A saint once said

There's a couplet by the revered Indian poet-saint Kabir (incidentally, connected to the clothing trade in a way -- he was a weaver) that teaches us that it is not a person that conquers a situation, it is time. Same person, different time and the results can be unexpectedly altered ('purush bali nahin hot hai, samay hote balwaan; bheelan maari gopika, vahi Arjun vahi baarnd').

And so it is with ethical fashion. Casting my mind back to 2007-8 I can recall the quizzical looks I got at dinner parties when the subject was mentioned (by me only, of course). I was once even asked by a fellow school mother how my business in 'ethnical' fashion was going. Business minded types looked askance almost immediately when they heard I was starting an online business selling ethical or eco fashion.....many simply looked past my ear, scanning the room for a less ditzy conversation partner.

And here we are now -- same subject, different time -- and the response has changed noticeably. Eco fashion is a well recognised topic, feted far and wide. Vogue sponsors a Green Style Blog and Livia Firth's Green Carpet Challenge begets nods of recognition rather than head shakes of puzzlement. Ethical fashion makes its presence known at (no less than) the dinner in honour of Barack and Michelle Obama's London visit and, the launch party for (the inimitable) Lucy Siegles' new book 'To Die For' has a glitterati guest list to be reckoned with, including Sheherazade Goldsmith, Alice Temperley and Laura Bailey. Esthetica, London Fashion Week's collection of ethical fashion labels superbly curated by Orsola de Castro and Filippo Ricci, has always been a fantastic microcosm of the 'space' but rather than shouting to be heard, it is now honoured by Global Cool, as it celebrates its 5th birthday (the most picturesque note about which you can read here, courtesy ecouterre.). As if all that is not enough, at last count I rated about 40+ blogs, centrally connected to ethical fashion, as worthy.

Now thats what I call being known and being heard, loud and clear. Fashion's intellectually superior, cool-because-I-got-the-brains-AND-the-looks sister, has arrived to stay. Over the next little while, this blog will sat-nav its readers across the changed landscape of the relationship between these siblings.....

A sister can be seen as someone who is both ourselves and very much not ourselves - a special kind of double. ~Toni Morrison

DeviDoll Pure, New, Fresh but Different

Mocuin, Stars and The Moon, last Autumn

Its been a while since we here at DeviDoll have had something to say...actually we have had lots to say but just not enough time to put it down here....much else going on including re-thinking DeviDoll strategy, adding to the family and moving home.

But now as PURE London kicks off the 2010 fashion week/trade show season it is time to get back into the swing of things. Sort of...yes and no. We're getting back into it my being on the scene once again: commenting on what is interesting, relevant and new in ethical fashion across the globe; taking a view on what's being said and done -- so that is the YES part.

The NO part is (are you sitting down?) that DeviDoll.com is taking a sabbatical. Yep, taking some time off. Family commitments on the part of our founder, Sindhu Venkatanarayanan coupled with needing to re-energize the proposition -- retailing ethical fashion is wonderful but not necessarily the most effective way of being a 'design incubator' in the space as DeviDoll has been and always intended to be -- require we sit out for a while, practice some mindfulness and be less actor, more observer.

Having said all this, even as she stands back from DeviDoll.com, Sindhu has already deepened her involvement with ethical fashion by joining the Ethical Fashion Forum board. Her focus is on building partnerships with supplier networks in the developing world, particularly India. The goal is to offer increased market access for fair trade and community suppliers as well as larger suppliers. After all, India offers particular opportunities for growth in its fair trade supplier marketplace thanks to its growing excellence in fashion design and opportunities to link skilled designers with producer groups. This role is one way that Sindhu can personally help the global fashion industry to progress, and to bring fairly traded and ethically produced clothing onto the global high street and into more wardrobes.

And so to the matter of kicking off the new season with PURE. This show has come a long way in a short time -- this time a year ago it did not attract the same number or quality of ethical fashion design that it is today (read here for the first time any mag linked glam green fashion with this show...August 2009, that's gotta tell you something!). We have invites from Julia Smith, EJF, Terra Plana, Komodo, Article 23, and the unmatched Beyond Skin. It will be interesting to see how PURE is rated versus Estethica which is part of LFW starting next week. We'll be at both, ferreting, chit-chatting, observing and noting as we do. So stay tuned.

DeviDoll congratulates Stewart+Brown!

This month's US Vogue features A WHOLE PAGE on Stewart+Brown. FINALLY......

....not, that is, FINALLY Vogue says something about ethical fashion -- this it has done before (to varying degrees, more edgily in the UK publication than in the US; but no surprise there, etc etc).

Rather, my point is, FINALLY Vogue (and that too the US version -- sorry am I belabouring a point here?) has, so prominently, stepped away from moulding it's eco-fashion talk around usual usual (yawn) labels like Stella McCartney and, instead, picked a label that is from the 'little-known-outside-ethical-fashion-world' (think, for example, Estethica at LFW).

That it is Stewart+Brown comes as no surprise given the unselfconsciously chic collection this label brings us, the luxurious fabrics it uses (and in some cases, such as its socially responsible Mongolian cashmere, helped pioneer) and the founders' (Howard Brown and Karen Stewart) enduring commitment to professional business standards combined with transparency and excellence in the area of green/ethical/eco - fashion.

As the first UK boutique to stock Stewart+Brown's cashmere in 2007, DeviDoll always knew glory was just a matter of time.....to see it so soon is gratifying indeed.

LONDON FASHION WEEK IN THESE TIMES

So LFW is upon us once again -- and this time celebrate its 25th anniversary! Last time it was 'that time of year', ie, the autumn 2008 there was a measure of uncertainty in the air. The economy wasn't looking great, mighty banks rumbled at their foundations and retail looked headed for slower times. Buyers dithered over order sheets in the tents at the Natural History Museum.

That was then. Now many mighty banks have simply crashed, the economy is into one of the worst recessions ever, retail has not just slowed, in pockets its simply stopped and buyers, well, many of them don't have jobs at all. What a difference 5 months can make.

But what difference is this context making to fashion? Well, lets see --
1) cavalier, 'i-need-a-new-trend-a-week' spending has declined. GOOD. Now those of us who have been banging on about buying seasonless, trend-neutral but high quality clothing, are likely to gain a more sympathetic audience. More important, the joy of shopping for, possession of and caring for one's wardrobe can be experienced (for some 20 year olds, this might be a first). In itself such a change will have a wonderfully healthy effect on one of ethically sound fashion's goals, ie, slowing things down (you just have to do some minimal googling on the disasterous effects of fast fashion, to understand why this is such a key goal...start here if you like).

2) high quality design and designers will get a more air-time. GOOD. As people become more concerned about spending intelligently they will seek out more than just what the latest glossy touts as a must-have. Part of the new wave, I predict, will be designers who have in some way, built in green/ethical/eco responsibility into their collections. Quality is likely to be associated more than ever with the entire product rather than just its media stickiness. And independant, responsible, talented designers, who would have otherwise been lost among those that had the financial muscle to flood the space with great PR, glamourous lookbooks and celebrity backing, will get a fair chance to shine.

3) the love of adorning oneself, the thrill of shopping for something beautiful and the general joys of fashion won't go away, rather, the focus will shift. GOOD. Accessories and staples (jeans, the perfect white shirt) with a creative twist, a special something, will get more attention. These are items with many lives and with great CPW - they will work hard for what they are worth and justify their presence in your closet.

Also styling will become more than just a buzzword among fashionable types and/or a way to describe some people's entire career (the 'stylist industry', btw, I predict will be a big area of lay-offs). Style will become about knowing what works on you, digging deep in your wardrobe for pieces that become you and putting your look together based on this knowledge. It will move away from looking like what fashion editors tell you you ought to look like.

All this makes me look forward, more than ever, to London Fashion Week. As has been pointed out in the mainstream and online press, it may not have the money or glitz of nyc or milan, but London has the talent and the edge. I would like to add that, as Estethica's growing success shows, London Fashion Week also has the conscience to suit these times than perhaps any other of its competitors.

There are some exciting new names at Estethica this year including Ada Zanditon, Butcher Couture Eyewear, M.I.A. (winner of 2008's Make Your Mark in Fashion, which DeviDoll was proud to sponsor) and Numanu plus those we know but whom never fail to surprise and delight, such as From Somewhere, Beyond Skin (launching a new logo and look this season) and Anatomy.

DeviDoll is proud to sponsor LFW on greenmystyle because we're proud to be part of the thinking and innovation behind what is truly, genuinely and rightly, fashionable.

FROM SOMEWHERE - WELL DONE AND WELL DESERVED AT RE: FASHION AWARDS

Okay, have to confess I did not make it to this important event. Why? - well, its a long, and more relevantly, somewhat boring story, so I'll spare you. But the main reason for my writing about it is to publicly congratulate From Somewhere duo Orsola and Filippo for winning in 2 categories

RE:Fashion Designer of the Year Award

and

RE:Use Award

I have learned so much and continue to from Orsola about ethical fashion (most notably, long lessons in what upcycling actually is) - the business of it, the politics around it, the fashion benchmarks that must be at the forefront at all times and the love of it all. DeviDoll has been proud to be the only retailer in the UK other than the label's eponymous boutique, to stock From Somewhere clothing. Our pleasure and honour entirely. Always has been.

Anyway, these guys have been doing the right thing since 1997, ie, back when saying ethical and fashion together could only mean -- in the best case scenario -- that you (a) didn't like fur but only because animals and plants are 'one with us' (b) lived in a commune, ate alfafa and (c) thought that commerce was the devil.

Today we all know that ethical fashion is something far more encompassing and headed for the mainstream..warts and all. This, in no small part, thanks to people like Orsola and Filippo with their clear message and hard work. I can't think of a more deserving label for these awards -- pioneers, fashionable, stylish and activist. Ooooh, gives you goosebumps.

Read all about what went on, who was there, what they wore and see really great pictures of all the above at Sarah Woodhead's ever-more-impressive daily green glossy greenmystyle.com.

BBC THREAD STYLE SEARCH AND DEVIDOLL

DeviDoll is proudly supporting BBC Thread in its Style Search for ethical fashion designer talent. Wondering what BBC Thread is (where have you been?!) - its an online portal (used to be a time when that was only ever a Star Trek word...remember?) that is all about everything relevant to ethical fashion: they talk about style, ethical styling (interesting video with Elisabeth Lasker from Ethical Fashion Forum and Konnie Haq), pure fashion trends, how to be a fashionista as well as whats going on behind the scenes in the manufacturing and production world (hence the strap line 'fashion without victim'), ie, susbstantial issues that no credible ethical fashion lover can afford to ignore.

And now, through the Style Search competition, they aim to support up coming sustainable and conscientious designers. Something DeviDoll upholds as an original principle having from its very inception been an 'incubator' for promising ethical fashion talent, across the globe, by giving it a commercial platform.

So get moving on your designs or at least put the word out! A digital image of a design must be uploaded to the BBC Thread site and away you go. E-A-S-Y! And the prize (ooh-aah) -- a day spent with a catwalk stylist at London Fashion Week in September. Click the picture above for full details.