Over the next few months, Camilla from the Ethical Fashion Forum will be sharing with us more about the EFF, ethical fashion designers, as well as general information about what exactly ethical fashion is! BitchBuzz is delighted to be a press partner with the EFF, and we're thrilled to have Camilla as a honorary member of the BitchBuzz team!
The Ethical Fashion Forum (EFF) would like to introduce the topic of ethical fashion to BitchBuzz readers and present some very exciting up and coming designers - our INNOVATION competition winners, Henrietta Ludgate, Lalesso, Mark Liu, MIA.
The INNOVATION competition champions emerging designers who combine fashion with ethics. This may include supporting producers at home or abroad aiding development of their livelihoods, recycling materials to make new exciting creations where left over fabrics would otherwise be thrown to landfill; or creating designs that have a sense of longevity.
Ethical fashion can mean many things to many different people, from fair trade, vintage, recycling, organic and eco fabrics and the concept of slow fashion. Ultimately ethical fashion is about thinking laterally regarding a host of different topics which affect humanity, the environment and the planet at large.
Now don’t get me wrong, we all love fashion. We know it’s hard to walk past the window of a store that may be ethically questionable, and not be seduced by that little red dress which you could have for a mere snippet of your wage…but this is now an emerging conflict we have in our heads…logic or love?
Until recently this has been a battle the majority of us have been losing. But as the ethical fashion revolution is now gaining momentum there are more and more choices out there than ever, fashion and ethics are finally beginning to merge- and as Francois-Henri Pinault (head of luxury conglomerate PPR) stated at a conference earlier this year on the future of the luxury fashion, ‘ethics are the new elegance’ and where the luxury market goes, the high street will inevitably follow…
A 2009 Mintel Oxygen report stated that sales in ethical clothing have more than quadrupled over the past five years in Britain, making the ethical clothing market now worth £175m.
The EFF INNOVATION Winners
The winners were picked by a high profile group of judges which include the exceptional Roland Mouret and ever exquisite Erin O’Connor. Selected for demonstrating ‘outstanding design and product quality as well as innovation in relation to social and environmental sustainability’ the winners:
Henrietta Ludgate, Lalesso, Mark Liu and MIA have all shown both a sense of exceptional talent in terms of design, whilst simultaneously incorporating an ethical dimension to their clothing.
This week we would like to introduce the two designers which the EFF exhibited at London Fashion Week (LFW) in the Estethica exhibition -Henrietta Ludgate and Lalesso.
The EFF stand attracted a host of different types of buyers and press as Lalesso’s style is casual, flirty and playful; whilst Henrietta Ludgate’s designs have a structured, high-end luxurious quintessence.
For a heads up of what you’ll be seeing next summer, Henrietta’s pieces were mainly white/off white, pale pink and silver grey, reflecting the high-end subtle style of the brand. The shape and cut of the pieces adds a progressive and modern twist whilst cleverly maintaining a classic feel. Think edgy meets preppy!
The pink dress was a favourite among the models with its sexy low slung back and slinky material- the perfect party dress.
Lalesso’s ss2010 styles championed bright patterns with exciting colours.
The purple and yellow dress Soho dress with cut out back is truly an exciting piece as it integrates a '50s style full skirt, gorgeous African pattern and great colour scheme, all working together to create the perfect summer dress.
These fun dresses received plenty of interest, check out the online Spring Summer 2010 collection for a preview of what to expect will be big next summer!
As for these two very different but equally fantastic brands, now LFW is over, this week the pieces are adorning models strutting down the catwalk in Hong Kong at the Interstoff trade exhibition…
INNOVATION winners are going global!