Suzanne Lee: Grow your own clothes | Video on TED.com

Lee has created clothing using bacteria. Check out this interesting TED talk about the process.I have seen some of Lees end results and they are quite beautiful!

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Goodone

On a recent trip to London I was lucky enough to chat with Nin Castle and Clare Farrell about their label Goodone. During a typical grey mid morning we explored the trials, tribulations and revelations of producing a successful independent label out of reclaimed materials. Tents, Tesco’s and Textile waste have all played part in the evolution of this label, proving that unlikely combinations can bring about the best creative work.

Can you start by explaining the concept behind Goodone?
We’re a sustainable fashion label, but our aim is to not look like one or act like one, apart from how we produce our clothes obviously! Our specialisation is up-cycling, so we mix reclaimed fabrics with end of roll industrial waste as well as using new British fabrics and sustainable fabrics. We try to be really design led, it’s important to us that we’re being progressive with our designs as well as with our ethos. The reason for starting Goodone was to try and instigate some positive change, some positive impact on the industry and that’s really what motivates us, however we also want to be seen as designers in our own right rather than just another ‘eco brand’.

You use a unique combination of materials, how do approach the sourcing for each collection?
Well we design in two ways, A- From what we want to make and B- From what we have and what we can get a hold of. There are always things we know we can get, for example we know we can always get jumpers. We handpick these from textile recycling centres, but we don’t pick the acrylic or polyester ones, we pick the fine merinos and cashmeres to make sure we get really good quality fibres that are really soft. We work with the mills in Scotland where we get offcuts of cashmere and we also work with mills to get end of rolls and waste from the knitting machines, which we mix with new fabrics.

Sometimes we get people approaching us saying ‘I’ve got all this stuff, can you use it for something?!” So we design with that in mind. We once did a collection with tents. One person approached us and said that they clear up festivals and end up with loads of tents. We told them to give us all the darker coloured tents and we would try and re-use them.

Do you find having a specific product to re-use is limiting? Does this make you think more creatively?
Yes exactly, it limits you but it also pushes you, it’s actually really nice way of working. I very much see design as a series of problem solving exercises. Clare and I design together and we often talk about how being a designer is not like being an artist, (as a designer) your doing something functional and your creating something for a use. And for us good design, or intelligent design, whatever you want to call it, is actually thinking about the effect that each garment has, the effect on the environment, the social effects and that for us is just as important.

It is obviously challenging to run things with sustainability in mind, why do you do this?
It can be a nightmare! The reason we do up-cycling is because there is just so much waste, we all consume so much. We go to recycling factories and it is just immense the amount of textile waste. And for us the most sustainable fibre you can use is one that already exists. If a garment has already been worn, it has already had life and if it is still in really good condition then it should definitely be used and re-worn.

What are some of the problems you face?
Its really difficult, for example for a time I felt really strongly about making everything in the UK, the studio had to be here and the manufacturing out of London. But we got to the point when we were like you know what? Everybody still wants buy from us if we are made abroad and we would actually have a more affordable product and more people buy it. So we could either continue as we are and dye in a years time or make the change. Now we make things in Bulgaria, we have a girl called Lena that works with us, she is from Bulgaria and overseeing it. We sometimes have to make changes to what we want to do.

For us the standardizing is the really difficult part, because we have so much variability coming through. We need to make clothes that are not identical but need to sit as close as possible. Our ability to do that has allowed us to survive a lot longer than a lot of other up-cycled labels. People start doing it and they don’t quite manage the standardising, but for us it is very much about mixing the new and the old together and I would actually rather sell double the amount of clothing made from 50% new and 50% up-cycled than selling nothing that is 100% up-cycled, using a lot more fabrics allows a lot more scope for the design. You can make a higher quality product, so its really about having a bigger picture and not restricting yourself too much, but knowing your aim is to always make the most sustainable garment items we can and also most well designed as we can.

Our new fabrics are all produced in the UK. This is mainly because we know how it has been dyed because dying regulations in the UK are really strict. We know the conditions people are making it in and there is not much transporting involved. The UK textile industry is dyeing, its actually having a little bit of a resurgence at the moment which is brilliant, but it’s such a small industry so I feel really strongly about supporting the industry even though we don’t still produce here in the UK.

So it’s about being realistic?
Its about picking what you think is most important and what works.

Are you both from London?
No my dad is a pig farmer! I’m a country girl at heart. Clare comes from up north and so not London based at all. We had no fashion contacts or anything like that.

Why London?
I started the business in Brighton but Brighton is so small, it’s a lovely little place but the move to London was one of the best things I have ever done. I lived in New York for 6 months and did an internship with Marc Jacobs and that was great but being British the one place you go to is London, I just love it and I think as long as you have a bike and don’t have to catch public transport that much then its great.


What’s next for Goodone?
Well at the moment we are creating a small capsule collection for Spring/Summer in silks and jerseys which we are actually really pleased about, it’s looking good. At the moment we feel like we are getting better and better but we do so much as a small company; we do a basics range, we do our main collection, we do dresses, tops, jackets, and we have got a point now after doing this for fives years that we need to focus in on what we do, I really like the saying that it is better to do one thing really well than a lot of things badly, I don’t think we do anything badly at the moment but if we focused on one thing we could do something that is even better. So that’s where we are at the moment. We are wanting to do more project work and have different ideas about that too, quite a few possibilities for the future, there are so many different ways you can work things out!

At the moment we’ve got quite a good reputation and quite a good aesthetic and people know about us, so we need to look at that and go how can we make the most of this now? I suppose we have a bit of a renaissance happening, figuring out who we are.

All photographs by the lovely and very talented Stephanie Sian Smith

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ALAS online store

Just thought I would mention some exciting news...My label ALAS, is about to be available online next week from here...

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Kowtow

Impermanence, Kowtow Summer 11-12 from Kowtow on Vimeo.

Check out Kowtows new range. The Spring/Summer collection can be broken down into two. The first being 'Metamorphous' a collection focused on versatility, each garment can be transformed into many different garments. The second is "Building Blocks',a more minimal approach, each item is a staple piece that can be easily layered and worn throughout any season. Well done Kowtow, you've done it again!

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Kissin Cussin

A few months ago I had the lovely opportunity to write about Sydney based label Kissin Cussin for Ecouterre. With a new collection full of fresh prints and colour I thought it would be nice for you to hear a bit more about all the good things they do..

What are you up to today?
We're in Bondi at our little studio. We try to keep Friday's a creative day so we're working on creative marketing for on our blogger as well as finalising fabrics and designs for the next collection ...

Can you tell us about the women that make Kissin Cussin clothing?
The women who sew for us in Talalla Bay are absolutely divine and we've built up a very loving and caring relationship with them over the last 3 years. The ladies, were previously unemployed skilled seamstresses and we've offered them an opportunity to work close to their families, which they are very grateful for.

What was the first conversation like between you and the ladies of Talalla bay?
We were very lucky that the lady we chose to head the whole operation seemed to get what we were about instantly, although she / they had never been approached with anything like this before and there was definitely a sense of feeling that 'this is too good to be true' or 'we'll believe it when we see it'this is because their alternatives are pretty dismal. A common option is to work in the capital or overseas for long, long hours, a low wage and to be away from their families ... so 3 years on and we are continuing to employ and grow the employment in the village you can feel their happiness to be able to work from their own village and earn a decent income ... and for this reason they put so much love and care into each garment that they make for us.

What got you into fashion?
It was sort of by accident ... we both had a love of fashion and experimenting with fashion. After we went to Sri Lanka, and spent 8 months there, we were very much inspired by the colourful nature of tropical life and bought a little bit of this back to Australia .. our friends LOVED the clothing, so we decided to make more and that's how Kissin Cussin was born.

What's it like being based in Sydney? Do you spread your time out working in Sri Lanka and Aus?
Yes we are very lucky. We both love being based in Bondi, there's a hub of artistic inspiration from the people and daily environment .... and then just when we're feeling ready to leave it's time to go to Sri Lanka, which gives us a different insight. I think working in Sri Lanka so much (we spend about 4 months intermittently there each year) is very grounding, we get to experience first hand the humble way of living that most of the villagers do, and makes us very grateful for everything that we have.

We also get to spend time in India, which is a huge melting pot of continual inspiration, Jess just got back from there a week ago as she was checking our current fabric production for SS 2011.


When you are not working you are...
Enjoying the outdoor lifestyle that we are lucky enough to have in both countries .... swimming, yoga, whale watching ... and being with our friends.


What's next?
To carry on as we are ... the label has been growing quickly with each year. We are just about to head into production in Sri Lanka and to develop our next collection ... as well as this we are developing elements of label all the time with creative marketing and sourcing new ideas and fabrics .
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Sydney Design Festival Workshop

As some of you may know, Transparent Seams and ALAS recently ran a workshop at the Gaffa Gallery as part of Sydney Design Festival. It was an incredibly fun and inspiring day, everyone took on ambitious projects and created a range of very wearable pieces! We had a great group of people from a diverse range of backgrounds and probably the most enjoyable part was seeing all the different creative approaches unfold. Rumours are we might be hosting another one soon!

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A little update

Some of you may have been wondering why there was a lull in regular posts...The hiatus was caused by an impromptu visit to London. My sleepwear label ALAS won a category of the Ethical Fashion Forums Innovation Awards. The EFF are doing amazing things for the Ethical fashion movement, you can check them out here.

While my partner Betony and I spent most of the time running around to meetings, reuniting ourselves with our favourite old haunts and absorbing as much information as we could, I also managed to interview a few designers and make some great contacts for some exciting Transparent Seams articles! So stay tuned..



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