Slow motion fashion

Julian Bishop 

If you’re struggling to work out what to wear to work each day, spare a thought for Julian Bishop.

By Dan Hutchinson

Julian owns between 200 and 300 shirts, nearly all of them secondhand.

A self-styled slow fashion advocate, he has so many shirts he’s started up his own secondhand clothing business Mens Line and organises community markets focused on reusing and recycling goods.

"Pretty much everything I wear is secondhand, apart from the first layer."

He says “slow fashion” counters the rapid pace of modern fashion cycles, with retailers pushing more seasonal ranges than there are months in the year.

"It's really about slowing that down. It's about quality products.”

His collection includes high-end brands like John Lennon, which typically retail for $200 to $300 NZD but can be found at op shop prices. He is a regular browser at op shops around Taupō and wherever else he might be.

He admits to a little bit of embarrassment at the size of his collection, estimating it's "probably closer to the three hundred mark."

"If I see something that I like, it doesn't matter if it's my size or not. If I like the colour and the patterns, I'll probably buy it to put it out there for somebody," he says.

Bishop organises the Garden Exchange market, held on the last Saturday of each month at the Time Bank Community Gardens. The market features a car boot sale format where people can sell secondhand items, exchange garden produce, and find quality used goods.

A second Slow Market and car boot sale is being held on June 13, at Waipahihi Hall, offering space for slow fashion vendors and more delicate items.

He also volunteers at the hospice shop and works as a repairer for the repair café. He says the ethos of keeping items away from landfills is key to the markets.

Julian says the cost-of-living crisis has driven more people to secondhand shopping and there are plenty of quality items to be found at a fraction of the new cost.