Sustainability seemed to be tightly threaded into this year's S/S20 London Fashion Week. If you didn't already know, fashion is the second most polluting industry globally, and the fashion industry is making a lot of noise about trying to better its production value and processes. What better way to showcase that than with a global platform like Fashion Week?
Fashion Futures, a social initiative powered by 2210 Fashion, WeWork, AOFM PRO and INANCH LONDON announced a free-to-show bi-annual catwalk show, on the 15th September, for emerging fashion designers promoting sustainability in fashion. The catwalk show, held at Devonshire Square, doubled as a fundraiser for The Prince's Trust and showcased 4 designers, Daisy Miller, Aurelie Fontan, Manon Planche and Quillatire. (View more photos from the show here.)
Quillattire unveiled a collection titled "Freestyle", which British designer Priya Jangda explained was literally because she only had 2 weeks to make it. She had no mood board but knew she wanted to get the message "our planet is suffering, and together we can help it" across to the world.
"I am who I am. Your Approval Is Not Needed." is the brand's mantra and is founded on the codes of giving fabrics a new life. On top of that, the genderless, retro streetwear brand strives to represent youth, individual style and self-expression. The entire collection is made from second-hand clothing, which Priya have deconstructed, painted, embellished and embroidered to make each piece new again. Take this dress for example, which was a deconstruction of many football jerseys Priya bought from a charity shop. "My brand is genderless, and sports is a sign of strength, so why not combine all of this together for a womenswear show - silhouettes that are masculine but for strong women!"
The sustainability message was spread loud and clear at the show with models adorned in hard-hitting climate change fashion. Using elements of different cultures featured in the collection, Priya wanted to showcase that together we can make a change in the world. The line up of bright colours and slogan prints sprinkled some extra seeds of rebellion to the presentation. What stood out particularly were 3 looks:
A camouflage-printed jacket with Hindi writing printed on the front, and Japanese characters on the back, and a boldly printed slogan "There is no Planet B".
A second-hand denim jacket from a charity shop with hand-painted slogans aiming at climate change and sustainability - "The world won't", "Together we can" and "Make it change".
And a recycled vintage bomber jacket up-cycled with hand-sewn patches bought from a Vietnamese lady in Sapa, North Vietnam, which she hand-weaved to make a colourful-printed check pattern, paired with end of life leopard-printed fabric.
Speaking with Priya, she believes that it is the job of the people in the fashion industry to try and educate. People think fast fashion is ok as it's cheap and makes them look good, but the facts are not being promoted by these brands. "Quillattire is all about helping and encouraging unity! Everyone is equal, and we all aligned can make such an impact to our world." she said, adding, "My mission to create this collection in 2 weeks and get it ready in front of the runway was to show that reusing is cool. It was done in such a hectic time frame but was so worth it to get an entirely sustainable collection out during London Fashion Week!"
Visit Quillattire here: https://quillattire.co.uk/