Sustainable fashion is not a new conversation. In fact, the conversation has been happening for a long, long time, but to Cynthia Vincent, the founder and designer of BAACAL, her approach could be the future of sustainable fashion.

Before starting BAACAL, Vincent was a part of and had her hands in several brands. But like many women, she once had an important event for which her outfit had to be stellar for, but couldn’t find the right look. So she took charge herself and created her own outfit.

“I thought to myself,” Vincent said. “If I, as a creative, who can kind of pull myself together in a thrift store, can’t find anything to wear, what does the average woman do? What does an average fashionable woman do?”

Photo by Birdie Thompson

Vincent had created a lot of clothing before BAACAL, but she knew if she was going to re-enter the fashion world, she had to keep sustainability at the forefront, and that’s exactly what she did.

Before Cynthia Vincent Stepped into BAACAL

“I did my research, and I figured out that the average woman in America was a size 16 at the time. So I took a 16, and split the difference, went up and down. That’s why I call it the true size majority, because I wanted to go after that missing, ignored woman. My sizing was that, I only offered four sizes when I first started. 1, 2, 3, 4, which were 10/12, 14/16, 18/20, 22/24, and then, through time, found out that there’s actually a need for 5, which is the 26/28.”

But by keeping sustainability at the forefront of BAACAL, she started at 80% sustainable, but has since surpassed that.

“I currently do not produce in China. I have maybe one to 2% done in China. So I can say that my number is higher than 80. The sourcing has become the difficulty,” Vincent said. “As a designer, there are certain things I want to make and do, and I have this idea, and I want to create all these ideas, but I have to go backwards. I source the materials first, and then I design from what I source.”

Lace dress from BAACAL, styled by Katie Bradshaw. Photo taken by Lily Jane Photography.

“So it’s not that I design, and then I find all the things, or the fabrics, or I start with this amazing fabric I just found, and then you can order as much as you want. That’s how my life used to be. That’s not how it is now. Direct to the factory, I use their leftovers. I constantly see what they’ve put into development, but maybe never produced. Or if there’s 50 or 100 yards of this. I get swatches. I decide what I want, and I test as much as I can before I purchase. And then I really have to design into what’s available.”

But her sustainability features for BAACAL went further than the clothing. Vincent put just as much effort into getting rid of the one-use plastic bags as she did into the clothing that she was adding to this world.

“I made these huge cement bags. I bought these cement bags and sewn them so that they could be reused and renewed and not use single-use plastic. I was trying to eliminate the single-use plastic throughout the whole process. But four and a half years later, those bags are lost. They don’t know what happened to them. It’s an ongoing challenge.”

Aria Double Breasted Trench in Leopard at Baacal.com

But to keep fashion sustainable, it will take more than BAACAL and more than one designer. Cynthia Vincent hopes to prove through her pieces at BAACAL that sustainable fashion doesn’t have to be “crunchy granola” and it doesn’t have to be scrappy either.

To truly keep fashion sustainable, Vincent believes that more education should exist on this topic.

Delia Long Oversized Trench- Chocolate at Baacal.com

“I think that being earnest and really wanting change is important. I think we all have to really, actually, personally want it, because the money will come. I think people are afraid to step into it, thinking they’re not going to make money, right, or they’re going to lose money. And I can tell you, it’s the opposite.”

Cynthia Vincent knows that this can happen; fashion can be sustainable if enough people try and put genuine effort into it. Until then, BAACAL and Vincent will continue to lead the conversation and lead the way.

Katie Bradshaw

Katie Bradshaw is a contributing writer for The Curvy Fashionista. Originally from Texas, she obtained her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Baylor University, then moved to New York for graduate school, and graduated from New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Katie has been published in V Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, and more, where she enjoys writing about fashion, beauty, and anything that has a little glitz and glam to it. When she’s not planning tomorrow’s outfit, she can be found reading romance novels, sipping on an Aperol spritz, and watching reality television. Find her on social media at @thekatiebradshaw.