Sustainability and maximalist fashion don’t seem like a natural pairing, but Generation Z fashion influencer Sara Camposarcone is proving otherwise. With 1.4 million followers on TikTok, the 27-year-old stylist has brought eccentric fashion to the forefront of social media from her home in Toronto, Canada. Camposarcone, who goes by @saracampz on TikTok, uses online resale platforms like Poshmark, eBay and Depop to find pieces for her looks. She’s styled everything from a vintage prom dress to screen-printed McDonald’s track pants and comes armed with a cornucopia of accessories like a spaghetti pasta bag, loofahs, lettuce earrings and Teletubby boots. Her platform is a space that converges sustainability, Gen Z influence and eye-catching visuals. We talked with Camposarcone about the importance of shopping secondhand, where she sees sustainable fashion going and why she thinks Gen Z is improving sustainable purchasing habits. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You bill yourself as a “sustainable maximalist.” The two don’t seem like a natural pair — how do you combine the two opposites? People always think to be sustainable, you need less, and while I don't disagree with that, I think there is a healthy balance between being environmentally conscious with your purchases, and still having the freedom to express yourself as you wish. For example, ways that I practice sustainability while still feeding my maximalist needs are clothing swaps, clothing rentals and upcycling clothes I don't wear anymore. I always remind people to ‘shop their own closet,’ because oftentimes we have more than enough, and just need to style things in a new, exciting way. You have 1.3 million followers on TikTok. As your platform has grown, how have you used social media as a space for sustainability? As my platform has grown, I've received opportunities to work with sustainable clothing brands, technology brands, food and beverage brands, etc. I always want to use my platform to voice things, like sustainability, that matter to me and many others. I am so grateful for the platform I've been given, and I always want to use it for positive change. A 2021 First Insight report on consumer spending done with the Baker Retailing Center at Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania found that Gen Z is influencing older generations towards sustainable purchasing practices. Three-quarters of Gen Z survey participants said that sustainability was more important to them than brand (followed by 71 percent of millennials, 73 percent of Generation X and 65 percent of baby boomers.) What kind of impact do you see Gen Z having on sustainable purchasing? I've seen such a positive impact within the fashion community on social media in terms of sustainability, especially since the pandemic. I think the rise of online shopping, especially on secondhand platforms, is only on the climb, and the influence of TikTok “Thrift Hauls” on Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X is impactful.
| 
