Monday, 31 July 2017

aloha good day girl

This weekend I had the absolute pleasure of attending Good Day Girl's Summer fashion show. (If you haven't heard of them already, check out this post I wrote about their incredible business model earlier this year.)


This may have been the most fun I've had a fashion show ever. There was such a good vibe in the room, which was filled with their dedicated clients, and Sophie and Alexia turned on the charm with tiki-themed music and cheeky pineapple sunglasses (you can spot a few atop the heads of the guests above!) as they told us about the collection, their collaborations, and their use of sustainable materials.

This top was definitely one of my faves - and the cute
tote is by Made in Mada, handwoven raffia as part of
a Fairtrade certified organisation in Madagascar.

One of my favourite elements of the show was that clients were able to feel the fabrics of the various looks - this was not fashion for fashion's sake, but fashion for people who love to wear beautiful clothing, and reminded me how much Alexia and Sophie understand how women choose clothing. What is the first thing you do when you see something you love? You reach out to feel the fabric, of course (followed by a glance at the price tag, but we feel the fabric first...).

The cupro fabric was an absolute show-stealer. Looks,
feels & wears like silk but is made of a cotton 'waste' product.

I also loved the diversity of the three models showing the collection - a beautiful reminder that beautiful clothes are for every one, no matter your shape, age or ethnicity. Thank you, Sophie and Alexia!

The scarf featured here is part of their collaboration
with Cloth & Co, hand-loomed silk and cotton - pure luxury.


I wish I had better pictures for you, but I was not on my A-game. Check out the entire summer collection on their website, and if you're in Sydney, Melbourne or Perth, schedule yourself in for a private styling session to view and try on the collection in person.

Sydney: 31 July - 19 August
Melbourne: 21 - 23 August
Perth: 24 - 26 August

Once you've made your selection and been measured up, your made-to-order beauties will be created just for you and delivered just in time for summer.


Bring on the heat!
xxLisa

Tuesday, 11 July 2017

plastic microfibre pollution

My latest sustainable fashion obsession is the trouble with microfibre pollution.  If you haven't heard of this before, the Story of Stuff have done a great video explaining what it is.

Essentially, tiny microfibres come off our clothes when we wear and wash our garments. You know, those little bits of fuzz and fluff. It's normal, of course. Fabric is woven from threads which were spun together using millions of pieces of fibre of varying lengths. It makes sense that they would fray and shed over time.

These microfibres are tiny, visible only through a microscope.

The real trouble comes with synthetic clothing. When these minuscule synthetic fibres break off our clothes, they never break down. Natural fibres like cotton, wool, linen and hemp have the ability to biodegrade, but just like plastic, synthetic fibres cannot naturally biodegrade. Most of the fibres are captured by our washing machine filters and by wastewater treatment plants, but unfortunately many of these fibres are too small to be captured and have been found in our water ways, our ocean, and inside fish, where they occasionally become embedding in the fishes' bodily organs. Just like other microplastics, whatever eats any of these fish, eats the plastic - including bigger marine creatures, sea birds, and (of course) humans.


One of the most painful ironies for me with this situation is that so much research has gone into creating recycled polyesters or other fabrics made of recycled plastic (including many labels I love and have recommended over the years); now it seems we may have just been recycling plastic into a form that makes it easier to send microplastic pollution into the world.

This week I am participating in an online conference called the Lives and Afterlives of Plastic, and have uploaded a video presentation - it's available on the conference website and on my YouTube channel (my first video!). It's about 20 minutes long, and gives an overview of the problem, the early proposed solutions, and my thoughts about where we need to go from here. If you've ever wanted to come to a guest lecture of mine, this is the next best thing! I'd love for you to take a look and let me know what you think!


In the meantime, it's a good time to start to really look at the fabric of your clothes, particularly if you're making a new purchase. Of course it's really hard to avoid all synthetics, but if we at least start paying attention we can start to ask why synthetics seem to be used in so many goods, and seek other options when possible. And there are a couple interim solutions, like the Guppyfriend washing bag, that you may want to consider if you currently have a lot of synthetic fabrics in your wardrobe. But, as I say in the presentation, this is not one for the wearers and buyers of clothing to solve. This is an enormous industry problem, and will require much collaboration and continued innovation.

Take care until next time,
xLisa