London Fashion Week - The Sustainable Edit

With a planet that’s struggling with the weight of overconsumption, is it really the right time to be making so many new things?

On the other hand, we want to celebrate the incredible creative designers that surely deserve their unique work to be out there in the world. And we’ve got to get dressed in the morning, don’t we?

Whatever your opinion on fashion week, it’s safe to say it isn’t going anywhere soon.

So we wanted to highlight the designers who are taking on the challenge of making London Fashion Week more sustainable - because it's definitely not an easy challenge.

Let us introduce you to some of our favourite brands and designers who are doing sustainable fashion justice right now.

EIRINN HAYHOW

Here at Reskinned, we love us some upcycling. And if you know us well, we love a designer from Margate too (we’ve just been there on our staff trip!) Eirinn Hayhow is doing something really exciting in the design world.

100% circular, and using only locally foraged natural dyes, the designer is truly creating something unique and beautiful that prioritises the planet. The by-materials that are created when making the dyes are used to make plant leathers, and inks extracted to screen print t-shirts. We’re very impressed.

PHOEBE ENGLISH

A true sustainable thought leader of London fashion, Phoebe English is not afraid to stand up for her views. With a beautiful post-pandemic comeback, she celebrates her new baby daughter and the power of being a mother with heart-shaped accessories.

Five years ago, English spoke out about the fashion industry’s part in global warming, stating that as well as being the problem, designers are the solution.

“Designers are problem-solvers. We can do this together.” Since then, her design style has been focussed on zero-waste and plastic-free. Dedicated to consistently learning and sharing her knowledge, we’re excited, as always, to see what’s next for the designer.

JE CAI

The future of fashion might well be modular, at least if Je Cai has anything to do with it.

Their newest collection features modular systems, where the wearer is able to mix and match hundreds of different components from the collection to create unique looks that can be adapted to fit different needs and occasions.

This means less waste, and more adaptability. Is this the future of the capsule wardrobe? We’d love to see more designers and brands taking on this approach.

AHLUWALIA

A firm Reskinned favourite,  Ahluwalia the brand is dedicated to creating clothes that are built to last a lifetime as firm wardrobe favourites. Using female-owned factories and utilising recycled fabrics, organic materials and surplus post-consumer fabrics, the design team minimise their waste and use of new materials, reducing their overall carbon footprint and saving things from landfill.

And yes, to answer your question - Reskinned do provide Ahluwalia with their post-consumer waste (wherever we can help out, we do!)

With a strong focus on educating and training the team on sustainable fashion, and applying these learnings to their design process, we think Ahluwalia are doing some pretty cool stuff when it comes to consciously creating. 

O PIONEERS

Designers Tania Hindmarch and Clara Francis create dreamy dresses, with modern eccentric English style as their inspiration. All crafted from Liberty print cottons, the playful dresses are made to be practical everyday wear - they even have pockets!

Designed and produced in the UK, they are conscious of their carbon footprint and do everything they can to minimise it. The excess fabric from making the dresses are used to create patchwork jackets by their team of patch-workers across the UK, and their knitwear is handcrafted by UK based knitters too.

We love to see brands taking things slower, creating beautiful things and utilising the craftsmanship we have on our doorstep, paying fair wages and celebrating our heritage.

Who’s your favourite sustainable designer? Send us a DM on instagram and let us know.