Tag: Australia

Goth in the Sun: Australian designer Gail Sorronda

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In my recent Instagram browsing I have been coming across a lot of interesting fashion brands, some I know of, and others that are new to me. 

One of these is Gail Sorronda, a Brisbane-based designer whose eponymous brand has been worn by a bunch of famous people like Winona Ryder and Lorde. Sorronda was also apparently described by no less than Karl Lagerfeld as “one to watch”. 

All this information was gleaned from various Australian media reports as unfortunately Sorronda was unavailable for an interview, as she is “just really selective with interviews” according to her husband and business partner Atlas Harwood, who is also famous for playing bass for post-punk brood band, Gazar Strips.

Still, despite the lack of access, and the dearth of information on the brand’s website, I’m still excited enough about Sorronda’s work to spend time writing up this article.  

Sorronda launched her label in 2005 at Australian Fashion Week in Sydney, with an aesthetic that is “ethereal, dark, romantic” according to the designer in an interview published earlier this year. Her collections are named for her obsessions – Holy Water, Oh My Goth! and Angel at My Table (her graduate collection) – and obviously swing towards the gothic. Which, of course, is why I was so attracted to the brand in the first place. 

After launching in Australia, the designer worked in Paris from 2008, where her work was chosen to be featured by Dolce & Gabbana to feature in its Milan boutique, before returning to Brisbane – the capital of Australia’s sunshine state, Queensland – and establishing an independent boutique and atelier. Sorrondo’s penchant for the theatrical has also seen her work with Queensland Ballet and Expressions Dance Company designing costumes. 

While there isn’t an obvious sustainable or ethical focus in her production, Sorrondo does fit neatly into the Slow Fashion Movement.

“I prefer for pieces to be timeless. That is how I value good design. I think major trends can echo what is happening in society at the time just like music and other modes of the arts can. I just have a problem with fashion’s ceaseless cycle of replacement operating on planned obsolescence, artificially inducing trends, in a unsustainable and economically insatiable way,” Sorronda said in a recent interview.   

The brand’s garments are manufactured in Australia for the most part, from a range of luxury, internationally sourced fabrics. The designer is also in favour of supporting local artisans, as she stated in that same interview that supporting ‘local’ meant “thoughtfully buying locally designed and made products”.

As for the garments themselves, there is a definite hint of Japanese cult Lolita styling in the most recent collection – black and white, bonnets, capes of lace and voluminous sleeves all echo the mid-Victorian era stylings of the genre. 

There is, however, a delicacy to Sorronda’s pieces due to the quality of the construction and lightness of the fabrics, particularly when combined with a sense of transparency that is visible in the garments that bare more skin. 

Yes, this is another brand that would fit quite neatly into the #cottagecore aesthetic, but I prefer to think of it as a softer, more romantic version of Victorian Goth; plus the garments in white and at shorter lengths make it more appropriate for warmer climates.  

You can buy Gail Sarronda online at www.gailsorronda.com. 

 

Erik Yvon: Colourful, ethical, sustainable

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BLOG Australia fashion label Erik Yvon MAIN

Ethical and sustainable fashion, like all trends and styles, has begun to settle into a series of expected norms; organic cotton, neutral and natural shades, prairie dresses, cable knits and a somewhat ‘earth mother’ vibe. 

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BLOG Australia fashion label Erik Yvon 3

But it doesn’t have to be that way. The work of Melbourne-based designer Erik Yvon is a fabulous example of design overcoming the expected norms. Yvon uses bright colours, strong prints and unique textures inspired by his Mauritian origins, to create clothes that are joyful, inspired by art and culture, and dedicated to sustainable and ethical production.

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BLOG Australia fashion label Erik Yvon 6
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“As an independent label we firmly believe in making a change and strengthening our local industry by keeping our production, onshore, transparent and ethical,” writes Yvon. “We are mindful of the footprint we have on our surroundings and try to have a positive impact on the community within our supply chain.”

The brand stocks limited runs of different pieces, and produced made-to-order so as to reduce waste. Yvon also produces all of his products in Melbourne, supporting local industry businesses and working with various communities.

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BLOG Australia fashion label Erik Yvon 1

“We pride ourselves on being made in Melbourne and work closely with local suppliers,” writes Yvon on the brand’s website, listing the local businesses they work with.

The Erik Yvon look is an interesting mix of streetwear comfort, and over the top avant garde use of colour, texture and pattern. There is a strong gender neutral thread running through the brand, particularly in its use of separates – tops and pants that can be worn by guys, girls, anyone. The style is also relatively size inclusive, with generous cuts and the use of volume creating flattering shapes for most body types.

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There is a touch of the 90s in the brand’s designs too – particularly the use of legging type trousers, tights and black and white geometric patterns. Strong colours like neon yellow and hot pink are softened by the use of more natural shades, but the feel is one of sunny days and parties on the beach. 

To shop Erik Yvon, go to erikyvon.com

6 sustainable Australian swimwear brands to discover

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Yes. Australia is the home of budgie smugglers, togs and swimmers. Just about everyone, no matter their age or size, has a pair of bathers in the cupboard. Some of us have entire swimwear wardrobes of up to hundreds of pairs. 

But, swimwear – particularly the fabrics they’re made from – are not particularly environmentally friendly. Most swimmers are basically made of plastic. 

With most of us now becoming aware of the issues surrounding sustainable clothing production, the need for sustainable swimwear has become a bit of a hot topic. 

There are a number of smaller Australian brands that have focused on creating swimwear in a more sustainable, or eco-friendly way – they use recycled nylon, or nylon made from recycled sea plastic, or reuse fabric waste. In their different ways, with their different styles, these brands are filling a gap in the market.

Camp Cove Swim

If you love colours and prints, Camp Cove Swim is a brand you’ll get excited about. The cuts are forgiving with high-waist bottoms and supportive tops in pretty graphic patterns and a range of colours from muted neutrals to bright primary shades. 

sustainable Australian swimwear brands CAMP COVE SWIM 1

The lining of the swimsuits are made of Econyl – a regenerated nylon made from fishing nets and landfill waste – and the prints are done using the sublimation printing process that uses no water at all to dye fabric. 

The brand also manufactures all their garments in a small town on the coast of New South Wales, and uses in-house scraps for their samples, and they on-sell their excess fabrics to local fabric stores. 

Check out the brand at www.campcoveswim.com

Salt Gypsy

This is a swimwear brand that’s all about surfing. The style and designs are functional – think rash tops, surf leggings, high-waisted bottoms, supportive tops and waterproof pouches – they also produce surfboards. 

The garments are made from Econyl, they use biodegradable packaging and produce the pieces in Australia using responsible manufacturing practices. 

Salt Gypsy started out in 2012 with the aim to develop the surf leggings for women surfing; and continues to be focused on creating a closed loop production system using ‘repolymerised’ waste materials and supporting the slow fashion movement.

Check out the brand at www.saltgypsy.com

Shade Swim

If you’re as scared of the harmful rays of the sun as I am, you need to check out Shadeswim. The brand was created by a young mother who suffered from skin cancer, and who wanted to create swimwear for adult women that is more covered up, and with a high level of sun protection. 

In Australia it is basically a law that children now have to wear full-coverage swimwear ie. rash tops etc, and full-coverage hats with neck protection at schools and public swimming events.

Shade Swim’s designs are not trendy, but they are comfortable and flattering for women of all ages and body types, they protect your skin and are made from a type of sustainable Lycra that is UPF 50+.

Check out the brand at www.shadeswim.com.au

Re-Swim Club

Yes, you can upcycle and reuse swimwear fabric according to Re-Swim Club, a swimwear brand that creates its garments out of what would otherwise be considered waste fabric. 

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The brand sources designer surplus, recycled materials, remnants and off-cuts to create limited run swimwear. All the pieces are hand cut and hand sewn to make the most of every little scrap of fabric. 

The swimsuit cuts come in classic styles like tank two-pieces and simple one-piece malliots, and since the fabrics change all the time, there are limited numbers of each piece. Interestingly the brand categorises its products by size – so you shop your size first and then see what is available. This makes sense considering the irregular amounts of each particular fabric. 

Check out the brand at www.reswimclub.com.au

Le Buns

Yes, this swimwear is designed to make your bum look good. If you’re looking for something a little sexy and love solid colour swimwear, check out Le Buns. 

These swimwear designs are a bit more on trend than some of the others, but there is a classic feel that makes sure you will have longevity from your swimsuit. The cuts of the bottoms are also a bit more revealing than more covered-up brands, for those who want to show off a bit more. 

The brand pays attention to its supply chain, using suppliers with sustainability and transparency credentials for ethical production. Le Buns also uses biodegradable packaging or home compost grade mailer bags for its online shipping, and even gives you a free wash bag so you take care of your swimwear in the washing machine so it lasts longer and you don’t need to replace it. 

Check out the brand at lebuns.com.au

Shapes in the Sand

This eco conscious swimwear brand is all about Australian nature, from the prints to the styles. Using sustainable and recycled fabrics, Shapes in the Sand produces limited runs – two or so prints per season – in a range of cuts that have been designed to suit all ages and body types. 

Like many Australian swimwear brands, every collection comes with a rash top – the cover-up of the Aussie beach – and different styles of bottoms depending on how much, or how little you want to show. The prints are based on the natural environment, and the brand’s models are more natural than fake. 

All manufacturing is done in Australia, with the aim of supporting a circular economy; the fabrications come from bio-based (plant) materials and recycled nylon from fishing nets and even carpet fluff! All their packaging is plastic free, and Shapes in the Sand also collaborates with a variety of non-profit environmental and cultural organisations.

Check out the brand at www.shapesinthesand.com.au

If you’re interested in supporting Australian fashion, follow @fashion_revival_runway to discover more cool, independent Aussie brands.

 

Avant garde Australiana: 3 interesting Australian fashion brands to discover

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For a long time Australian fashion has been known only for its swimwear, beach wear, resort wear, flip flops, shorts, jeans, casual tees and Ugg boots. Now, with the world made smaller via the internet, some Australian designers are beginning to branch out into areas that are more fashion, than retail. In fact, some of the more interesting Australian brands have been around for decades … You just didn’t know about them. 

Here are three of my current favourite Australian fashion brands …

Et Al

Et Al is a Melbourne brand that has been around since 1987 when it was founded by Christine and Les Doughty, who still own and run it. This is one of my personal favourite Australian independent labels; it’s very Japanese-art-gallery-worker crossed with 90s goth and bits of Vivienne Westwood.

This is a brand that is strongly influenced by the Japanese designers of the 80s – think relaxed tailoring, lots of black, few patterns, multi-use garments and gender neutral designs. The current brand designer is Anthony Capon who won Project Runway Australia season two. 

Et Al is known for its quality of fabrics and finishings; there is a type of timelessness to the designs that make the pieces trans-seasonal. Et Al also supports other young and emerging Australian designers via its accessories stocks that feature artistic jewellery, as well as shoes and hats. The brand offers womenswear and menswear, but many of the styles are unisex. The use of muted colours and some prints adds depth to its more basic black core collection.

The brand produces limited runs of only 8 to 24 pieces of each style, and 70% of their garments are made in Australia. It is also size inclusive running from Australian size 8 to 18. Et Al is even age inclusive, featuring models of all ages in its social media and campaigns.

Follow the brand at @etalaustralia and shop the brand at etal-australia.com.

Alpha60

Another one of my favourite Australian fashion brands, Alpha60 is Melbourne born and bred, founded in 2005 by brother and sister duo Alex and Georgie Cleary. The brand’s name comes from the sci-fi classic movie Alphaville by Jean-Luc Godard. 

Alpha60 is another brand where you can clearly see the influence of the Japanese designers of the 1980s.

While there is not so much black, there are lots of cocoon shapes, volume, asymmetric cuts, simple patterns, little glitter or gloss, natural fabrics and size inclusivity ie. nothing’s too tight or too structured. 

Alpha60 is a brand that sticks to small production runs, using local sewers, and although it has around 10 boutiques in Australia and New Zealand, is still affordably priced in the lower contemporary range. I’ve bought a fair few pieces.

Follow the brand at @alpha60thelabel and shop online at www.alpha60.com.au.

Chris Ran Lin

This menswear brand is an interesting mix of JW Anderson menswear with touches of Off White and Korean brand Junn J. Based in Melbourne, this brand is probably the most experimental of the local menswear brands. Lin is inspired by “architecture, structure, and texture” which can be seen in the cuts, volume and use of wool fabrics. 

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Lin is also known for his quality, but still interesting, knitwear. The use of various techniques to create lacey sweaters or bodycon tops, gives the brand the JW Anderson feel. Recent collections have shown a brighter and sharper use of colour, particularly the Uniform collection; note the ‘logo’ and use of red. It rather reminds one of something, does it not?

Although primarily a menswear brand, Lin has recently branched out to create a few womenswear pieces, and items that are distinctly non-gendered as well.

These appear to be more like luxe basics with a more elevated feel, rather than Lin’s more artistic runway garments. The newer items look to be more wearable for a wider range of body types as well. A good move in these uncertain times.

Follow Chris Ran Lin at @chrisranlin. Currently the brand is only available via the atelier, but there is an online shop coming soon. 

For more on Australian fashion, read Thoughtful, wearable clothes for every body by Jude Ng, and Small but mighty: 6 emerging sustainable Australian fashion brands

Small but mighty: 6 emerging sustainable Australian fashion brands

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For a long, long time Australia was seen as a fashion desert, with its lack of ‘major’ brands, its odd seasons – compared to the rest of the fashion world – and the country’s laidback lifestyle. Even its most cultured of cities – Melbourne – tended towards the basics of shorts and tees in summer and tracky daks and uggs in winter. 

Somewhere in the 80s, however, there seemed to suddenly appear a nascent Australian fashion scene. Ksubi sent rats down the runway, magazines proliferated and the average Aussie girl started wearing cute little dresses and Sass & Bide lowrise jeans. Yes! Australia had fashion. 

By the beginning of the 21 century, unfortunately this burgeoning fashion industry started to collapse with the influx of high street brands from around the world; the introduction of online shopping seemed the final nail in the coffin of a small, off-season regional fashion industry. 

But all is not lost. In the last five or so years there has been a rise in small production, locally manufactured, sustainable fashion brands sprouting in Australia. These brands are focused on circular production systems, waste reduction, ‘slow fashion’, limited production runs, using sustainable fabrics and dyes, and generally not wanting to be ‘huge’ or international brands. 

As the coronavirus hits the global economy, many fashion brands are finding their supply and distribution chains at risk. In conjunction with these issues, more customers are thinking about the idea of #shoplocal, of supporting their local economy and small businesses. This situation therefore may become a great opportunity for small, local, sustainable fashion businesses. 

Here are six small, sustainable Australian fashion brands to check out. Remember, just because they are small, doesn’t mean they don’t sell online, and ship globally (in biodegradable packaging).

A.BCH

Founded in 2017 by Courtney Holm, A.BCH is a womenswear and menswear brand with many garments fitting into the non-gendered definition and in fact shot and sold on both men and women. The core of this brand is its circular production cycle, or circular economy standard.

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The brand’s line of elevated basics are all made in Melbourne from organic, recycled and renewable materials; buttons are made from seeds of fallen corozo fruit and their factory is family owned and operated in Melbourne. 

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A.BCH’s design is a mix of practical basics – sweaters, tees, shirts, pants, skirts etc – in muted neutral shades and simple patterns. There’s an earthy, relaxed and comfortable vibe about the brand, it’s almost anti-fashion.

Although the focus of the design is on reducing waste, the odd thoughtful detail on a basic garment helps elevate the brand to something a little bit more interesting.

Follow A.BCH on @abch.world and shop online at abch.world.

Nobody Denim

This Melbourne denim brand is all about sustainability and ethical production. Everyone knows that denim is one of the worst fabrics when it comes to pollution, water use and waste, which is why the team behind the brand is focused on making ‘clean’ denim garments.

All the garments are made in Melbourne with guaranteed fair working conditions employing over 80 staff; Nobody Denim is also accredited with Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA).

The brand is also very careful in where it sources its materials – which means working with suppliers who meet IS014001 standards, use natural enzymes in their laundry, have reduced their water use for certain processes by 50% and support Australian hardware suppliers like YKK zips to reduce their carbon footprint.

Nobody Denim doesn’t just do jeans, the brand also offers womenswear tops, skirts and even dresses in fabrics like organic cotton and silk. But it’s best pieces are the denim, particularly their season collection items like coloured denim, wide-leg jeans and slim cut denim jackets.

Follow Nobody Denim on @nobodydenim, and shop online at nobodydenim.com.

Kuwaii

Made in Melbourne brand Kuwaii was founded in 2008 by designer Kristy Barber and is all about the slow fashion movement and local production. The womenswear brand focuses on creating anti-fast fashion pieces that are less trend driven, more about personal style, comfort and longevity.

All garments are made within a 15klm distance from the design studio, and even its footwear is made by one of the last surviving Australian footwear factories, where each pair of shoes takes up to a day to make by hand. 

Kuwaii is also focused on transparency with its environmental goals posted on its website; it aims to be carbon neutral by June 2020. It’s packaging is either biodegradable, compostable, recyclable or reusable; even for online shopping the brand uses compostable bags and a biodegradable sticky tape. Fabrics are as environmentally sustainable as possible, the brand also uses surplus fabrics in their collections thereby repurposing waste from larger brands.

Kuwaii’s aesthetic is a combination of comfortable shapes, natural materials and colourful prints. The brand collaborates with local artists to create unique print runs on limited pieces, mixing these with muted solid colours and neutrals. It’s a casual brand creating comfortable clothes for women of all body types and ages.

Follow Kuwaii at @kuwaii, and shop online at kuwaii.com.au.

Joslin

Launched in 2018, Joslin is a womenswear brand based in Melbourne founded by designer Elinor Joslin. The brand is a slow fashion label with an emphasis on limited lines in sustainable fabrics. 

Joslin is a softly feminine brand and is best known for its signature linen dresses adorned with ruffles, pintucks, smoking and button detailing. More recently the brand is being noticed for its stylish and flattering range of knits, which also have a quietly feminine touch. The brand features a lot of traditional fabrications and techniques.

On the sustainability front Joslin uses 100% compostable bags and packaging for its online shipping, including 100% recycled tissue paper, and its international orders are carbon offset using DHL’s GoGreen Climate Neutral service.

The brand uses natural fabrics, and only uses synthetics if there is totally no other alternative; its signature linen and ramie fabrics, silks, organic cottons and merino wool fabrics are used in conjunction with recycled cotton and nylon. For 2020 the brand’s design team is working with natural dead-stock fabrics and working on discovering alternatives to synthetic fusings and plastic zips and buttons.

Follow Joslin on @joslin_studio and shop online at joslinstudio.com.

Devoi

Another Melbourne based brand, Devoi is all about slow fashion and ethical consumerism. Known for its original prints, the overall vibe is fun, colourful, wearable and comfortable. From its launch, the team behind Devoi decided to focus on ensuring ethical manufacturing practices and sustainability.

This womenswear brand’s design is less about trends and more about longevity – like most of the brands in this list. Devoi does not use synthetic fibres, instead using silk, viscose and linen – mainly because all these fabrics can be dyed and cleaned in cold water with natural detergents. The custom prints are digitally printed since it uses less water and produces less toxic waste. The dyes used for the printed fabrics are AZO free dyes and natural plant dyes.

The brand’s manufacturing is done overseas, however it works with factories that are connected to NGO organisations, supplying mattresses made from scrap fabrics for those in poverty. That same factory reuses cardboard boxes for delivery to Devoi. Devoi’s textile dyeing mill has a treatment plant that uses evaporation and separation technology to clean the water used in the dying process, and then reuses the recycled product.

In line with much of the slow fashion movement, Devoi produces limited runs so there is no wasted fabric or stock wastage, and the brand uses the print fabric offcuts to create accessories like belts, headbands, pouches etc.

Follow Devoi at @devoiclothing, and shop online at www.devoishop.com.

SHHORN

This brand is less a fashion label and more an art project led by Sean Tran. While SHHORN does produce clothes, it is also focused on creating handcrafted fabrics and other objects in search of the “inherent traits of natural materials through design and construction activity”. 

Tran is a self-taught tailor who used to be an architect and jeweller, and spends his time between an atelier in Sydney and a handcrafting fabric studio in the Blue Mountains. The resulting garments are hand stitched from fabric that has been crafted from raw fibres also by hand. 

There is something very Japanese about SHHORN in the way the process of the making is as important as the final garment; the pieces – both menswear and womenswear – have an old fashioned feel to them with a kind of artistic Amish vibe.

There is also an element of non gendered design, with pieces being shot on both male and female models. There are menswear pieces that echo womenswear cuts, and also a touch more of the Japanese artist’s aesthetic with short-cropped trousers and voluminous cocoon shapes for both genders. 

The cuts have a timeless quality about them with generic shapes being made important and interesting due to the way they are produced, rather than any strong creative urge. Accessories include kangaroo leather pouches and belts, all very authentic and hardwearing, again the design is about functionality and longevity. 

Follow SHHORN at @ateliershhorn, and shop online at www.shhorn.com.

For more on Australian fashion, read Thoughtful, wearable clothes for every body by Jude Ng.

Review: A Classic Carla collection

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Carla Zampatti is one of Australia’s best-known, most successful and globally recognised fashion designers, and for her Grand Showcase she showed a classic collection.

Over 30 years ago, Carla Zampatti introduced me to the idea that fashion could be a career. As a teenager I attended a talk she gave about how fashion wasn’t a frivolous pastime, but something that could become a job for life.

Obviously the designer practiced what she preached. Zampatti opened her first store in 1972; that’s almost 50 years ago. And she hasn’t stopped working to create the classic Australian woman’s wardrobe.

For her Grand Showcase affaire at VAMFF, Zampatti held her own on the runway – the only brand to have a stand-alone show – with a series of wearable, stylish and elegant looks that held little overt drama but a whole lot of ‘chic’.

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Luckily for me I was seated next to the lovely, warm, friendly and funny Robyn Baillieu, wife of the former Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu.

Chatting about her interest in fashion, especially how innovation is changing the industry, Baillieu said that she, and her two daughters both wore, and loved, pieces from the brand. And as Baillieu happily pointed out looks she loved and some that she already owned, it was clear that Carla Zampatti has developed into a label that suits a wide range of ages.

While the runway show was all about Zampatti as a designer, and the brand, it was also heartening to see so much inclusion on the runway. Globally there has been a lot of talk about the importance of including all races and creeds, and sizes.

While Zampatti featured stunning black models and Asian models, and included two hijabi looks, it would have been fabulous to see a few elegant mature women and women of different shapes on the runway too. Melbourne model Hanan Ibrahim (pictured below) was the first hijab model to walk the runway for Melbourne Fashion Week.

Melbourne model Hanan Ibrahim was the first hijab model to walk the Melbourne Fashion Week runways

With a soundtrack provided by Eurovision songstress Dani Im supported by Nick Wales, Peter Simon Phillips and Jonny Seymour, the set of the Royal Exhibition Building resounded to a mix of contemporary soul and more instrumental sounds – the perfect accompaniment for the collection that was also a mix of classic and contemporary.

Opening with a series of classic Carla red looks, working through sky blue satin, a glittery houndstooth jacquard, leopard and zebra prints (with added bling), it was the tailoring, coats and jackets that showed why Australian women love the brand.

A stunning boxy double-breasted coat in boucle tweed stood out as one that would stand the test of time; as did a white wool suit with swinging fringe.

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The houndstooth pieces, rather ironically considering the passing of Kaiser Karl, were reminiscent of classic Chanel – a comparison that can never be escaped when using that pattern in black and white. However Zampatti deftly added her own touch with a simple long skirt in once case, and a neat pair of capris in another.

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There were a number of capes and capelets; the most successful being a beguiling caramel coat-dress in a lovely suede.

A Classic Carla collection 9 cape

Less successful were a series of graphic evening dresses – one with a mound of maribou, another not quite fitting the model correctly – as they seemed a little too ornate, especially when compared to other evening looks.

A Classic Carla collection 2 evening feathers

A classic ‘sexy’ mini encrusted in shining sequins and another evening gown that cleverly created a zebra stripe of shimmer seemed more streamlined and elegant.

A Classic Carla collection 5 sequins

Perhaps the most interesting and memorable look was a delicately pleated maxi dress with string-sized straps, a low vee neckline and perfect pleats front and back; the cut of the back was done to perfection as it sat proud from the shoulder.

This was a stunning example of quality tailoring, however it didn’t seem to entirely fit the rest of the more classic collection. Perhaps it is a new concept we will see more of in the future.

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The show closed with a collection of black evening frocks that were again, more classic than cutting edge, not that this is a bad thing.

A Classic Carla collection 1 evening

Since the fashion industry currently appears to be having a crisis of conscience around the issues of sustainability and ethical fashion, it may be time to invest your money in pieces that will always look stylish, rather than just jump on a passing trend.

As the show ended, Zampatti received a standing ovation. Not many designers, even the big names in Paris, get that.

I attended VAMFF as part of its Writers Programme.

 

The future of fashion must be sustainable, and kind

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Sustainable fashion, slow fashion, closed circular fashion production system … all these things are the future of fashion and we need to start doing them now.

At the Future Fashion. Is it a stitch up? conversation held as part of VAMFF’s Independent Ideas Event series, and in collaboration with The Possibility Project, a group of like-minded individuals came together to examine the future of the fashion industry in Australia and beyond.

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Examples of fabrics from Ink & Spindle, an Australian brand that create textiles that have a minimal impact on the earth. The brand uses organic cotton/hemp and eco-linen basecloths for their prints that are free from harmful chemicals. .

With Kim Pearce from The Possibility Project and slumwear108, Marnie Goding, the Creative Director of fashion label ELK, and Karina Seljak co-founder of Seljak Brand on the panel, the focus was on the importance of changing the current fashion industry system, with the hope to improve the overall sustainability of making and wearing clothes; and doing so with kindness and ethical awareness.

As Pearce said: “It is time for the fashion industry to open the conversation, and reimagine the industry in a way that is not all about technology but also about common sense”. She believes that historical fashion choices by both industry and consumers have led to “immense damage”, not only of the environment, but also how people and their work is treated.

Like the Fashion Revolution movement and its popular hashtag #Imadeyourclothes, The Possibility Project focuses on the social movement behind changing people’s shopping choices. They don’t want people to feel guilty about how they shop for clothes, but they do want to educate shoppers about what they’re buying.

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Fabric from Ink & Spindle.

For Karina Seljak, one of the co-founders of Seljak Brand – an Australian company that makes blankets from recycled wool – getting the technology, machinery and skills behind creating a fully sustainable and closed circular fashion production system is most important when it comes to creating a better fashion system.

“One of the main inhibitors to moving to a closed loop system in Australia is that we are still shipping our textile waste offshore; those recycled products don’t come back to Australia. We need to our on-shore manufacturing to be circular [to make a difference],” explained Seljak.

This issue of waste was also emphasised by Pearce, although her perspective was as much about how human potential is being wasted in the large scale fashion industry.

And waste, plus the sourcing of the right materials, also came up in Marnie Goding’s comments on how her brand ELK currently operates. “In Australia we don’t value our waste products. There is a factory in Vietnam that we work with that completely recycles all of its waste water used in making jeans. They put it back into the environment,” said Goding.

Although Goding wants her brand to be as ethical and sustainable as possible, her core concern is that not just in Australia, but globally, the established manufacturing industry has not kept up with the move towards more sustainable fabrics and textiles. She also mentioned that although ‘sustainability’ is currently a global fashion trend, customers are not yet educated enough to understand why they need to change their shopping habits.

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The team at Ink & Spindle showing how they hand screen print their eco-friendly fabrics.

Shown by the few questions asked by the audience, all three speakers were preaching to the converted. A few asked about how younger shoppers can be converted when they are focused on cheap prices and social media trends, however apart from discussing the importance of education, and shopping at Op Shops, there was little that the speakers mentioned that could impact in any great way.

While it is obviously important for more people to know about why we need to stop sending clothes to landfill and choosing to buy fewer, better, things, the relatively small turnout for the Future Fashion conversation also showed that a great deal more needs to be done to get the message out. As long as it’s done with kindness.