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

Saturday Swishing at Spitalfields

Winter's not quite behind us but the spring/summer 2011 collection 'round-ups' are upon us and upon us. Time to close your eyes and visualise yourself in sheer dresses, leather shorts, capri pants, cat woman sunglasses, clogs and more. More to the point, time to open your eyes and peer in your closet. Does it have what it takes?

If you are not in the mood to spend as you would have in years past don't fret....just stay with me; however, if you are, then perhaps you should first and foremost, aquaint yourself with why austerity is the name of the game for the next little while and then return to me.

Okay cautious spenders, next step: take from your closet clothes you won't be wearing/are happy to see the back of/have never worn; mentally note your favourite new season looks and then, on February 5 (Saturday) head to the historic Old Spitalfields Market for the first major swishing event of the year.

Swishing is just over 10 years old and is, basically a way to keep your wardrobe fresh by recycling what you no longer want for what you definitely want. Its upscaling of sorts, ie, the by -product has more value than what first went in...which for you it will. Most of you are well aware of the glorious, ethically brilliant idea that swishing is but if you want to know more read this.

Meanwhile, the rules for this Saturday are pitch up at Spitalfields between 11am and midday to drop off your contribution (you have to bring at least 1 good-for-wear thing). Chillax in the cool environs till 2pm when you can browse but not (yet) swish. At 2.45 get swishing. Tickets and full details now available online.

And remember to be civil to your fellow swishers. It is after all an ethical event.

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.

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.

Deborah Lindquist -- Queen of Green

Who in ethical fashion hasn't heard of Deborah Lindquist....her of the rock roll style vintage cashmere couture? Her origins were in that 'look' and she still does it better than anyone else but she has now moved into wider pastures - hemp, peace silk, organic cotton and more.

I had the pleasure of meeting Deborah at LFW this year - we were lucky to have her. DeviDoll continues to be a big fan and supporter.

BACK TO LIFE, BACK TO REALITY

How long have I been gone from blogland ("blogosphere" is too technocratish for me)?!? Too long. Everything I have been longing (okay, I'm going to get my thesaurus out) to say has piled up and now is melting one into another ("compost" comes to mind).

Rather than dig through all the pile I picked one thing I wanted to talk about and with that get the blog ball rolling again.

September 16 saw ethical fashion grow up a little with the very slick, very enjoyable 'Make Your Mark in Fashion' catwalk show at the Hospital Club. Organised by Nolcha and a handful of sponsors (DeviDoll among them) this event made it clear that ethical fashion has absolutely no reason to be stuck in the hemp-sack, austere, glamourless doldrums of yore. No siree....not only are eco-fashionistas doing it for themselves they are doing it pretty damn well.

Credit for the event being full-on 100% glam fash-pack event must be divided between

--Nolcha founder, Kerry Bannigan and her trusted lietuenants. That they are bringing their love of indpendant designers to ethical fashion land and to London is good news for everyone in the space
--the Make Your Mark team (not sure if it was them or someone else on this list but someone got the Observer's Lucy Siegle to model on the catwalk -- and what a good call it was!!)
--and of course the designers themselves!! Of the three very talented teams -- R.A.J.E, MIAWI and BERRIE, the winner was MIAWI. Designer Mia Nesbit's inspiration (and soon manufacturing) are based in Malawi, where she plans to involve local communities in her work.

All in all a tastefully done, very well received event that sent all the right messages during the buzz-fest that is LFW.

And I haven't even mentioned the after party......

THE BUSINESS OF ETHICAL FASHION

So, the eco-fashion party I spoke of some weeks ago happened. And it was quite an instructive happening – from the venue (Club4Climate’s Surya bar), the designers who exhibited, the fact that there was an auction – of important pieces donated by participating designers -- proceeds from which went to Ethical Justice Foundation (EJF) to the vibe among those who attended – everything about this event was about activism via the (increasingly popular) platform that is ethical fashion.

Throughout the evening a key fact loomed large -- ethical fashion now, without a doubt, straddles two things almost equally: as it has always done, it is about awareness, issues, taking a normative stand…things that people might say are ‘serious’ (things that the DEVI in you will tend toward). Equally, with the rise of chic, cool and seriously stylish designer clothing, it is now about looking good (things that the DOLL in you will appreciate deeply) and in this respect it is no more or less than all other fashion. No need to take a stance, make a point. Just get us to look fab, thank you very much.

Also it was interesting to see how, in just the last year, ethical/eco fashion has gone from being a quirky, cool, edgy concept to a real live business prospect. Selling organic cotton/locally produced/natural fabric/animal free etc etc fashion, works. As you can imagine, we at DeviDoll are pleased that in 12 months so many have joined our ranks. But it also throws up an interesting question:

as this arena opens up – new retailers, ‘specialists’, stylists, designers –who will who will take ethical fashion on as a retail issue, full-stop and who will take it on as the complex, messy issue that it is? Who will stay well clear of activist type events but be very smart about selling, merchandising, trend marketing (‘its cool, it’ll sell, lets do it’) and who will open themselves up to, even welcome, questions like

Can ethical fashion really make a difference?
How can I be ethical and fashionable on a limited budget?
How can I ethically style my wardrobe, my life?
Is there good and bad bamboo?
Should I choose the organic cotton tee designed by Lacroix for EJF or From Somewhere’s upcycled fabric tee -- is one ‘more’ ethical/eco than the other??
If this is fair-trade and ethical, then why is it so expensive?

Don’t get me wrong – the retail-minded focus is instrumental in giving ethical fashion business legs and without those the ‘space’ won’t gain the credibility and participation it needs and deserves. So no slagging off the pure ‘lets-sell-it-because-that-works’ type here. Just noting that ethical fashion, unlike conventional fashion, has (always had) serious heart and now, as the eco-fashion party showed, it is developing a serious rational, bottom-line oriented mind.

There can be no doubt that, given the very premise of ethical fashion, the meeting of heart and mind will raise interesting debates and issues about the business of ethical fashion. Stay tuned.

(ETHICAL) FASHION FESTIVITIES BEGIN...

So while many fashionistas are away sunning themselves (under cover of SPF factor Trillion+, of course) reading all about 'autumn 2008 pre-ordering' -- #2 of Grazia's TOP 10 stories is all about 'pre-collection' ordering (pre-order I understand but pre-collection..? I'm obviously not reading by Grazia closely enough. After this post, perhaps) -- those of us who are part (also) of the supply side of the fashion world, are hoisting up are (pre-ordered) summer skirts, rolling up the sleeves of our (pre-collection, pre-ordered) gauzy hot-weather tops, to get ready for FASHION'S AUTUMN/WINTER 2008.

Now, the fashion world works on 2 clocks (sorry if I am boring you but I find this point endlessly intriguing) -- the fashionista one and its own. The former is about clothes that match the season, ie, AW08 buying for a fashionista is about buying autumny-wintery type stuff....about diving into the debate over knee-high vs ankle boots; chunky knits vs body con cashmere and so on. The other clock is one that buyers (eg - yours truly) adhere to and its set to 1 season ahead. So at all the trade shows (LFW, NYFW etc etc) I will start attending from next week, my concern will be about what will take the fashionista's fancy IN SPRING/SUMMER 2009 (florals?/mini vs supermini/neon vs pastel etc etc). Of course the whole notion of pre-ordering and pre-collections, sort of throws this received clockwork into a bit of a tizzy but that is a conversation for another time -- prepare to receive that dish with lashings of commentary on fast vs seasonless fashion.

You're going to hear from me over the next 2 months about interesting events and happenings from FTZ (fashionista time zone) and OTZ (our time zone). Some even overlap!

To kick off, let me alert you to 'The Eco-Fashion Party' to be held on August 12, 2008 at Surya Bar of the (shiny new) Club4Climate (there is some seriously ecological intention, fronted by the seriously wierd Dr. Earth, behind the Club4Climate - check it all out here).


There is an auction of prize pieces from participating brands (DeviDoll included) and also the opportunity to purchase from their larger collections. Basically a big party (club style, full on party) with the chance to see and buy some seriously fashionable clothes -- all of which look good and are certain to make you feel very good.

Pre-collection or not, these are clothes no serious fashionista can afford to miss. See you there.