The invitation had been sitting on my desk for weeks before I gave them a final answer. It was for a design conference in the capital, the kind that drew both established names and rising ones. They wanted me on a panel about the future of fashion alongside three other designers whose brands filled glossy magazines and ran massive campaigns.

I said yes, but not because I wanted to be part of the noise. I wanted to be very clear about what it costs to do the work in a way that leaves no part ...