I do love a bit of serendipity. I’m researching Australian brands for a feature and by sheer coincidence, an email arrived last week introducing me to hand sewn footwear line Feit.
It’s the brainchild of the Price brothers who have a history in streetwear (Tull Price co-founded Royal Elastics in 1996). The brand has taken classic streetwear sneaker shapes and reduced them to the most minimalist lines in high quality vegetable tanned leathers. (more…)
Guest contributor LSN Global retail editor ALISON BISHOP reports on how Nike’s ‘Making’ app puts sustainable design front of mind for fashion and sportswear creatives…
Ever the innovator, Nike is building on its sustainable product design credentials by sharing its in-house Materials Sustainability Index for anyone to learn from and use – in the form of its new Making app. After collaborating with students at London College of Fashion’s Centre for Sustainable Fashion, the new app helps designers and product creators make more informed decisions about the environmental impacts of the materials they choose. It works by ranking textiles and other materials used for product design based on four environmental concern areas: water, chemistry, energy and waste. For example who knew that the manufacture of silk uses 50% less water than cotton?
“It’s the start of a conversation,” Lee Holman, Nike’s vice-president of global apparel design told me. “Innovation is in Nike’s DNA, and sustainability is an integral part of Nike’s design process. We’ve created the Making app to empower any designer around the world to make better materials choices in the early stages of the design process. Ultimately everyone wants to create products that are better for the planet, and we want to be able to facilitate that idea.”
It’s quite a statement from the sports giant, especially considering it’s not a selling tool and it’s not connected directly to any Nike product. It’s just for the good of the planet. We call it ‘Brandstanding’ at LS:N Global. Sustainability is the new battleground for brands that want to resonate with disillusioned Millennial consumers (25-35 years old) and brands with cast iron credentials will win the vote. Now I might even design myself a version of Nike’s Flyknit trainers…
Breaking news: those fabulous Chinti And Parker initial sweaters are now in the sale at half price on Net-a-Porter-com. I have the N one and can’t recommend it highly enough. In other Chinti And Parker news, there’s a great AW13 collab getting ready to drop in a couple of weeks with Patternity. The Chinti And Parker Meets Patternity collection comprises ethically-produced jersey separates, plus knit pants, dresses and sweaters in C & P’s signature cashmeres and Patternity’s geometric graphics. (more…)
How cheery are Mich Dulce’s new millinery pics from her AW13 look book? I spotted these darling hats on her stand at London Fashion Week in February, where Michelle told me about about the sustainable methods they’re made from. (They’re handmade from traditional Filipino T’nalak fabric, handwoven by women who Michelle trains as part of a social enterprise scheme.) (more…)
