I met Claudia three years ago at a job training, we were both the newbies at Aritzia that fall and had to undergo multiple brutal 6:00am trainings before school. Lucky for Claudia and I we clicked immediately and decided to be car pool buddies making the 6:00am trainings a little less awful… you know what they say about misery loving company. Claudia was so easy to get along with, probably one of the most relatable people I have ever met. I think this is due to her insane understanding towards people, it is made very clear within minutes of meeting her that she is an empathetic soul trying to connect to others. I believe it is this aspect of Claudia that makes her such an incredible writer, and now editor. Claudia quickly got an amazing job as editor for Piper&Jane right after graduation and has been taking the fashion world by storm. It was a true pleasure to have a phone call interview with the ever wise Claudia Barbiero.
fff: So, How does it feel to be the youngest editor at Piper&Jane?
C: Oh Gosh! I’m not to going to lie it feels quite good, I knew it was something when I got hired right right after graduation but at the time I really didn’t realize how big of a deal it was until those around me put it into perspective. It has all been quite surreal.
fff: Working at Piper&Jane has given you the opportunity to interview some of Montreal’s top talent as well as some of the world’s leading forecasters within the industry. What has been one of your favourite interviews to date?
C: Ou, good question… I think I’d I have to say Interviewing the head Men’s buyer at SSense, Alix. She is a total girl boss with the most calm and poised energy, It was really nice to see someone in her position be so passionate yet relaxed. Alix is really so young and carrying so much influence on the industry yet really is so humble and isn’t caught up in the hype of it all. You can tell when speaking to her she really values the artistry within Fashion and much less about the elitism… I really admire that.
fff: Do you find it has been difficult not to get caught up in the industries social elitism ?
C: When I first got this position at P&J and began going to all the showing events and parties I found myself getting sucked into the competitiveness of who’s wearing the latest and trying to be the trendsetter, but that quickly became very unimpressive to me. I have learnt that the people within the industry that push elitism and really care about all that tend to be the people everyone avoids and don’t truly want to work with or be around.
fff: In your opinion is fashion taking a step away from elitism and becoming more inclusive?
C: In my opinion yes, I really do feel like fashion has become much more inclusive as an industry socially but also when it comes to clothing. I know a lot of people don’t like to admit this but, Kanye West has had a huge influence on this. Kanye creatine Yeezy and the simplistic street wear designs for a relatively affordable price has shifted things. High end brands have picked up on this and have began to collaborate with affordable streetwear brands such as dickies, North Face, Supreme… these collaborations really shifted the industry and broke down the elitism a bit.
fff: What is an aspect of the industry you’d like to change and will use your position to do so?
C: Oh, easy! I’d like to change how people view fast fashion and how they shop within these multi-billion dollar brands that are destroying the environment. The fashion industry is the second leading polluter of the world after the Oil industry, and the majority of the public really has no idea. It is so truly appalling to me and I am doing everything in my power to bring attention to this.
fff: How are you going about bringing attention to this awful issue?
C: Well I have started a column within the magazine that is in every issue published that focuses solely on the environmental issues of the industry. I have made sure that it shows the harshness of the state of the environment and all of the ugly issues people tend to shy away from publishing. I think it’s very important to show our readers the reality of the situation. We have also created an organization when our readers can join and volunteer around Montreal to help clean up the mess we’ve made through helping to distribution and recycling of disregarded clothing.
fff: Wow, that’s great Claudia! Now for our final question, where do you see the Future of Fashion heading?
C: I see the future of fashion becoming a lot greener, I think industry leaders are now beginning to see the causes our industries actions and greed has had on the environment. So I do see a lot of green changes in the future… I also see a lot of environmentally conscious designers emerging from Montreal and I believe this will become more and more common within the next five years. It has given me a lot of hope.
Chatting with Claudia was a true joy and seeing her passion for the environment was truly inspiring. It has definitely left me feeling more motivated and conscious to change any negative behaviour in my fashion habits and I hope it motivates you to do the same.
See you next weeks for our Interview with Montreal Stylist Mikayla.
Dearly,
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