Q&A with Carry Somers: Insights from The Good Clothes Show
- Sophie Wetherall
- Jan 16
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 13
The Fashion Fixed team had the pleasure of attending the first-ever Good Clothes Show event hosted at Birmingham’s NEC in September. The show brought together a vibrant mix of designers, brands, activists, and fashion enthusiasts, all united by a shared commitment to ethical and sustainable fashion. Across workshops, exhibitions, and panel discussions, the event showcased innovative approaches to fashion, from upcycling and mending to responsible design and production.
We were able to facilitate important conversations with industry leaders and advocates for sustainability, where they shared their valuable insights, experiences, and visions for a better future. These conversations not only highlighted the challenges facing the fashion industry but also celebrated the creativity, passion, and practical solutions emerging from this growing movement.
In this Q&A, Carry Somers—writer, speaker, activist, and co-founder of Fashion Revolution and League of Artisans—shares her thoughts on the event and its impact. As lead advisor for The Good Clothes Show, Carry offers a unique perspective on its vision, success, and what it takes to bring together a community passionate about ethical and sustainable fashion.
Can you start by introducing yourself, your work and why you’re here?
I'm Carry Somers, I’m a writer speaker, activist co-founder of Fashion Revolution co-founder of League of Artisans. I'm here at The Good Clothes Show because I am the lead advisor for the show, and I've been working on it for the past 12 months or more.
Carry, can you tell us more about what’s been happening at the event over the past three days?
Ok, so here at The Good Clothes Show, we've had a student day on the first day with different talks and events. Then, over the last couple of days, we've had Patrick Duffy and the Big Swap hosting a clothes swap here, where we've had over 1500 items swapped by the end of the second day which is an incredible number. Many of these were people who had never swapped before.
We have got workshops all around us, lots of people who are sitting and mending and up, cycling and embroidering. We've got a fantastic programme of talks with some real expert icons of the industry, even, hosted by Clare Press. So, there's so much going on with exhibitors and around 100 different stands, everything from sustainable independents to up cycles and vintage. So really something for everything and all price points as well.
So, when you've been planning this event for the last 12 months, can you talk about some of the different aspects you were trying to pull in and the different audiences you were trying to reach?
Yeah, I think our idea for The Good Clothes Show is we wanted to make it really accessible. We didn't want this to be an exclusive high end event. You know that that concern a lot of people have about sustainable fashion saying, well it's you know, I can't afford sustainable fashion.
We wanted to show people that actually, there is something for everyone. And you know, there's some great pieces here- for under £10. I've seen Victoria Beckham new trousers here on the smart work stands for £10. I mean, really, there are bargains here to be found, and I think it shows that sustainable fashion comes in so many different forms and you can see all of them here. You can buy everything from your £10 Victoria Beckham trousers to your £2000 Chanel suit. I mean, there's not much in that price range, but there's everything in between and there's children's wear, menswear, womenswear, streetwear and there's even wedding dresses you could upcycle! So, I mean, really, I can't think of anything that we haven't included in the show.
Can you talk about the future of this project, will you be doing it again next year?
We will certainly be doing the show next year. We're planning a show in London in the spring, and we'll be planning an October show back here as well, so just slightly shifting the timing. So it will be, I believe, the 10th to the 13th of October 2025 back at the NEC. And the London show in the spring.
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