The Noemi Tote
Made in Kenya
www.stellamccartney.com

Stella McCartney is one of my favourite high profile designer brands.  Each season, I yearn to own one of her exquisitely tailored jackets to wear as a treasured piece for years to come.  One day...

I also admire Stella McCartney for staying true to her ethics.   As part of the Brand's ongoing collaboration with the International Trade Centre, a range of hand-made recycled Stella McCartney tote bags have been created in Kenya.


The International Trade Centre provides work to disadvantaged communities in Africa.  The aim of this collaboration with Stella McCartney, is to generate economic independence for the Kenyan artisans who have created the Noemi bags.   Of the artisans questioned, 93% stated that they were now able to educate their children due to their earnings from the project.

My tailored jacket can wait.  This season, my Stella McCartney purchase has to be The Noemi Tote.

The Noemi Tote
Made in Kenya
www.stellamccartney.com

The Noemi Tote
Made in Kenya
www.stellamccartney.com

My tailor is a rockstar

Studio Jux
My Nepali Tailor is a Rockstar

Studio Jux is an eco friendly design led fashion brand with a philosophy for fair trade and fun.  Jux is a German word for fun.  Studio Jux believe that fashion should be fun.  Fun for the customer.  Fun for the designer. - and, more importantly, fun for the tailors who produce their collections.

Studio Jux believe their tailors are rockstars.

To promote the tailor's who work in the brand's Nepalese factory, Studio Jux has produced a printed 100% organic cotton T.Shirt:  My Nepali Tailor is a Rockstar.

The brand have also designed labels to promote the tailors who work in their own factory in Nepal as well as factories used in Portugal and China.

Studio Jux = Design + Eco + Fair

Customers can also shake hands with their tailor by checking a numbered label in their Studio Jux clothing.  The number corresponds to a specific tailor.  By going to the Studio Jux website, clicking handshake, customers can meet their Rockstar Tailor.

http://www.studiojux.com/handshake

Suno continue to captivate

Since starting this blog back in 2008, around the same time that the label Suno was launched, I have been captivated by the brand's creativity.  Now a regular at New York Fashion Week, Suno continues to produce directional collections with an innovative use of print, colour and fabrics.  

Suno have also continued to be true to the brands initial ethics of supporting communities and economies in countries including Kenya, India and Peru.

Below are a few of my favourites from Suno's latest Resort collection.

www.sunony.com

Suno
Resort Collection
Image by Suno via style.com

Suno
Resort Collection
Image by Suno via style.com

Suno
Resort Collection
Image by Suno via style.com

Suno
Resort Collection
Image by Suno via style.com

Fabrica Social - innovating and empowering Mexican women

The Dzitnup
a co-operative to innovate and empower Mayan women

Image via Hand Eye magazine

I have been meaning to share these images for some time now ...

The Dzitnup
a co-operative to innovate and empower Mayan women

Image via Hand Eye magazine

I also want to share with you the work of Fabrica Social.  Fabrica Social is a Mexican non-profit organisation, which works with co-operatives in artisan communities throughout Mexico.  It's objective is to empower and innovate indigenous women through design and garment making skills.

One of the co-operatives associated with Fabrica Social is The Dzitnup, which works with a group of Mayan women in Valladollid, Yucatan.  Women in this area create the traditional "huipils", which are  hand-crafted blouses that are embroidered with brightly coloured designs.  The elaborate designs incorporate vibrant florals and geometric motifs together with symbols of fertility and beauty.

Huipils are wearable art works, which represent the women's Mayan heritage.

The Dzitnup
a co-operative to innovate and empower Mayan women

Image via Hand Eye magazine

Complete article: http://handeyemagazine.com/content/fabrica-social-0

Emesha launches an androgynous edge for Autumn Winter 2011/12

Emesha
Autumn Winter 2011/12

I love Emesha's AW12 collection!

Taking it's initial inspiration from the shirt, the collection reworks this classic shape into other garments to create a relaxed, contemporary look.  These pieces are juxtaposed with razor sharp tailoring for a clean silhouette resulting in a collection of unique pieces with an androgynous edge.  

When I viewed the collection at London Fashion Week's Estethica, what also struck me was the premium quality of it's finish and fabrics - all of which are 100% natural and/or organic.  The label is fully committed to environmental and social responsibilities:  always sourcing new eco-friendly fabrics, using sustainable materials and recycling as much as possible.

In addition to this, Emesha practices fair wage policy and production is organized to help the depriving fashion industry in Hungary.

What is there not to love about Emesha.

Emesha
Autumn Winter 2011/12

Emesha
Autumn Winter 2011/12

Emesha
Autumn Winter 2011/12

Emesha
Autumn Winter 2011/12

Emesha
Autumn Winter 2011/12

Edun brings elegant ethics to New York fashion week

Edun - AW2011
Image via Style.com

Way, way back in Autumn 2009 I read that the eco-fashion brand Edun - set up by Bono and his wife Ali Hewson - was selling a stake to LVMH.  Yes!  LVMH.  LVMH the world's largest luxury group.  I have to admit I was shocked.  Was Edun selling out?  Would Edun's original ethics - building sustainable communities in the areas where the clothes are produced - be lost behind the luxury corporate powerhouse that is LVMH.

One thing is for certain, it proves that LVMH is taking a serious interest in sustainability. As Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune said "For the forward-looking in the industry, ethics is the new elegance, and doing things right carries more weight than doing things fast"

Edun's AW2011 collection brings ethics and elegance to the international catwalks.  Whilst remaining committed to the brand's fair-trade principles, Edun's designer Sharon Wauchob has created a collection with so many I-Want-One-of-Those pieces.

Edun - AW2011
Image via style.com

Edun - AW2011
Image via style.com

Edun - AW2011
Image via style.com

Edun - AW2011
Image via style.com

Edun - AW2011
Image via style.com

Edun - AW2011
Image via style.com

Fisk - Copenhagen

Fisk - Copenhagen
Image by Re-Design for Life

I came across this wonderful shop whilst wandering around the narrow streets of Copenhagen.  It's a combination of a cafe, fair trade shop and vintage boutique all brought together in a relaxed, stylish environment that is synonymous with Copenhagan.

Upstairs, classic Danish chairs and coffee tables sit amongst sustainable and fair trade products including toys, home-wares, food and eco balloons!  Downstairs there is a collection of re-designed vintage clothing - SKIFt - for men and women, together with vintage shoes, bags and jewellery. 

All proceeds from the shop help fund the work of DanChurchAid in an effort to overcome poverty and suffering in developing countries.

Fisk can be found at Sankt Peders Straede 1, Kobenhavn.

Fisk - Copenhagen
Image by Re-Design for Life

Fisk - Copenhagen
Image by Re-Design for Life

Fisk - Copenhagen
Image by Re-Design for Life

(It's opposite the university).

Estethica at London Fashion Week

What a day!  My head is buzzing. I am so excited after visiting Estethica today.  Nothing to do with the champagne brunch (well maybe a little).  No, it's all down to the creativity, passion and enthusiasm from everyone at the exhibition.  More to come on each designer and their new collections in a later post.  In the meantime here's a taster:

Ada Zanditon
Spring Summer 2011 collection
High-end luxury women's ready-to-wear.
Ethically produced, organic, recycled.

Makepiece
Spring Summer 2011 collection
Desirable design knitwear - from sheep to chic!
Local community production, organic & natural fibres.

Lost Property of London
Spring Summer 2011
Fair-trade certified products, ethically produced, recycled.

Issi
Spring Summer 2011
Art-Eco fashion brand.  Local community produced, up-cycled

Maxjenny
Spring Summer 2011
Wearable art - jackets produced from re-cycled plastic bottles
Ethically produced, organic, recycled, up-cycled

Nina Dolcetti
Spring Summer 2011
Designer shoes created to the highest standards of production and ethics
Ethically produced, local community production, recycled, vegetable tanned leather

Suno - SS11 at New York Fashion Week

I've just spent an hour or so outfit building for Autumn Winter - can't wait to start layering all those lovely textures together - long floor sweeping silk skirts with chunky knits, metallic jacquards with - I'm not sure what yet.  Delicate vintage lace with my 1980's shearling flying jacket.

Then I see Suno's Spring Summer '11 collection, which makes me yearn to wear light fabrics, fresh colours, bare legs with those amazing printed wedge sandals.

Suno - Spring Summer 2011 Collection
All collection images via Style.com

Suno garments are artisanally produced in small workshops in Kenya.

Awamaki Lab - Fashion Mentorship opportunity

Image with permission from Awamaki Lab

There are many designers – myself included – who have taken inspiration from the traditional textiles of Peru. For me, it’s the vibrant hues woven together to create stunning colour combinations and patterns that I have been drawn to, which in turn has created a fascination for me with Peru itself. The indigenous people, their culture and the country’s landscape.

So imagine my excitement when I came across Awamaki Lab, a fashion mentorship program that works in conjunction with Awamaki, a Peruvian NGO that runs a textile revitalization project to help impoverished Quechua women weavers improve their skills, gain financial independence and secure a reliable source of income.

Image with permission from Awamaki Lab

Awamaki Lab explores sustainability, ethical sourcing and product innovation. The program – lasting three months - fosters the cross-cultural partnership between the designers and Awamaki’s indigenous weavers.

Image with permission from Awamaki Lab

The designers also receive mentorship from leaders in the ethical design sector. Tara St. James, owner and creative director of New York label Study is Awamaki Lab’s first Design Mentor. Tara is a talented pioneer of ethical fashion – I’ve previously written about her design collective on this blog.

Image with permission from Awamaki Lab

Awamaki Lab offers an unparalleled opportunity for selected designer participants to develop a capsule collection in the serene environment of Ollantaytambo, Peru. Through the process, designers hone their artistic skills and lend a modern perspective to Awamaki’s range of products. This will improve the organization’s marketability and help to stimulate economic growth in the isolated, rural communities where Awamaki works.

Program dates for Awamaki Lab design mentorship program begin August 2010. Full details can be found at www.awamaki.org/awamaki-lab/

Suno New York leads the SS10 fashion tribe

Prada Resort 2010 & Dries van Noten SS2010

I don't know about you but I can't wait for summer to arrive. Ever since those amazing tribal influenced prints came down the SS10 catwalks - back in September - I've been longing to transform my wardrobe with an energising shot of vibrant African print. A flash here. A flash there. All mixed in to revive my summer basics. Oooh! I'm getting quite excited about it now.

Even more exciting is that Suno New York - a label designed in New York and produced in Kenya - is now available in the UK. The label was set up by Max Osterweis as a means to employ local Kenyan talent and showcase some of Kenya's artistry, which could potentially affect positive and lasting social and economic change.

The collections - produced in small, fair trade workshops - incorporate traditional Kenyan kanga prints into modern, eclectic styles with a fashion edge. The collections are testament to the talent behind the label - Kenyan and New Yorker.

Suno New York SS2010

Suno New York SS2010

Suno New York SS2010

Be adorned by the Kalahari

All Images by Boo George

A collaboration between two London based jewelers and The Bushmen of the Kalahari has resulted in a unique collection of directional jewelry.

Anna Haber and Sabine Roemer worked closely with Bushmen tribes women to create jewelry inspired by the Bushmen of the Kalahari's culture for adornment. The collection is a fusion of traditional skills and natural materials - Ostrich eggshells, seeds, bone and wood - with modern materials including satin and velvet.

The aim is to build a sustainable business for the tribe and generate an important source of income, especially for the women.

HandEye Magazine has a full article - handeyemagazine. Anna Haber's blog onefinetread has more information with stunning images by fashion photographer Boo George.

Erin O'Connor promotes fair trade fashion

The Observer Magazine

24 January 2010

Thank you to The Observer Magazine for yesterday's cover story 'Model Behaviour - Catwalk queen Erin O'Connor on bringing fair trade fashion to the high steet'. The article gives much needed publicity to the work of SEWA (Self Employed Women's Asociation), an ethical fashion project set up to stop the exploitation of female home-workers in India. The project is partly funded by Traid (UK Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) whose spokesperson is the model Erin O'Connor.

Female home-workers carry out highly skilled beading and embroidery embellishments for clothes destined for high-street retailers. The women can be paid as little as 54p for a 12 hour day. SEWA has increased the wages of their homeworkers as well as given them the opportunity to improve their lives and those of their families.

SEWA has contracts with Monsoon, Next and Gap and although these are only for small quantities it is a step in the right direction for high-street fashion.

For the full story click on this link: Observer - Traid - Fashion

The Cycle of Fashion

Image via Flickr.com

Image copyright of heleninpraha

The fashion date of 2010 is July 14th when two iconic style capitals - London and Paris - are involved in an exciting, not-to-missed fashion experience. Don't worry! There is no VIP guest list for this event ... the invitation is open to everyone.

The event is being organised by EJF - the Environmental Justice Foundation - who are calling all adventure seeking style-savvy volunteers to embark on "The Great Fashion Cycle" from London to Paris in aid of their work addressing human rights and environmental abuses in the fashion industry.

You don't need to be a "pro cyclist" or a trend driven fashionista to take part. All you need is passion and pedal power to help change the face of fashion for the better.

Miksani - One to Watch.

I've mentioned Miksani before. I'm very excited about this label, which was launched at Pure back in August. So why the excitement? Miksani is everything that ethical fashion should be. Firstly, it's well designed: modern with an edgy sophistication. It's the clothes that grab your attention before the ethics behind the label. Then you realise that the collection is produced to fair trade standards using organic fabrics

Katie Weightman, the designer and founder of Miksani has a real talent. Her SS2010 collection is beautifully designed, ethical and commercial. That's quite an accomplishment.

Keep an eye out for Miksani's SS2010 collection. I have a feeling it's going to be a label to watch.

Miksani SS2010

Miksani SS2010

Miksani SS2010

All images by permission of Miksani

All images copyright of Miksani