An Edmonton-based photographer and blogger has made it to the big leagues with it comes to the fashion industry: she’s been featured as a writer in Vogue.
Marielle Terhart, who is an Edmonton writer, photographer, and sustainable and inclusion fashion activist, said she’s been aiming to write for the world-famous magazine for some time.
“Everyone wants to get an article in Vogue, if you work in the fashion industry,” Terhart, who goes by the screen name Marielle Elizabeth online, said.
“I’ve been working in ethical and sustainable fashion, talking about the intersections between size inclusivity and the future of sustainable fashion for almost a decade now.”
Terhart’s article focuses on the changing landscape of sustainable fashion and its slow inclusion into the plus-size world. She said while she had been in touch with Vogue editors previously, they reached out to her after seeing her published work elsewhere, such as in fashion magazine The Cut.
“Vogue reached out to me specifically wanting to include more size diversity in some of the sustainable fashion reporting that they were doing,” Terhart said.
Terhart said she has gotten “immensely positive feedback” in response to the article.
“I think that the more we look at who’s being called in and out of spaces of fashion, the clearer it is that there’s this huge demand for diverse voices to be given space to talk about their lived experiences,” she said.
She added one of her passions has been “trying to reduce the barriers” that plus-sized people face when wanting to buy ethical or sustainable fashion.
“It’s a global problem,” she said. “A lot of thrift accounts and reseller accounts are drawing on clothing that was previously produced. And the plus-sized industry has been neglected for decades.
“Over the last ten years, with the national average body size changing, we’re seeing more and more demand for plus-size fashion to exist.”
Terhart said that recently she’s seen sustainable brands popping up in Edmonton that local people can support. Some of her sustainable suggestions include Unbelt, Poppy Barley, and for upselling vintage accounts that focus on plus-sized fashion, Edmonton-based Chubby Fem Thrift and Found For us Plus come recommended.
“Edmonton’s sustainable fashion scene has grown so much,” Terhart said.
However, she said that some people who may not be able to afford or find more sustainable options can take “fast fashion” and slow it down.
“Learning how to mend, getting things repaired instead of buying things new,” Terhart said. “And honestly, just wearing your clothing.
“My number one piece of advice for any size, any gender… is to wear all the clothing you buy and to commit to wearing each piece of clothing you own at least 30 times.”
She said she hopes to get more pieces out to reach more audiences in the future.
“Since fashion continues to be a leading cause of pollution in this world, maybe it’s time to relook at ethical and sustainable fashion for different bodies and different needs.”
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