Technology is hyped as the saviour of the pandemic, but its applications for the fashion industry do not come without risks for employees, says Camilla Rydzek
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The COVID-19 crisis has seen us adopt the ‘make do and mend’ mentality our grandparents espoused in times of rationing— self-sufficiency is no longer a “woke” trend but a genuine need. When we finally find ourselves in a post-pandemic world, and are once again thinking about Brexit, it’s important to remember that the zero-waste approach must apply to people too— in all sectors.
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Vogue Italia’s one-off illustrated covers are a step in the right direction, but it’s not enough to bring about the systemic change the fashion industry needs to address global sustainability concerns.
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If fashion is a global conversation, for many within this interconnected international community, its heart beats in Paris. Since the courts of the French kings, couturiers and ateliers have crafted the sublime into exquisite excess for Parisian style leaders such as Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette, whose milliner and dressmaker Rose Bertin continued to make items for the queen, including her mourning outfit when her husband Louis XVI was executed, even while she was imprisoned before her execution by guillotine in 1793.
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True to Fashion Roundtable’s style, their first workshop on Fashion Politics and Empowerment was presented on the 7th floor of London’s fashionable Ace Hotel surrounded by spectacular vistas of the city. With a better understanding of what is going on in the political landscape and how that impacts our personal and professional lives, we left with tools to increase our agency and feel more empowered, via policy and via fashion. #FrontRowtoFrontBench is Fashion Roundtable’s rallying cry for the fashion industry to be heard seen and properly represented. So get involved through following on social media, attending events and signing up for their regular newsletters.
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Perusing the aisles in the run up to Easter, one can’t help but feel pensive when encountering the mountains of mini eggs and chocolate delights produced by confectionary corporations. Symbolising new life, the tradition of Easter eggs seems somewhat void of meaning due to the increased commercialisation and over marketing of this holiday with their encasing in PET plastic. With the mass food and packaging waste occurring in the UK, simultaneous to the rise in poverty and inequality, this article explores the contrasting trajectories of our abhorrent throw away culture next to the destitution facing many UK households and how initiatives like the Felix Project are pursuing the mission of rebalancing this disparity.
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JUDY BLAME, was a true rebel in every sense of the word.
He was one of the first pioneers of the DIY stylist movement of the 1980s. Not only a stylist, but an amazing jeweller, making what we throw away as garbage into compelling pieces of art. A true anarchist, he is what I would consider the real meaning of a real stylist. Totally original in his aesthetic and a constant influence on today’s fashion community.
This season at Paris fashion weeks AW 19/20, collections defined honour in the working women. With the recent passing of the the king himself, Karl Lagerfeld, I felt sadness and joy all at the same time. Their was a quietness in the air, almost like a salute to the house of Chanel, And it’s achievement to still stand tall amongst all of the new designers houses.
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Ara Lumiere an Indian brand creates exquisite head accessories handcrafted by women acid attack survivors. They recently won the Fashion Hub Market prize by Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and The Best Shops (a non-profit Italian chamber of buyers) during Milan Fashion Week and founder Kulsum Shadab Wahab says the “survivor’s needed this glory and there is no better platform to start our journey.”
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It was October 2016 when a BBC Panorama investigation uncovered Syrian refugee children working in garment factories in Turkey, for high-street brands such as Marks and Spencer and ASOS. The documentary showed that there were children as young as 13 being forced to work 60 hour weeks for as little as 70p an hour. As a group, refugees are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, as Peter McAlister, head of the Ethical Trading Initiative, has pointed out.
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It was refreshing to see designers featured that don’t have sustainability at the core of their brand. Vital conversations about waste are being opened up. Louise Gray made a splendid patch worked dress whereby strands of trimmings were attached in layers. Halpern used various fabrics from past seasons, creating a mish-mashed version of his signature sequin all in ones and Richard Quinn created a red floral dress using spare sample fabric. While Dilara Findikolu used old toiles creating a Miss Havishamesque gown with an embroidered D on the neckline.
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Shortly before he died, Roy Jenkins commented that political journalism was something of a repetitive challenge when there were only two significant figures, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He compared the barren landscape of the day with the fertile ground of the 1970s and 1980s when a columnist could reflect on the activities of Benn, Crosland, Healey, Owen, Williams, Thatcher, Joseph, Heseltine and, of course, Jenkins himself. 15 years on from Jenkins’ comment and the situation appears to be worse than ever. Can I be alone in hankering after the conviction and charisma of a Blair or the intellectual heft of a Brown right now? Looking along the front benches today, I’d have Cameron and Osborne back – true they may have set our country on this wretched course, but at least they had a certain swagger and sangfroid that the Brexit debate has sorely lacked.
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For me LFW was all about an ease back with muted tailoring and an equal embrace of wild colour but worn in a grown up way. In a season marred by Brexit worries - fashion was seen as a defiant inclusive community - one capable of dressing in both a serious way and with a nonchalance that is almost recession proof. There was a return to heritage viewed in a refreshing way and the main theme of sustainability and inclusion was top of the agenda.
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The fashion landscape is a rich tapestry of innovation saturated with revolutionary ideas that have the potential to propagate sustainability. Innovations today are the solutions of tomorrow. These innovations could be in raw materials, dyeing and finishing processes, manufacturing, retail strategies, end of use practices as well as transparency and traceability. Fashion accelerators are at the crux of providing a crucial platform for these innovations to drive value, whether it be economic, environmental or social to tackle the increasingly urgent issues of sustainability facing the industry. This may be mitigating social inequalities dispersed throughout global value chains or curbing devastation to the earths eco systems and biodiversity in order to ensure a safer operating space for current and future generations.
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Attending the opening evening of the V&A’s Christian Dior exhibition was a dream within a dream, thanks to the milliner, Stephen Jones. Not only did Tamara and myself immerse ourselves in the world Dior, exquisitely curated by Oriole Cullen alongside set designer Nathalie Crinière, but we were also incredibly lucky to have a guided tour around the exhibition by Stephen Jones. Opening up the wonder of Dior, Stephen Jones (who has worked with the hour of Dior since 1996) shared his incredible insight into the history of the brand and the life of Christian Dior. The stories Stephen unfolded included how a classic black suit displayed in the exhibition was created for a lady who won a Daily Mail competition and the fact that Dior previously made stage make-up, including fake blood. Imagine, Dior Fake Blood - pure genius!
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Last Friday afternoon, the press was abuzz with news that Boohoo had plans to implement a ‘wool ban’.
In a statement that seems to use the word ‘knowingly’ to suspicious effect, the brand announced that “as of AW19/20, we will not knowingly source any wool products”. PETA’s Director of Corporate Projects, Yvonne Taylor stated “PETA is toasting boohoo group's compassionate, business-savvy decision to scrap wool. Kind shoppers agree that no jumper or scarf is worth kicking, punching, and killing gentle sheep on the shearing floor, and we're urging other retailers to follow boohoo's forward-thinking example.”
From a brand that was declared as “failing to commit” by the Environmental Audit Committee in its recent investigation of British fashion brands, this move would be considered a real step in the right direction, yes?
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The French philosopher Denis Diderot defined the ‘fourth wall’ as an imaginary barrier that divides an audience from the world in a theatrical play. This barrier forms a setting to transport the audience into an imaginary world, away from the real world. Diderot’s concept of a ‘fourth wall’ can be used as a metaphor for the role of advertising in present-day economic system of production, distribution and consumption. There is an enormous disconnect between what Barthes calls real garment (produced) and used garment (consumed) as the represented garment (advertised/distributed) fails to mediate the truth between the producer and the consumer.
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On a wet miserable February evening, a sell out crowd gathered at GCU to hear an illustrious group of speakers talk about Fashion-Tech, Disrupting business models, AI Innovations and Fashion Futures. Quite an agenda, but all with the desire to be inclusive, informative, and disruptive. Fashion has always been the enfant terrible of the business world. However, lets not forget that it provides the UK with £32 bn GDP which is over 20 times more than fisheries at £1.6bn GDP. Where is our minister for fashion, I ask?
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In the depths of the basement of Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square a fabric revolution is on the rise. This year sees the 8th Future Fabrics Expo move into their new 22,000 sq ft of space, having outgrown their original show space in the Eco complex Iris Studios in South West London. Future Fabrics Expo is curated by The Sustainable Angle, a Swiss not-for-profit organisation founded and run by Nina Marenzi. Starting in her native Switzerland in 2011, she has now made London her home because of the size and creative nature of the UK fashion market. The Sustainable Angle provides a conduit that brings manufacturers, consumers and designers together to seek best outcomes and practice through innovation and sustainability.
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The British Retail Consortium recently published figures show a further 0.7% drop, year on year, of tough retail trading.
This continued pressure on our retailers has led to a dramatic change in landscape on our local High Streets. Having lived in the same area of North London all my life, I have witnessed the slow demise of the independent retailer, squeezed out by pernicious rents, online shopping and unreasonable competition from retail chains.
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