Once upon a time most of London’s high-end boutiques would take their seasonal seats along the flanks of the capital’s cat walks and wait for the latest and wonderfully creative cuts of clothing that year had dreamt up – what ever the cost! Nowadays – at long last – fashion seems to have found its peace of mind and got its conscience back.
Fresh from the design board, strutting its stuff down the cat walk, and in amongst the dazzling spotlights of London’s Fashion Week, this year, were all things Green. Ever since Stella Mccartney brought new life to the slouchy, hemp-heavy costume box of eco-friendly clothing, more and more designers have put their ever-in-vogue Thinking Caps on and done (what was once believed to be) the un-doable: an innovative ecologically engineered piece of couture.
Dozens of budding designers brought their Green roots into blossom for this year’s Spring/Summer collections; reeling out hit after hit of stunning outfits. Some of the most eco-impressive names this season include Izzy Lane, Minna, Elvis and Kresse, Goodone, Joanne Cave, and many more.
Joanne Cave, who’s name might have gone undetected through the average fashionista’s radar, creates remarkable jewellery to challenge the most high-end items, made from recycled silver. Her pieces also incorporate their own ‘stories’ as directional themes branch into contemporary ecological topics. Some of her iconic designs for Spring/Summer include fish, flowers and leaves. The handmade, ornate necklaces use at least 90% recycled silver, as well as ethically sourced pearls and precious pebbles and stones picked straight off the Greek coastlines where she lives and works.
Other, less traditionally styled eco-fashion has boosted fair trade tailoring by Minna into this year’s lime light. Minna Hepburn, a Finnish designer who has been circulating the fashion capitals of the world for a few seasons, uses reclaimed lace in her Scottish lace designs, in order to create all black tunics and dresses that are organic, fair trade and put together using recycled materials to make truly unique garments.
This leap into a more sexy, stylised silhouette for the modern environmentalist, has also taken shape in Yorkshire-based clothing company Izzy Lane. The award-winning company, who are set to release a more ‘affordable’ line for next season’s rails, look proud in their ethical stance and muted colours. Izzy Lane’s centre piece is their wool attire. This is, unfortunately, at the higher end of their price bracket, but the money spent is without a doubt put to good use. Isobel Lane, founder and CEO of Izzy Lane, uses select wool from rare breeds of sheep that have been saved from slaughter. And despite the price being rather costly, a large proportion of the money is invested back into caring for the sheep’s welfare. A simple, but ingenious turn.
Another do-gooder for the fashion industry is Goodone, who use recycled fabric for their cuts; the same recycled materials that would otherwise be sent to landfill.
So as the nation turns into a long, straight spot-lighted runway of ten years before E.U. 2020 requisites set in, let’s just hope these ethical trends find their way out the shops and are really take off!
