S06 Episode 261 | Can fashion and degrowth coexist, and specifically — do high heels exist in a degrowth world?

In episode 261, Kestrel welcomes Marula Tsagkari, a degrowth advocate and PhD candidate at the University of Barcelona in the Department of Economics, to the show. <a href= "https://degrowth.org/marula-tsagkari/" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">Marula’s work</a> focuses on energy communities, energy self-sufficiency, and energy democracy. <p><strong>"Degrowth is not about austerity, it’s not about living in a primitive way in a cave — nothing like that. And of course degrowth is not COVID-19 lockdown. It’s about happiness, it’s about wellbeing, it’s about living happy with less things. And what real happiness is for each and every one of us — I think I will leave it up to all of you to decide, what real happiness means for you." -Marula</strong></p> <p class="">For many people, a degrowth world is a utopia – and to some, that means it’s totally unrealistic. Yet to others, it means we can strive to reconstruct a world with many of these ideals at the core of how we exist, and while it may take time, it is possible.</p> <p class="">This week’s guest is a degrowth advocate and also a lover of fashion. Many may instantly think that the two cannot coexist. </p> <p class="">Even other degrowth advocates in our guest’s field have in a sense turned their noses up at her, scoffing at the idea of degrowth and fashion coinciding.</p> <p class="">At one event that she organized, a fellow degrowther said, “there will be no high heels in a degrowth world.” </p> <p class="">No high heels? Really?</p> <p class="">For our guest – high heels are totally welcome in a degrowth world. As she reminds us, high heels don’t have to be made in a fast fashion way – they could be a form of art and if someone wants to wear high heels and they feel good in them, they should be able to wear them.</p> <p class="">As our guest reminds us, there’s a misconception that the fashion industry and fashion art are synonymous – but she definitely doesn’t buy into that.</p> <p class="">Quotes & links from the conversation:</p> <ul data-rte-list="default"