In December 2012 Local Wisdom had a London photo shoot and I was so happy to take part and share my experience. I wasn’t there in my professional role, nor am I featured as such. There was an open call for the shoot and I attended as simply as a clothes user – but I’m so chuffed to have contributed that I’ll still share here and say thanks for the opportunity! Local Wisdom is a great project of worldwide resonance. Originated in 2009 by Dr Kate Fletcher, Reader in Sustainable Fashion at London College of Fashion, it combines ethnographic research methods with design process. It gathers stories and images from the public of how people use their clothes at community photo shoots. These use practices are then the basis and inspiration for design projects in the UK, USA, Canada, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand which aim to amplify these practices and explore their integration into larger programmes or original business models. Local Wisdom explores satisfying and resourceful practices associated with using clothes. This ‘craft of use’ aims to challenge the dependency of the fashion industry on increasing material throughout and propose solutions through sustained attention to tending and using garments and not just creating them.

I also took The Frugal Challenge at Eco Age – again! I was one of the first to do it when it started in the summer of 2011, but I thought a winter version was needed! You can find details of what I wore here.

I was extremely proud to be featured by Greenpeace in the official page of the Detox Campaign Manifesto, alongside many other names of fashion, and sustainable fashion in particular, all of whom I admire and feel honoured to call my peers.

In February I also got to work with the newly launched Eco Fashion Friday project. Eco Fashion Friday was created at communications&sustainability consultancy Salterbaxter, and one of their first actions was to ask their own employees to design a Slow t-shirt or handbag – and I was asked to be in the judging panel! It was great fun, and some of the designs were so good I hope they actually go into production fast!

In Alexandra’s words: “I believe that almost every material or object can be beautiful; it is simply a matter of how they are perceived. I’m inspired by the origins of my materials and excited by the physical process of turning the lost and the forgotten into something exquisite, glamorous and even wearable. The sense of history and knowledge that people have handled and used my materials many years ago is extremely important to me, and I like to imagine that something of their spirit becomes invested in my work. This is what I love best about upcycling, knowing that most of the pieces I use have had a previous life, that many people have touched them and loved them, and that possibly, hopefully, something of their spirit endures in my work.

Giovanni Scafuro was born in Naples and while still very young he began to work with artisans like potters, blacksmiths, carpenters, from whom he learned the applied art of manual trades. Today, he works with objects of daily use, lamps, chairs, tables, and jewels. The recycle, the reuse are a constant of Giovanni’s continuous experimentation process. Objects and materials are for Giovanni an inexhaustible source of inspiration and interpretation.

Amanda Caines -  A self taught mixed media jeweller who combines materials outside the conventional and expected forms. Each piece evokes a sense of place, time or environment. Brought up on the Sussex coast, she always collected materials, wood, ceramic, sea glass and a variety of found objects. Living now in London, she works and collects in the same way along the banks of the Thames.

Boodi Blu – “I find beauty and a sense of mystery in discarded objects and materials. Boodi Blu emerged a few years ago whilst walking my dog when I noticed a couple of pieces of beautiful blue and white broken china in the muddy ground. I soon realised that the whole area was covered in them, buried in the earth. I had always planned to make an elaborate mosaic table or piece of furniture for my home but after a year of collecting I had the idea to create jewellery.”

Gesine Hackenberg – “A basic theme in my work is placing ordinary objects of use in the perspective of jewellery. Objects of daily use often become intimately important and indispensable to people. What one keeps and owns, often contains an emotional value next to its practical function or worth. Wearing jewellery on the body is the most intimate and direct form of showing this specific relationship to an object. My pieces are based on craft techniques and various materials, which are telling their own stories about preciousness and adornment, like ceramic tableware, (precious) metal, Japanese Urushi lacquer and glassware.”

StayGoldMaryRose is a collection of work by Abigail MaryRose Clark. Abigail has been making her ‘Repurposed Vintage Teacup Bracelets’ since 2004, for retailers such as Anthropologie.

Lindsay Pemberton – Rekindle is range of creatively upcycled jewellery and household objects made from vintage teacups and saucers. Liberating all the dust collecting china from your grandma’s cabinet and adorning your arms and wrists. The range includes the popular Tea Bangles, Heart Pendants, brooches with the new addition of the High Tea Stands. “My products are designed to challenge our thoughts of our everyday objects and rituals.  By reinventing traditional rituals and domestic objects they take on a new reading in each of our lives.”

Just like the “safari/colonial” or “flowers prints” trends, the Military trend is one that’s been going strong for season and is certainly here to stay for a while yet. I’d never push a fad, but this is a versatile look that I can confidently advise to embrace. It’s also so ubiquitous that designers have been creating versions of it that include suede and tweed versions. But not why stay truer to it, with real military fabrics, just like the ones that Sail The Seven Seas upcycle.

I did find a few very interesting ones. A couple of them (Blake LDN and Hellen Van Rees) do highlight their sustainability efforts. The other two (Negarin and Christopher Waller) don’t, but then proudly tell me of how they source their fabrics from the UK and Italy, and how all production is made in Britain.

While Hellen Van Rees has a more artistic and colourful approach, what I really appreciated about Blake LDN, Negarin and Christopher Waller were the simplicity, the clean lines, the graphic cuts and immaculate shapes. All perfect for a number of occasions, to be worn for work or events. That is, all I look for in a brand that I’d like to put in front of a client – and my clients are very often working women in search of quality and flattering pieces, that above all need to be versatile.

Negarin

The collection takes inspiration from the underground, anti-conformist 50s/60s vibe; silhouettes are slim and art house-y. As with all Negarin’s collections colours are vibrant and uplifting, with innocent neutrals meeting dynamic jewel-like tones to create a colour mood that works from day through night and takes the Negarin woman from one time zone to another. Negarin’s tailored pieces combine with fluid ones to meet the needs of every working woman’s wardrobe, with the interesting detail of a clever reversible twist. A trained artist and sculptor, Negarin Sadr weaves the story of her art into the medium of clothing, working with shapes. All garments are produced in the UK and fabrics are sourced in Europe.

Blake LDN

Heralding from London’s Central St Martins, Alice Ashby has previously worked as assistant knitwear designer at Rag & Bone in New York and co-founded luxury knitwear label The North Circular. She launched Blake LDN in Sept 2012. Blake LDN’s mission is to create contemporary knitwear that offers a more conscious alternative within the luxury market, with a focus on sound sourcing and manufacturing. AW13 was inspired by vintage ski images, adapting and creating a modern day take on the traditional chunky ski-knit, like new styles of bomber jackets, oversized boyfriend sweaters and chunky ribbed polo necks. Clashing hues of rich gold and bright neon framed with deep navys and army greens achieve a modern take on an everyday essential. Combining Merino wool, angora and Loro Piana cashmere this A/W collection is rich in texture, colour and pattern.

Christopher Waller

Founded in 2010, the Christopher Waller label aims to provide sophisticated urban women with luxurious staples that can easily make the transition from day to evening wear. Colour blocking and fabric blocking form the backbone of the Christopher Waller aesthetic. Fluid crepes are blended with suede, leather, heavy wool jersey and mohair to create statement pieces. Muted shades of red and teal are carried through into the digitally printed silks, contrasting with the heavier wool and leather. Christopher Waller is based in Peckham, south east London and draws inspiration for his collections from the architecture and surroundings of his home city. The collections are all manufactured in London with fabrics coming primarily from the UK and Italy.

Hellen Van Rees

A/W’13 SQUARE3 Angle: The Tranformation is Hellen van Rees’s second independent collection. It sees her continue the ideas born in her graduate collection: the same handmade tweed fabrics created using factory remnants and recycled threads, with the same three-dimensional threaded blocks creating a playful and futuristic silhouette. But this season is an exploration into what happens when yarns of all colours are combined in one textile. Hellen also uses new materials this season – a pitch black and bright white rubber-coating to create a stark contrast with the vibrant multicolour handmade tweeds. Combined with silhouettes inspired by classic Chanel skirt suits and contemporary art installations, the result is a visually strong but surprisingly wearable collection. Hellen van Rees is a Dutch fashion and textile designer who graduated from the prestigious MA Fashion at Central Saint Martins in London in February 2012. After graduating she moved to the Netherlands to start her own label. Her first collection was named “One to Watch” by Fashion Scout, where she returned to show this season.

Annegret describes ‘The sky was made of amethyst’ as “Stained glass windows swimming in watercolour seas, set against burning amethyst skies, whilst the promise of spring meadows teases with the hope of fresh beginnings.” So, how do you translate that into a print? “Our AW13 pushes the boundaries of traditional handprinted batik techniques local to Ghana/West Africa by combining our own ‘painting’ techniques with traditional batik stamping processes.”

All Choolips’s’ prints are handprinted by Ghanaian batikers. Inspired by people, their lives and entrepreneurial small businesses in developing economies, Annegret’s passion for textiles took her to West Africa with the intent to revamp traditional techniques and help sustain the artisans and entrepreneurs behind them. Choolips aims to create ‘New Heritage’ by harmonising the mindset of producers and consumers, by trading fairly and by producing locally with small water & carbon footprints.

Also, all accessories are hand-finished by seamstresses in Ghana, while the garments are tailored by social enterprise SOKO in Kenya. The fabrics are African cotton, and all prints are azo- and formaldehyde-free

Choolips counts legendary Opening Ceremony, Steven Alan & Asos.com amongst its stockists. So, while you wait for ‘The sky was made of amethyst’ to land in September, you can always feast your eyes on (and acquire!) the summer prints of their Golden Coast collection, or their trans-seasonal scarves.

Nestled in a pretty street only steps away from the Renaissance Hotel at St. Pancras, Atelier Tammam has a similar philosophy: to offer a thorough modern product and service, while celebrating the grandeur of the past. As designer Lucy Tammam puts it: “The Atelier offers a bespoke service, designing, pattern cutting and tailoring any kind of garment for any occasion to each individual customer. This season we have decided to recreate the showcases of traditional couture houses, to reflect not only our inspiration from the golden era of couture but also our dedication to offering garments that are made in traditional ways by and for real people.” So, for a limited number of guests, a ‘live’ show was offered rather than a catwalk, with a commentary describing every piece, its material and provenance.

The presentation started with a range of beautifully cut, flattering yet unusual day wear, including black and white eri silk hand loomed trousers and a black and white eri silk tunic, hand finished in the traditional method. The organic silk comes from Assam, it is guaranteed to be ahimsa, a cruelty free process which ensures the moth is allowed to fly before the cocoon is processed into yarn. The yarns are then hand woven by a co-operative in Eastern India. The rouching on the top is done by hand by artisans at a fair trade stitching unit in Bangalore. The houndstooth trousers are available in a variety of colours, hand loomed using spun eri silk. However, this season for the first time Tammam also sourced some local materials, like stock lace made in the UK, paired to organic fair trade cotton.

My favourite was certainly the Kirsten dress, that incorporates the philosophy of Slow Fashion in so many ways. This is a beautiful couture 2 piece gown in eri silk, a simple flattering design that lends itself to being turned inside out offering a new look instantly. This type of gown is perfect for a bride who wishes to reuse her wedding dress, or wants to update her look for her reception. For the ceremony, the dress can be worn with a British lace over layer, but afterwards it can be transformed, meaning it won’t be relinquished to a dust bag after only one (precious) days’ use.

Naturally, Atelier Tammam has become renowned for their bridal ranges, and it was wonderful to see the perfect cuts and delicate fabrics from up close. For example, an exquisite hand block printed and embroidered organza veil, done by hand by Ammu in Bangalore, Southern India: it takes her almost a month to embroider a veil of a standard size using a fine eri silk yarn. Other hand made lace accessories include boleros in peace silk and reclaimed tulle. I also appreciate Tammam’s efforts in minimising wastage, using clever pattern cutting to utilise offcuts of fabrics from other designs from past collections.

Lucy adds: “Atelier Tammam’s focus has always been on creating ethical fashion that does not look “ethical” in the stereotypical sense: our focus has always been on style while working with the possibilities offered to us through our unique supply chain of fair trade producers, eco friendly materials and traditional crafts.”

I also really liked the new raincoats by Supported By Rain, upcycled from lost or broken umbrellas. Interesting how they’ve played with different logos to emphasise the material’s origin and add texture to the pattern.

I was happy to finally meet Maria, the founder of Etrala London, a brand I’ve been following for a while. The fabrics were great, like the British wool tweed for the dresses. Perfect for work, but with each with a quirky detail, such as the fun colourful lining. I like their Slow concept of only producing as per demand to reduce surplus stock and wastage.

I had seen Bailey Tomlin‘s light and ethereal millinery at Ecoluxe before, but this season I was mostly attracted by her accessories, which she produces out of materials left over from the hats production. (I do suggest you have a look at her website for truly beautiful pictures of the pieces!)

Elena Garcia collection predictably was made with the best fabrics at the event – Elena uses organic silk and hand-dye techniques. I liked their luxurious feel, paired with the loose shapes and the tie-dye effects.

The new discovery this season was Danica Cosic, an American designer who moved to Marrackech and discovered the art of maroquinerie. She collaborated with local artisans with “the goal to provide a beautiful and unique fashion accessory, but also to support the local artisan businesses and provide a new platform for them to showcase their talents.  The female artisans are able to work from home, in an effort to provide additional income, while simultaneously continuing to care for their families.”

I go to the British Library regularly, but I have to admit the events I tend to associate them with are the (excellent) talks organised by their Business & IP Centre. So it is with great interest that I read about the Spring Festival, and I wanted to pass this info on to you.

The thing is, the British Library’s collections are very varied: not ‘just’ books and journals, but anything from prints, drawings, photographs, sound recordings and fashion magazine archives. A real resource for anyone interested in the creative fields, and this year’s Spring Festival aims at sharing this knowledge and encouraging people to consider the Library when they are looking for inspiration and information in these areas.

The Spring Festival runs March 1-5, with a Fashion Flashback LATE on Friday evening. This LATE is curated by students of Central Saint Martins fashion department, and inspired by the British Library’s treasure trove of design resources. To the sounds of legendary DJ Princess Julia and Jeffrey Hinton, the night will feature fashion shows with a twist, demonstrations by collectors, inspiring workshops, costume drawing, pop-up stalls and talks by GQ editor-in-chief Dylan Jones, fashion illustrator Tanya Ling, fashion academic Iain R Webb and writer Camilla Morton. You can also get a make-over with leading make-up brand Chantecaille, style yourself in the photo booth, and have your portrait drawn by a CSM fashion illustrator.

Another date not to be missed is Monday, 4th March, when you’ll have the chance to meet iconic fashion illustrator Julie Verhoeven. Not only she created a new piece of artwork especially for Spring Festival, but she will also talk about how she came up with the piece and about her career to date.

While you’re there, pop to the Market to buy the products of designers/makers who have been inspired by the Library’s collections, from zines to photographs, and commercialised their products with the help of the Business & IP Centre.

Rudá Rings - Contemporary jewellery made of Brazilian hardwood (sourced from pieces of old furniture and demolished houses) and raw stones including hematite, pyrite, vanadinite, uvite and lapislazuli. After decades as a designer for Brazilian shoes brands, Janice decided to set up her own fashion business. She was looking for something aesthetically original which, as a first rule, should be organic and environmental friendly. To package the rings Janice recycles coffee’s sisal bags. The ring is placed inside a loofah’s case made from loofah (vegetable bush) to protect it throughout the transport and delivery. Inside the package there is also one small carnauba wax can, in order to encourage the customer to care about the ring and make it to last longer preserving it beauty.

Ricardo Coacci: Also from Brazil, Ricardo Coacci is an autodidact of jewellery design. He considers wood a very noble material and makes use of recycled wood that forms the base of his work. He uses the same techniques as famous Brazilian sculptor Aleijadinho during the baroque period (1730 – 1814), which he enriches with his own research, developing a personal technique which is composed by everything he has learned from his past designing and goldsmith career.

Christine J Brandt – Christine’s pieces are finished in as natural a state as possible: the wood is never stained or varnished, but burnished and hand-rubbed with several coats of natural Danish oil to bring out the grain and natural colours in the wood.

Gustav Reyes – “I create jewelry with the mindset that each piece is a sculpture. Rings are the most sculptural of all of my work. With each piece, I attempt to create a conceptual object that respects craft, conveys the elements of design and sparks thought and excitement in the viewer. I place great importance on creating jewelry that demonstrates a deep appreciation and consideration for our natural world. To create my work, I use salvaged wood that is repurposed. I have incorporated wood from a bass violin and extra wood obtained from other wood workers. I also use Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified wood. I use production methods that reduce waste by 80%. I am dedicated to preserving Nature’s infinite beauty and continue to search for more sustainable techniques.”

Anthony Roussel – Roussel applies delicate flowing lines and sweeping curves, meticulously layering sheets of wood into sinuous forms. His fascination with the repetitive linear patterns found within geological rock formations is echoed in his technique. Essentially he builds flat elements into fluid structures. Although formally trained in traditional metalwork, he discovered his real love for materials in wood after being introduced to working with various species by a violin maker. Through the form of 3D modeling software and digital production, he embraces avant-garde processes whilst still preserving hand craft and good workmanship.

Palestinian rings: Palestinian carvers turn olive wood into a way to overcome poverty. Rich in symbolism, grand in stature, and deeply rooted in culinary and ecological history, few trees claim as important a place in human society as the olive tree. Today, Bethlehem artisans meticulously chisel carefully harvested wedges of wood using a centuries-old tradition. Harvesting the wood requires great care. This typically means using only wood collected during the course of regular pruning of the trees. In other words, no trees are sacrificed for the finished products created by these artisans. Once carved, each piece is hand-embellished and prepared for packaging. In many cases, this finishing work is performed by people with special needs to provide quality employment for an often-neglected segment of society. This artisan group is also a proud member of the World Fair Trade Organization. Hearts is proud to support further expansion of their market by using their hand carving techniques in exclusive designs.

Nadya Hazbunova - This handmade jewelry collection of olive wood from Bethlehem was born in 2012. The beautiful grainy olive wood is transformed into a range of edgy jewellery engraved and assembled into wooden accessories by hand in workshops in Bethlehem.  Every single item is unique with a different grain of colours.Olive wood is a beautiful very durable, dense and high quality wood with grains of colors ranging from cream through pink to black with a fine texture. Some pieces carry verses by Palestinian poets, famous Arabic sayings and quotes or are simply decorated with beautiful shapes, Arabic letters, words and calligraphy.

Uncertain which Slow brands to go for? Still of the idea that Slow is nice in theory, but really you’re more excited by what you see in the glossies or in mainstream stores windows? Or are you dedicated to Slow fashion, so you refrain from buying from the high-street, but you are still attracted by their propositions for the new season? Well, follow this column, and I’ll show you the better option.

For example, the other day I was reading… don’t quite remember actually! Either Elle or Vogue… anyway, was reading a glossy and saw a beautiful bag by Anya Hindmarch, in a great coral colour. But wait a minute! Doesn’t that remind me of something? Of course it does, I just saw it at Estethica, didn’t I? It’s the great Cabas tote by Veja! Which also comes in an array of vibrant colours. But it’s made of vegetable tanned leather and produced to high ethical labour standars. And, believe it or not, it’s a third of the price! £150 instead of £795 for the designer brand.

So, which route would you go down? The Designer (I must admit I can’t quite call it Fast fashion in this case – but you still pay a premium price just because the piece bears a certain logo on it), or the Slow?

You can buy the Veja bag straight from their website (in French), or from Toast in the UK.