My very dear friend Yasmin Sewell has been curating the Estethica press day for a couple of years now. Last season I got there just as they were packing up. Cue guilt trip. So with my sense of journalistic duty front of mind, I skipped along to Estethica after we, (me and Yasmin, who is advising me and the g/f on our wedding looks), left the showroom of the designer who is charged with making us look amazing on the day. And no, I still have not decided on a wedding dress, though Mary has, and she looks so amazing in it. Grrr.
Brain in gear, I reacquainted myself with my thoughts on the subject. My view on ethical fashion is that something has to happen to rectify the disconnect between fashion seasons and actual seasons. Winter coats in on sale in September and bikinis on rails in March are an accepted shopping norm, but should they be? We also need to question a system that demands of designers they produce two main seasonal catwalk collections, as well as two pre-collections annually. High street stores produced a new range every six weeks. It was these points that revved the discussion into gear.
What we were all agreed on across the panel, is that awareness of ethical fashion/clothes needs to be fostered in teenagers. We also agreed that educating young consumers to develop personal style, rather than chasing fashion trends would be beneficial to everyone.
For me, what emerged from the panel discussion is that it is a darn good thing there are a bunch of people out there trying to make a difference to the way we think about and consume clothing. We need the London College of Fashion and its Centre for Sustainable Fashion. We need the British Fashion Council and Estethica. We need the designers selected for Esthetica to start making a difference, and to get recognition and exposure in the fashion press. Most especially though, we need them to make clothes that are desirable which stand up as stylish, functional, practical, beautiful - whatever they intend for them to be - but in the wider market. Not in an ethical market.
The better ethical designers get at looking as good as the rest, (like Christopher's work above), but with the added edge of green credentials, the more likely we are to see the movement growing. It is the future. Stella McCartney has shown that you don't need to use leather to create amazing accessories. Edun has shown that you can create your own supply chain by growing cotton, and educating and caring for your workforce. There are manifold ways to be ethical.
On a personal, philosophical level I don't believe in consumption for consumptions sake. I find it sinister that we should be encouraged to keep shopping (J.G Ballard's Kingdom Come anyone?) So Primark, Peacocks and Tesco clothing lines are not on my shoppping list. I only buy what I need. But I DO want to support designers who are trying to educate people by creating ethical clothing in whatever form that might come in whether it is non-chrome vegetable dyes for leather; rearing their own sheep and knitting jumpers from them; upcycling, recycling, remaking..
I do find it difficult to find amazing ethical pieces for the magazine at times, but the selection on show for AW10 gave me hope.
Baroness Young was right when she stated "when things change, the two ways need to co-exist for a while."