Using the end of a roll of fabric or excess yarn that would usually be discarded = being a sustainable designer and this is what Katie has been doing recently. Other things that make you a sustainable designer include: being produced in England, Upcycling, thinking of your carbon footprint – producing locally, sustainable patterns that leave no waste fabric and using natural dyes. You don’t have to tick every box to be a sustainable designer.
The problem that Katie was finding is being able to mass produce her items, she also needed to be able to cut down her costs as shops mark up by 2.8 and this would make her garments too expensive.
Both big and small companies have waste materials so Katie makes use of these within her work, for her latest project she used second hand Aran jumpers as her base and thought about the colour and texture that she could add on top. She reworked the jumpers by hand embroidering and crocheting parts of the jumpers this could take 20 hours for each one! When doing a second hand project like this you need to be able to source many of your base items – Aran jumpers. Her inspiration for this collection came from Poland, the small villages and houses filled with antiques, she mixed this idea with her own upbringing of make do and mend.
Both big and small companies have waste materials so Katie makes use of these within her work, for her latest project she used second hand Aran jumpers as her base and thought about the colour and texture that she could add on top. She reworked the jumpers by hand embroidering and crocheting parts of the jumpers this could take 20 hours for each one! When doing a second hand project like this you need to be able to source many of your base items – Aran jumpers. Her inspiration for this collection came from Poland, the small villages and houses filled with antiques, she mixed this idea with her own upbringing of make do and mend.
Katie applied to Estethica as a young, new, sustainable designer. She emailed her pitch for her Aran jumper collection and they liked it so much that she was given a rail space in Somerset House at London Fashion Week. She was at LFW for 6 days and got to meet many buyers, press and bloggers, including Sarah Murr and Hilary Alexander (owner of Browns).
At a designers first fashion week you get a lot of press but not so many buyers as shops are worried that you wont last till next season. Companies like to buy into a designer that is reliable and that they can purchase each season. Katie had many international buyers interested in her collection.
At LFW each designer sets up their rail, which displays their collection, and buyers come and inspect your clothes. They either take a price list and contact you or can order there and then. Unfortunately for Katie, Paris Fashion Week is where buyers spend most money and many early orders get cancelled as they have overspent once they have been to Paris.
At a designers first fashion week you get a lot of press but not so many buyers as shops are worried that you wont last till next season. Companies like to buy into a designer that is reliable and that they can purchase each season. Katie had many international buyers interested in her collection.
At LFW each designer sets up their rail, which displays their collection, and buyers come and inspect your clothes. They either take a price list and contact you or can order there and then. Unfortunately for Katie, Paris Fashion Week is where buyers spend most money and many early orders get cancelled as they have overspent once they have been to Paris.
Many English buyers want sale on return but this is bad for designers as it means at the end of the season you could end up with lots of items returned to you. Another option is paying a small percentage upon ordering and the rest once your order has been delivered, e.g. 30% on ordering and 70% on delivery. Once a customer has paid, you then have 3 months to complete the order this includes delivery time.
Katie enjoyed LFW but found it a huge jump from sitting at home knitting in front of the TV to selling your collection to huge industry buyers!
Katie enjoyed LFW but found it a huge jump from sitting at home knitting in front of the TV to selling your collection to huge industry buyers!
Katie will be working on her spring/summer collection with Estethica and showing this again at London Fashion Week later in the year. She intends on staying sustainable but being able to produce more!
The next thing for Katie is Fashion Revolution Day; Katie is doing talks and teaching to broaden awareness of where your clothes are made. Fashion Revolution is in memorial of the Rana Plaza factory, which collapsed a year ago on the 24th April.
To take part in Fashion Revolution wear your clothes inside out on the 24th April 2014 and follow Fash_Rev on Twitter.
http://fashionrevolution.org
The next thing for Katie is Fashion Revolution Day; Katie is doing talks and teaching to broaden awareness of where your clothes are made. Fashion Revolution is in memorial of the Rana Plaza factory, which collapsed a year ago on the 24th April.
To take part in Fashion Revolution wear your clothes inside out on the 24th April 2014 and follow Fash_Rev on Twitter.
http://fashionrevolution.org