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.

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.

THE VIRTUOUS CIRCLE THAT IS UPCYCLING

We've all heard of recycling but we hear less (unfortunately) about 'upcycling'. Whats the difference? Well, 'upcycling' --coined by McDonough and Braungart in their seminal (2002) book 'Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things' --means transforming used things into other usable things of great (or greater) value. Intrinsic to the concept of upcycling is the notion that there is embedded value in things that allows them to be remade into further usable things again and again so that eventual waste is minimized massively AND this is all done without further damage to the planet and/or energy usage.

And herein lies the rub: recycling is, according to the book, an example of 'downcycling' because the re-made items are often not related at all to the original thing so that in the re-creation excessive energy/resources are used AND in recycling, recreated items lose value with each 'life' a and are thus likely to end up eventually as waste. So upcycling is a more mindful and authentic way than recycling to reuse what we consume (but don't be spooked and give up all recycling attempts you may be currently involved with. Just think it through and if you need ideas there are great ones here and here.

The whole issue of re-use is B-I-G in fashion - as it well should be...without serious thought about how to deal with the byproducts from the fashion industry, our consumptive behaviour being what it is, we'd charge the earth costs it simply cannot meet (these charges are being levied as I type....not in some distant future).

But what aspects of fashion are amenable to upcycling? How does upcycling sit with the desire to be 'fashionable', ie, wear well-made, attractive clothing as defined by 'mainstream' fashion society? With all the current interest in eco/ethical/green fashion what is authentic re-use and what is lip-service? What prospects does upcycling have for fashion at different points in the process - textile creation vs finished product? These are all very good questions and are all likely to get very good answers from the group assembled on July 18 at the Chelsea College of Art & Design.

The College's Textile Environment Design (TED) program is holding a 1-day symposium on (basically everything you want/need to know about) upcycling and textiles. Following on from last year's Ever & Again: Experimental Recycled Textiles exhibition, they've gathered the best practitioners from this space, including upcycled fashion's grande dame and founder of From Somewhere label Orsola De Castro; Kerry Seager of Junky Styling fame, Emmeline4Re's Emmeline Child and several others, and put together a fantastic program of talks, audience interface, theory and practice.

It is through efforts like this that sustainability in fashion can become an everyday reality and TED gives us the chance to meet those who daily live and work to bring us closer to this reality. Great opportunity not to be missed.

Other details you need to know --
Ticket price (£35 or £15 for students) includes organic picnic lunch and early evening drinks reception.
The symposium will be held at the Millibank campus.

RETHINK RECYCLING

Vintage and recycled are two much used terms in ethical fashion. And for good reason – waste not, want not and all that. But for some people (indeed in some cultures as a whole) wearing what others before you (especially strangers) have worn is, well, weird. And recycled…what really tends to fall under that rubric in fashion? Dresses made of used ties? Shorts from what were once jeans? Sometimes. But does that tempt you? Hmmm….sometimes…some people…maybe. But what if it doesn’t?

Well, here's a tip about something DEFINITELY tempting from the diverse world of 'recycled' fabric -- From Somewhere, the edgy fashion label whose founders, Orsola de Castro and Filippo Ricci, are to be credited with coining the quixotic term ‘virgin recycled material’. And quixotic may well be how some describe From Somewhere's flea-market and vintage shop inspired collections. From Somewhere uses pre-consumer (hence virgin) textile surplus such as production off-cuts and end of rolls to make beautiful, one-off yet reproducible contemporary clothing. This re-use (or recycling) of fabric, notably retro fabrics & rare vintage prints that are already in the ‘system’, admirably redresses the balance between consumption and disposal.


I recently met the irrepresible (and wildy inspiring) Orsola de Castro and can see why she was chosen, along with her partner Fillipo Ricci, to curate LFW's now famous Esthetica(thank you to fabulous blog 'fabulously green' for this summary and slideshow). These are pioneers of London's ethical fashion scene who remain, fundamentally, design, fashion and quality led.....as well as commercially practical. It is this exact mix that is required to propel 'ethical' fashion into the club of 'mainstream' fashion. So, ethical cred aside, From Somewhere always has a finger on the latest 'look(s)' without being slave to any fashion trend.

Conclusion: they’re very smart about our looking smart.

NO, ITS NOT ECO

TIME magazine's current Style&Design supplement has a 1-pager called 'Going to Pieces'. It's all about the 'haute-bohemian trend..' encapsulated in '...spring's funky patchwork look...(and) shabby-chic style'. Examples are Dolce and Gabbana's '...very glamorous hippie-style patchwork chiffon gowns...' as well as '...Squint's reupholstered vintage couch (this I really like, by the way) and Etro's geometric pillows...'. Okay...fair enough, maybe.

What's not fair is the article's opinion that maybe this interest in patchwork is 'a nod to the now popular, eco-friendly movement' because, the article seems to suggest, this patchwork is the result of using cutting room floor scraps, ie, surplus. Huh? Where did they get that and how do they know this is all from surplus fabric? How credible is it that D&G's carefully constructed chiffon gowns are put together with scraps, not to mention Etro's cushions or the Louis Vuitton mother-of-pearl Tresor necklace (below) featured in the article?

Thanks to XUPINGZ for the image taken from here.

Even more galling is the inclusion, in this 'possibly' eco driven patchwork couture, of D&G's multicoloured python (yes, thats p-y-t-h-o-n, ie, animal skin) peep-toe boots

Image from teamsugar

and Miu Miu's snakeskin (there it is again) detailed leather handbag. Snake-skin put through god-knows-what sorts of chemical processing to attain multi (but certainly stylishly complementary) colours = a nod to anything eco....no chance (that's N-O).

Its irritating to read this type of journalism that uses terms like eco so wrongly and simply tries to free-ride consumer/reader interest in green living. Why not just write about this stuff for what it is -- patchwork fashion from mainstream couture designers? Why bring eco into it? Not only is it misleading but its fodder for all the cynical nay-sayers who keep telling us that eco-living and eco-fashion isn't credible/is a disguise for good old conspicuous consumption/is a savvy marketing tool etc etc. If TIME wants to write about the use of surplus fabric in fashion, then write about aGain nyc or Carol Young's Undesigned label. Current ranges from surplus fabric can be seen here and here.

Ain't no nod of the head here towards anything eco....more like a shake of the head. And while we're on the topic of shaking one's head: is it just me or is fashion od'ing on Agyness Deyn at the moment? Yes she's cool and hip but please, enough already. Someone point out to her the O-V-E-R in overexposed before its too late.

RESOLUTIONS LIST - BEFORE YEAR IS NO LONGER NEW

How long have we been away? Forever it seems, but such is the effect of emerging from the bittersweet fug of christmas planning, christmas giving/taking, over-indulgence, family-togetherness, the stress of that togetherness AND the end of another year (...for DeviDoll not just any old year but the year of birth). Last November seems a lifetime away.

A new year demands resolutions. Ours are simple (so that they can be kept).

1) Turn off lights, computers, dvd, TV and like devices WHENEVER we are not using them. For devices this often means overnight and off means O-F-F...stand-by still uses >75% power). Browse other simple but effective ways to be energy efficient -- 'eco-pimp your home' -- here and here.

2) Recycle and reuse: we're waaay past paper - at DeviDoll now its about getting creative:a) cosmetics bottles/containers (thank you MAC for your '6 packaging containers returned = 1 free lipstick of our choice' program)
b) clothes reincarnated in seasons they weren't created for -- admittedly not too tough in uni/bi-seasonal London, less wasteful shopping and in line with wacky weather
c) kitchen ware: we say who needs tupperware when we have bio-live containers? Others have far more interesting ideas...
d) banishing all laziness in trooping to our neighbourhood recycling bins to deposit what needs depositing.

3) This year we are going figure out how we can make a difference to a particularly dear cause of ours: education in developing countries, particularly of children. Are we going to support specific projects? Are we going to support a charity that is effective in this area? Is the support going to be directly monetary? Awareness-raising? Both? And how can we integrate this very important issue with the practical living of a DeviDoll life?

Trust us, we'll keep you posted.

TALKING ABOUT RECYCLING BEING IN THE BAG...

As we're on the subject, it seemed apropos to mention Nahui Ollin's bags and accessories.
Made from wrappers of all kinds and by independent artisans trained for the job in Mexico (under fair wage conditions), these are, by far, the best of the 'candy wrapper' labels out there. Each style has its own name (I'll let you find itsy-bitsy, clutch nuevo, and the Ritual in the picture) and comes in one of several 'wraps' as it were.
This past Autumn, Nahui Ollin bolstered its 'cool' credentials with a whole different concept - the Artisanal Collection -- traditional motifs and embroidery techniques on transitional cotton and complete with repurposed handles and button details. I have one of the few Riviera bags in the UK at the moment and in describing the effect it has, I think its fair to say sane women have looked menacing when I informed them they can only get one at DeviDoll but in January 2008.

YOUR TRASH IS MY CASH

Talk about really getting the recycling thing *REALLY* right: Conserve, an Indian NGO, founded by Anita Ahuja and her husband, Shalabh, takes discarded polythene bags and through unique processing creates some pretty funky bags and other accessories. Conserve showed at Paris for the first time this past September.


Not only is this intelligent waste management, its also compassionate social management: the Ahujas provide decent wages to the garbage pickers (a notoriously badly treated subset of the contractors the run 'waste management' in India's cities) and employment to otherwise destitute slum-dwellers who are taught skills in polythene processing or design.
Jewel in the crown: informal schooling for the children of the 300-strong slum dwelling work-force has now been put in place. About 200 youngsters between 5 and 13 now gain basic learning from about 8 teachers.
Read more about Conserve's work here and expect to see some of their designs at DeviDoll in Spring 2008.