Isabella Rossellini leads this documentary short which traces the fashion industry back to agricultural practices and exploring the patterns of its consumers. The process of ‘Farm to Fashion’ describes a sustainable movement which sources local supply chains that grow natural fibers like wool and connects to designers. This essentially is in opposition to the fast-fashion model which generates mass-produced clothing at unsustainable rates.
As part of Tribeca Film Festival’s ‘Shorts: Fierce Fashion’ category, Rossellini is joined by additional leads including fashion designer Donna Karan, and designer, Mimi Prober. Oliver Halfin directs Farm to Fashion which offers advice from people within the fashion industry. This is where its reliable sources of information come into play. Hearing from Donna Karan is quite literally a ‘call to action’ for the audience. Executively produced by American publicist, Kelly Cutrone, designer Susan Easton, and Halfin – this documentary certainly encourages us to stop and think before we make the next purchase.
It is not the design. Fabric talks. And that’s what the conscious consumer is about – is how do you dress and address?
Donna Karan
Farm to Fashion: A Behind-the-Scenes Look
Delving into a behind-the-scenes look into how fashion is made causes its audience to re-evaluate their own lifestyle choices. Fast-fashion companies generate clothing that is not made to last. Instead of repeat wears the ‘fashion’ is sent to landfill. Although, an important focal point here is supporting local farms and mills, small businesses, and ateliers. Halfin connects so many different perspectives together to show how everyone is involved in fashion.
Its editing is particularly on point and in just a 23-minute runtime showcases multiple points of view. Cutting between various places across New York, we explore the perspectives from family-run farms and designers on how the wool industry has changed over the years. Gail Parrinello at the Cornwall Yarn Shop in New York states how the fashion industry has changed, saying ‘we’ve lost the ability to appreciate quality and not quantity.’
Fiber farming is placed in opposition against fast fashion overconsumption and the use of microplastics. Both of these unfortunately play a huge role in consumers lives today. From shearing to spinning wool – Halfin’s documentary shows the important connections made in the process between farmers and their sheep to designers and consumers. It serves an educational purpose too. Alongside this are beautiful stills captured by Halfin, who also serves as the director of photography. From the colourful lights on the ferris wheel to woodland farm shots, and close-ups of seamstresses sewing in their studios.
It never starts with the animals. How is the animal treated? Where is the animal living? So, half of the story is lost.
Isabella Rossellini on safe practices for fashion.
Reshaping the Fashion Industry
This documentary serves as a learning curve for everyone involved in the process. The responsibility of fashion sustainability is shared equally. From farmers to designers to consumers – we’re all responsible for caring enough about where and how our fashion has been sourced and made. But Halfin also explores and finds connections between the history and present climate of fiber farming.
From exploring America’s history with agricultural oppression to the current state of dwindling mills where they can’t keep up with the demands of the fiber industry. Replacing polyfill and plastic with more sustainable materials can do wonders for the environment. As shown, this documentary is extremely relevant to our past, present, and future which adds another layer to why we, as the consumer should care.
Halfin cleverly touches on each of these time periods to show how wool and slow fashion can be a sustainable alternative to polyester and fast-fashion practices. As Paige Tomfohrde-Stirk from the Stirk Family Farm states, ‘One thing that people don’t think about is that all of that polyester is the largest contributor to microplastics in our environment. So, we coat our bodies in plastic every day, and there’s a real impact to that.’
Exploring What Sustainable Fashion Means to the Consumer
Mimi Prober then takes us through the importance of the people behind making the garments. It’s within the details that really matters. As shown, it takes time for workers to cut, sew, and dye the fabric and add on embellishments like buttons. This proves to us that this is quality over quantity. But the documentary’s quick cuts and intimate conversations with its speakers show just how much in-depth research went into making this film.
Prober encourages us to support sustainable practices like slow fashion. As she states, ‘I have so many different feelings because I understand the consumer really doesn’t necessarily know that hands actually made those pieces, the processes that go into making clothing.’ But it’s important that we as the consumers recognise this sustainable practice. We must learn to care enough and change our own shopping habits towards supporting more environmentally friendly choices.
It’s difficult for slow fashion too. Just to compete with all of the big brands and consumerism.
Mimi Prober
Farm to Fashion: A Call to Action
Connecting slow fashion to human rights – one of the most interesting scenes is a quick cut interspersed with TikTok clips from influencers filming unboxing hauls. This encourages their audiences to panic buy the latest fashions. But where this fashion is sourced from is what we as the consumers should truly care about more.
Farm to Fashion is certainly an eye-opening documentary that does not shy away from revealing the world’s reality of today. How we consume fashion is not an after-thought. It’s just as an important issue as climate change and it’s time we took our consumer culture seriously. This is our environment and we only get one world.
Consider Farm to Fashion a documentary which makes you think twice and analyse your own current wardrobe (or closet). As Tomforhrde-Stirk states, ‘the clothing that we wear matters. We have to stop thinking it doesn’t matter.’
Farm to Fashion is part of Filmotomy’s coverage on Tribeca Film Festival 2026.
You can also read reviews from our coverage on Tribeca Film Festival including Freestyle here.
Rating: 4 Stars
