences into the craft. There is such an ethereal quality to how she speaks. “I am a fabric nut.” She is, and it’s impossible not to be endeared by her passion. She models clothes for the camera like she is posing for a fashion shoot. This doc is her photoshoot, and her runway is a scenic garden in East Hampton.
“Slow fashion is a way of thinking more about if we believe in human rights, more sustainable environment, a cleaner planet, then we have to stop consuming on the levels that we’re consuming.”
Farm to Fashion has its heart in the right place. We learn about creating biodiversity and how the plastics we wear, including polyester, contribute to microplastics and pollution. As artists, above all, they value building community through creation. The interest in New York wool is growing, but will it work? Are we ready to wear and consume less? When our dollars are not stretching for a myriad of global issues, we may be pushed into that reality.
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