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.
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.
It’s Wool Week! This week sees a series of events and initiatives around the UK, as the yearly culmination of The Campaign for Wool.
The Campaign for Wool is a truly collaborative initiative involving farmers, textile manufacturers, carpet makers, fashion & interior designers and artisans from around the world.It aims to educate as many people as possible about the incredible benefits and versatility of wool in fashion, furnishings and everyday life. This in turn, supports many small businesses and local farmers whose livelihoods depend on the wool industry. The Campaign for Wool is jointly funded by six of the biggest trade wool textile organisations (can find out more on the CfW website), with the patronage of the Prince of Wales.
So how can we all get involved? Well, as usual, by making our voices heard through the choices we make when we shop. Support labels whose wool sourcing is traceable – i.e.: that tell you where their wool comes from! And how they treat it, and who knits it… Do you think it’s hard to find labels like these? Not at all, and I’ve compiled a quick shopping guide just for you – in the next blog post.
I personally love knitwear, I think it’s a fantastic medium for creative fashion, just as much as woven fabrics. So my style advice when it comes to wool is not to limit yourselves to your average sweater or v-cardi. Look for different cuts, experiment with thicker gauges, choose asymmetric / draped shapes, which can be quite flattering while also forgiving (you’ll thank me in January after the Christmas gorging!). And, ladies who have a (corporate) dress code at work: remember that a quality knit top (possibly with an interesting shape) can be just as elegant/formal as your shirt+jacket combo.
So what to buy this season? A few months ago a knitwear producer client asked me for an overview of the offerings of the UK market for AW12/13. Here’s a few extracts for you! And follow the next post for links to actual (ethical and sustainable) pieces!
Being a passionate Trends Researcher, my eye is trained to recognising patterns in the seasons, or the ways fashion is advertised and communicated. I don’t necessarily believe in trends per se – it goes against my Slow philosophy to think that we should renovate the contents of our wardrobe on a cyclical, trimestral basis. However I do believe understanding trends, and being able to place a label’s product in that particular stream of communication of the moment, allows a fashion brand to be of interest to the press, become visible and gain recognition with the public.
Also, I actively fight on an everyday basis with the total misconception that Slow/ethical/sustainable/conscious/Fairtrade/eco fashion is boring, not feminine, and essentially not a real fashion product. To me, it’s fashion and even more: it’s unique fashion, though-through fashion, limited edition fashion. And even a kind of fashion that, if you need it to, can be up there with the latest trends.
Do not dress for trends, dress for yourself. But if you walk down the high-street and see something trendy that is also really you…then you’ll also find your trendy and ethical alternative, believe me.
An example? A mini-trend that’s actually stood the test of time and has been constantly there for several season: your ‘berry mix’ of hot pink + red/orange. You see it on the catwalks and in magazines. And guess what – in sustainable collections too. So take a peek at my illustration of the mainstream trend, and of the ethical alternatives I suggest. Plus links if you want to find out more about the brands!
Cushlab - Fashion Compassion - Jennifer Loiselle - Hatastic! - Who Made Your Pants? - Yours Sustainably - Beyond Skin - Outsider - Antiform - People Tree - Ethos Paris - Komodo - Nomads Clothing
While at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, I snapped a few pictures of all the stylish people around. The attires were very varied, from pure fashionistas to comfort lovers, and I thought this was best reflected in the shoes they wore.
