But before succumbing to irresistible discounts, stop for a second and think about the impact the fashion industry has on both the economy and the environment.

This issue came to forefront in 2015, raising concerns for the future of our planet.

Some have even described the fashion industry as the “second most polluting, after the oil industry”.

Others refute this claim, doubting the credibility of the data behind it.

One thing we can all agree on, however, is that the fashion industry produces enormous amounts of waste, involves the use of dangerous chemical substances, and is still linked to cases of exploitation.

“There are many problems related to the world of fashion, and I’m not just referring to the tonnes of clothes that are thrown out every year, or the excessive use of resources and energy and the emission of microplastics in the ocean,” Italian designer Stella Cella says.

“There are also issues linked to the production and the exploitation of workers.”

These are the main reasons behind Cella’s ambitious and admirable project.

Hailing from Piacenza, in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, Cella followed in her brother’s footsteps and moved to Australia a few years ago.

Upon her arrival she enrolled in a course in Visual Communications and Design at Deakin University.

As a student living in another country, Cella soon had to pay attention to her personal spending, and cut down on shopping for clothes and other non-essentials.

“It was then that I started to take clothes that I hadn’t worn in a long time and give them a new shape or wear them in a different way,” she says.

“Then I started taking sewing lessons.”

Thanks to her sewing teacher, Cella’s eyes were opened to the negative impacts of the fashion industry.

“It’s a very hot topic today but it wasn’t really spoken about until recently, and I wanted to expand on it in my thesis.”

Out of both necessity and personal interest, a new clothing brand called Gliese 504 was born.

Cella now dedicates most of her free time to this project, which aims to give a second life to used clothes, changing their shape, style and colour and making them more versatile.

Focusing on this last point in particular, and using high quality fabric, Cella hopes to also give the items a longer lifespan.

Cella collaborates with another young Italian, Aimèe, and a seamstress of Japanese origins, and dedicates much of her attention to sourcing clothing items that the team then works on together.

This task often leads her to the myriad second-hand shops in Melbourne and different businesses.

“We’ve been lucky enough to have been in touch with several boutiques that had closed and we received all of their stock,” Cella says.

“I also owe a lot to the Italian community: many young Italians who have decided to return home or to move somewhere else have left us the items they didn’t want to take with them.”

Cella and her team are particularly interested in combating so-called “fast-fashion”, or readily available, inexpensive clothing.

“Fashion today follows continually changing trends, making the consumer want the next new thing and rendering the last outdated,” she explains.

“Due to fast-fashion, items become obsolete much quicker than in the past, when it comes to both design and quality.”

Though still a relatively new conception, Gliese 504 is already achieving notable results and has gained attention from fashion stylists.

The fact that professionals in the industry are choosing upcycled clothes is “a great step for sustainability” in the eyes of Cella.

However, the young designer says you don’t have to have an entire wardrobe full of second-hand clothes to make a difference.

“Even if 15 to 20 per cent of your clothes are recycled, that can have a great positive impact on the environment,” she adds.

The trio behind Gliese 504 take to social media to get their message out there, sharing their vision on Instagram and Facebook.

And finally, what’s the story behind the name?

Gliese 504 is a pink planet which orbits around a star.

“Normally, we buy clothes, we wear them and we throw them out,” Cella says.

“Instead, we want to send them around in a circle again and again, a bit like the planet.”