I know that the third Observer Ethical Awards took place last week (at the Hempel, no less - sponsors Ecover must have come up trumps there?), but wanted to draw attention to the winners of this year's fashion category, as well as the runners up. They were chosen by a seriously illustrious panel of judges, which included Elle MacPherson, Wayne Hemingway, David De Rothschild, Dilys Williams (Director of LCF's Centre for Sustainable Fashion) and Jo Wood...
//// Finisterre:
This under the radar surf brand was set up in 2002 by a guy called Tom Kay, conceived to offer environmentally-aware, affordable and straightforward surf gear. I hadn't come across them before (the team also includes designer Tom Podkolinski and marketing director Ernie Capbert), so checked out the website and they produce waterproofs, bodywarmers and merino wool sweatshirts - basically the gear you need for keeping warm on the beach or out and about, in simple but clever designs. They use recyclable or renewable fibres and reportedly run their operation 'from their surfer caravans in St Agnes'. I have been to St Agnes and I can tell you, if this is the case, they must have a lush lifestyle indeed. I thought it was interesting that they were picked over the two runners up, Izzy Lane and From Somewhere, as Finisterre is much more raw and utilitarian, where the other two are designer labels. It makes sense as, if people are going to try and incoporate ethical purchasing into their everyday lives, there have to be as many options as possible across the market in its broadest sense.
///// Izzy Lane: offers wool and organic cotton separates produced from sustainable sources, in the case of the wool, from sheep ethically reared in the UK. Each range's name is linked to its source, eg. the woold ranges to rare breed sheep such as Wensleydale or Shetland. The garments are reasonably priced, given their provenance and design content, and are classic garments such as cardigans, sweaters, tweed jackets and skirts, but they have been worked in such a way that they are very right, very contemporary. The collection is absolutely spot on for the tweed look which seems set to be very popular this summer; and with festivals and British weather meaning woollies are a must, the stylish jumpers would be perfect to bung in the rucksack (remember: wool is warm even when wet!).
///// From Somewhere: I met Orsola de Castro, one of the founders of this label, at LFW's first ever Estethica event, which Orsola helped curate. She is a woman of clear vision who, back in 1997 and with fellow founder Filippo Ricci, saw that the future lay in sustainable and ethical fashion. Her recycled clothes and ethos were among the first of the current wave to capture popular interest.
... And apart from the fashion category, all the others made interesting reading. Shout out to Ken Livingstone, who won in the politician category - I know that he is a Marmite man, but myself, am loving the things that he did for cyclists and the rest and would have liked to see him complete his projects. Online retailer went to Natural Collection, stockists of an ever-expanding repertoire of ethical products, and Business went to Divine Chocolate, which has been improving its formulas in the decade it has been in business - I tried some samples at the Camden Green Fair and am sure that it is better than it has ever tasted! Will also be checking out bed-maker Warren Evans, who won local retailer - am sure he (if it's a real person) is the same one who advertises in Big Issue all the time?!?
Showing posts with label Ethical Fashion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ethical Fashion. Show all posts
Monday, 9 June 2008
Recycling fashion with under 11s
So late last week I scooted back to the West Country (Bristol, to be precise) to catch up with family and friends for a few days, hence the break in updates. Not that Bristol is a fashion wasteland, you understand, just that, well, everybody needs a holiday every now and then.
/////recycled fashion workshop:
So while there, my nine year-old sister roped me into assisting on a recycled fashion workshop at her school. I was faced with 30 8-10 year-olds, all dead keen to get stuck into garment creation using recycled everything - from tee-shirts and leggings, to carrier bags and cardboard, to off-cuts of ripstop nylon (courtesy of Cameron Balloons, no doubt) and bubblewrap. It reminded me very much of art foundation, and was thoroughly enjoyable. I was able to tell the class that some of the best designers were creating fashion on the catwalk from unusual materials - Gareth Pugh sprang to mind - and that they were dead on trend.
The kids got stuck in and was impressed by the potential garb that could be created, given that the only tools were three staplers, and reels and reels of sellotape. I myself fashioned a lantern skirt dress from a black bin liner, with a gold cigarette paper bow, topped of with a yellow carrier bag hood (cut up the sides of the bag, arms through the handles et voila!). We finished the day with a shambolic attempt at catwalk style stomping to White Stripes...
////Charlotte's Threads:
On subject of recycled fashion, while in Bristol I caught up with a lovely young designer called Charlie, who has her own, predominantly children's, fashion company, making clothes entirely from other people's cast-offs. While the idea of taking a garment and reworking it with applique and cut work isn't obviously new, her clothes are really fresh and fun. She uses a lot of denim as the basis, and then cuts up bright jersey and cotton materials to create bold animal shapes on the garments.
//// Dressmaking:
And finally, was tramping the charity shops of south Bristol and very excited to find a 1970s pattern for a fab pussy bow blouse; am looking forward to making that one up.
/////recycled fashion workshop:
So while there, my nine year-old sister roped me into assisting on a recycled fashion workshop at her school. I was faced with 30 8-10 year-olds, all dead keen to get stuck into garment creation using recycled everything - from tee-shirts and leggings, to carrier bags and cardboard, to off-cuts of ripstop nylon (courtesy of Cameron Balloons, no doubt) and bubblewrap. It reminded me very much of art foundation, and was thoroughly enjoyable. I was able to tell the class that some of the best designers were creating fashion on the catwalk from unusual materials - Gareth Pugh sprang to mind - and that they were dead on trend.
The kids got stuck in and was impressed by the potential garb that could be created, given that the only tools were three staplers, and reels and reels of sellotape. I myself fashioned a lantern skirt dress from a black bin liner, with a gold cigarette paper bow, topped of with a yellow carrier bag hood (cut up the sides of the bag, arms through the handles et voila!). We finished the day with a shambolic attempt at catwalk style stomping to White Stripes...
////Charlotte's Threads:
On subject of recycled fashion, while in Bristol I caught up with a lovely young designer called Charlie, who has her own, predominantly children's, fashion company, making clothes entirely from other people's cast-offs. While the idea of taking a garment and reworking it with applique and cut work isn't obviously new, her clothes are really fresh and fun. She uses a lot of denim as the basis, and then cuts up bright jersey and cotton materials to create bold animal shapes on the garments.
//// Dressmaking:
And finally, was tramping the charity shops of south Bristol and very excited to find a 1970s pattern for a fab pussy bow blouse; am looking forward to making that one up.
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Gorgeous Ghanaian print dresses from Sika
Out and about at Proud in Camden for the Glenmorangie/Mike Figgis Five Senses exhibition launch a few weeks ago, I espied a friend of mine in a ultra-fabulous party frock. It was a structured 50s-style number with a scoop neck and belted waist - I guess in a lot of ways pretty traditional - what made it really stand out was its vibrant green and navy Ghanaian print, which added a welcome twist (and let's remember, African prints are one of the hot trends of the moment). She proudly owned it to be an ethical number, from a London-based designer label, Sika. Let's just say, I had recently made an African print dress using a West African print and a vintage Vogue pattern - it looked great, but this dress put it firmly in my mind's corner, in spite of my affection for it.
Coincidentally, the very next day trotted along to a showcase of ethical fashion, and saw a whole rackful of dresses which I knew straightaway must be the same designer, and made a beeline to check them out. The same collection (for autumn/winter 08) had previously been exhibited at LFW as part of the Estethica initiative, and I guess should hit the shops around July/August time. For the record, Sika is designed by Phyllis Taylor, who hails from Ghana but now resides here in the Big Smoke; she sources all the fabrics in local Ghanaian markets and they are manufactured by the local tailors. The pieces really do have that extra wow! factor and are worth hunting down - I think that, among other places, the Laden Showroom on Brick Lane is one of the best stockists of the Sika label.
Coincidentally, the very next day trotted along to a showcase of ethical fashion, and saw a whole rackful of dresses which I knew straightaway must be the same designer, and made a beeline to check them out. The same collection (for autumn/winter 08) had previously been exhibited at LFW as part of the Estethica initiative, and I guess should hit the shops around July/August time. For the record, Sika is designed by Phyllis Taylor, who hails from Ghana but now resides here in the Big Smoke; she sources all the fabrics in local Ghanaian markets and they are manufactured by the local tailors. The pieces really do have that extra wow! factor and are worth hunting down - I think that, among other places, the Laden Showroom on Brick Lane is one of the best stockists of the Sika label.
Hemp boys THTC introduce bamboowear for the ladies
Met a guy called Gav Lawson recently, who with his bro set up a hemp t-shirt label, THTC, about ten years ago - ie. well before the current ethical bandwagon (not that I'm knocking the current ethical move - is all great and to the better good). Til now, they've mainly been geared up to create tees for the guys; the collection has a very urban feel with political slant - new designs include anti-corporate, evil MuckDonald images by graphic designer/illustrator Mau Mau.
BUT they have started expanding the options for women, made in organic bamboo (softer than hemp), including some neat polo shirts, twisted racer back vests, tee shirts, and hoodies. I spent a good bit of time convincing him to develop them into shirt dresses and vest dresses, and push the designs a little harder, which he either heard or didn't (maybe I was overdoing it?), so watch this space as you never know! Worth a look if you want to buy some more conscientious basics.
BUT they have started expanding the options for women, made in organic bamboo (softer than hemp), including some neat polo shirts, twisted racer back vests, tee shirts, and hoodies. I spent a good bit of time convincing him to develop them into shirt dresses and vest dresses, and push the designs a little harder, which he either heard or didn't (maybe I was overdoing it?), so watch this space as you never know! Worth a look if you want to buy some more conscientious basics.
Sunday, 1 June 2008
Fashion-Conscience crops up at Camden Green Fair
Dithering around Noho on Sunday afternoon happened upon a signpost for the Camden Green Fair and Bike Fest, an annual festival dedicated to all things green, taking place on Cumberland Green in Regent's Park. Thinking it would be perfect preparation for Glastonbury (and let's face it, a pleasant stroll in the park win hands down against weekend shopping on Oxford Street, easy), trotted up Portland Place to check it out.
The pervasive scent of summer grass and damp mud certainly cemented the festival feeling. While munching our Spicy Mexican burgers from the vegan/veggie stall which seems to make it to every festival going (I have been known to harangue them at the now defunct Bristol Community Festival for runnng out of said choice), we checked out a live music stage, a Mad Hatter's sustainable tea party, stalls, learnt about home composting(!!), and perused plants from Herbal Haven - which didn't have enough pennies for at the time, but apparently can be ordered via their website. There was a vibey, deep drumming band entertaining a troupe of 40s-style tea dancers - unusual combo, but hey, it worked!
The whole event was kick-starting the three-week Love London Festival, a series of events all over the Big Smoke designed to encourage us all to live a little greener. I learnt this when their cutesy hearts-and-butterflies branding on their stand pulled me in like a satellite crashing to Earth. I am such a girl. As a real bicycle aficionado, I signed my I Move London pledge to cycle, walk and use public transport more - well, okay that's kind of what I do anyway, but it doesn't hurt to let the powers that be know, huh?
But my intended focus of this post was to mention that while traipsing the regulation clothing stalls (retching at the Peruvian cloaks - sorry Peru) I happened upon a friend of mine who last year quit her job as a celeb editor on a top women's glossy to pursue her dream of setting up an ethical fashion venture. You may have come across her website, called Fashion-Conscience - I know I keep seeing mentions in Grazia, Marie Claire and all the best titles. All the labels she stocks are ethical and often organic or recycled (there's a key so that you can see clearly what its attributes are - handy) - too many labels to choose one, but among the highlights of the options, I love the gorge vintage jewellery by Rachel Essex, especially the kingfisher and heart combos; breezy, shiny Ciel; slick, sexy tailoring of Danish label Noir, who have launched ethical line Blaak and whose LFW show in Feb was ultra glam; and of course the tongue-in-cheek Pants To Poverty, which are a great alternative to sweatshop designer briefs.
The pervasive scent of summer grass and damp mud certainly cemented the festival feeling. While munching our Spicy Mexican burgers from the vegan/veggie stall which seems to make it to every festival going (I have been known to harangue them at the now defunct Bristol Community Festival for runnng out of said choice), we checked out a live music stage, a Mad Hatter's sustainable tea party, stalls, learnt about home composting(!!), and perused plants from Herbal Haven - which didn't have enough pennies for at the time, but apparently can be ordered via their website. There was a vibey, deep drumming band entertaining a troupe of 40s-style tea dancers - unusual combo, but hey, it worked!
The whole event was kick-starting the three-week Love London Festival, a series of events all over the Big Smoke designed to encourage us all to live a little greener. I learnt this when their cutesy hearts-and-butterflies branding on their stand pulled me in like a satellite crashing to Earth. I am such a girl. As a real bicycle aficionado, I signed my I Move London pledge to cycle, walk and use public transport more - well, okay that's kind of what I do anyway, but it doesn't hurt to let the powers that be know, huh?
But my intended focus of this post was to mention that while traipsing the regulation clothing stalls (retching at the Peruvian cloaks - sorry Peru) I happened upon a friend of mine who last year quit her job as a celeb editor on a top women's glossy to pursue her dream of setting up an ethical fashion venture. You may have come across her website, called Fashion-Conscience - I know I keep seeing mentions in Grazia, Marie Claire and all the best titles. All the labels she stocks are ethical and often organic or recycled (there's a key so that you can see clearly what its attributes are - handy) - too many labels to choose one, but among the highlights of the options, I love the gorge vintage jewellery by Rachel Essex, especially the kingfisher and heart combos; breezy, shiny Ciel; slick, sexy tailoring of Danish label Noir, who have launched ethical line Blaak and whose LFW show in Feb was ultra glam; and of course the tongue-in-cheek Pants To Poverty, which are a great alternative to sweatshop designer briefs.
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