Copenhagen Fashion Summit
May 19th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Originally written for Peppermint Magazine.
Last week more than a thousand key fashion stakeholders from around the globe descended on Copenhagen to join a movement to transition the fashion industry to sustainability. Copenhagen Fashion Summit is the world’s largest and most important conference on sustainable fashion and CSR. Like most things in Denmark, it embodied professionalism, style and sophistication. The conference was held in the spectacular Danish Opera House and participants were welcomed by Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Mary of Denmark wearing an H&M Conscious Collection dress. Key speakers were A-list quality, including supermodel Erin O’Connor, H&M, Gucci and the United Nations and European Commissioner for Climate Action. While these speakers were impressive, one presenter stood out most for his offbeat approach.
Melbourne’s Top 100
December 9th, 2011 § 1 Comment
At the end of every year, The Age newspaper publishes a special issue of their glossy Melbourne Magazine featuring their hand picked Top 100 most influential, inspirational, provocative and creative people for 2011. This year I was lucky enough to be included in the Top 100 for a documentary I’m making on sustainable fashion and the future of the fashion industry.
Clever Clothes
November 23rd, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Image source: Kunal Mukherjee
What is the future of the fashion industry? I see a future where we combine both new and old sustainable fashion principles and practices. While we are already seeing a revert back to tailored and vintage clothing, there is also an emergence of new technologies that aim to ‘enhance’ our clothing. For instance, I have already introduced Catalytic Clothing in a previous blog post which is a radical project seeking to explore how clothing and textiles can be used as a catalytic surface to purify our air.
Cheap Phenomenon
October 22nd, 2011 § 4 Comments
There is a strange phenomenon I have experienced time and time again when I compliment others on their clothing. The scenario goes something like this:
Complimenter (me): “I love your [clothing item] – it’s really lovely!“
Complimentee (other): “Thanks – it was really cheap!“
This response is not at all surprising. In fact, it is predictable and part of a larger cultural trend. Recently I was in Jakarta to present at a sustainability and climate change conference and I was endlessly approached in the streets to buy something because it was “cheap, cheap”. Back in Australia we have experienced a long history of conditioning to expect most items we purchase to be on sale and in abundance. However, through my journey of learning the sad closet tales behind cheap clothing (e.g. abused labour rights and exploitation of nature), I no longer view cheap clothing with the same rose-tinged lenses. In fact, I find it bizarre that people are proud to admit their clothing is cheap. As Janice Breen Burns states in her latest article on Style and Sustainability, “our relationship with clothing, the most visible expression of who we are, has shrivelled to a near-loveless acquaintanceship best summed up as “Guess how much?” It’s human nature to enjoy the fruits of a bargain, but why do we feel the urge to proudly declare it to the world? These questions lead me to explore whether it is actually possible to purchase something that is cheap, but also good quality and fast enough to fulfill our need for the new.
The KISS Principle
September 13th, 2011 § 2 Comments
When I was younger and solving complex maths equations my mathematician father would lovingly say to me: “Remember to Keep It Simple, Stupid – use the KISS principle.” According to Wikipedia, “the KISS principle states that simplicity should be a key goal in design, and that unnecessary complexity should be avoided.” I recently read an article that attempts to unwrap and understand the term ‘sustainable fashion’, which prompted me to wonder: can the KISS principle also be applied to the term ‘sustainable fashion’?
Sci-Chic
August 8th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Science converges with fashion to birth future possibilities.
Catalytic Clothing is a radical project that seeks to explore how clothing and textiles can be used as a catalytic surface to purify air.
Professor Helen Storey of London College of Fashion and scientist Tony Ryan OBE, have developed garments using photocatalysts – light-sensitive substances that literally clean the air as you walk.
This technology suggests that our clothes can be transformed into earth-saving agents. By adding the photocatalysts to fabric softener, our clothing has the potential to purify our air.
To illustrate the project, they have produced a mesmerising conceptual fashion film featuring supermodel Erin O’Connor with music courtesy of Radiohead.
If this is the future of fashion I am very optimistic.
To learn more about their campaign visit the Catalytic Clothing Facebook page.
Aesthetics & Ethics
July 15th, 2011 § 1 Comment
Beautiful, elegant, ravishing, sophisticated, stunning.
I absolutely fell in love when I first caught glimpse of this stunning creation made by Georgia McCorkill of The Red Carpet Project.
The Red Carpet Project is an impressive initative which raises awareness of environmental problems faced by the fashion industry through creating elegant fashion for the red carpet. Each dress is designed with inherent sustainability principles.
Dress worn by Zoe Tuckwell-Smith of Channel Seven’s ‘Winners and Losers’.
This particular dress is handmade using mainly silk which is dyed naturally using eucalyptus plant based dyes. The finishing touches are the gorgeous up-cycled fabric remnants of sequinned georgette, sourced from several Melbourne designers. Learn more about her sustainability techniques here.
Such a sophisticated dress certainly raises the bar for the rest of the fashion industry by setting new standards for sustainable fashion design. It is a brilliant testament to illustrate that style is not a trade-off for sustainable principles.
Wait in anticipation for the future possibilities created by The Red Carpet Project.
Future Possibilities
July 11th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
FutureFashion, NY
When doing my initial research to identify initiatives similar to the one I’m developing, I was very excited to stumble upon a high-end luxury catwalk show as part of New York fashion week 2008 show called FutureFashion.
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Designers of FutureFashion included Calvin Klein, Stella McCartney, Versace and YSL.
What I love about this initiative is that it’s a tangible example of what’s possible for the future of fashion. These luxury high-end brands already adhere to some simple sustainability principles, such as durable and quality made garments that are designed for longevity.
Fashion is History
July 11th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
“Fashion is the mirror of history” ~ Louis XIV
Maybe I’m ahead of the times, but if the above quote is true then surely fashion should currently reflect what is in focus right now: climate change, human rights, global consciousness etc.
There certainly are inspiring ethical fashion designers around the world and in Australia, but for now they are merely glimpses or tasters of what the future holds.
