Every first half of January, at the same time with Berlin Fashion Week, a special gathering of designers is taking place in the German capital city: Ethical Fashion Show. This event, organised this time at Postbahnhof, in the Eastern part of the city, reunites fashion designers and creative whose works are aimed at offering besides the usual beauty and innovative features, a sample of responsibility in an industry quite self-consuming and targeting success over everything.
It was my second time there - the first time was two years ago - and I was very impressed by the quality of the companies present and the social projects presented by some of them. Here is a short outline of my experience, with the promise to cover extensively some of the brands in some later posts.
Liisa Soolep is a knitwear company from Estonia, offering Nordic fashion for both men and women. A project that benefited of funds from the European Union, it uses light wool yarn made in Estonia, with special knitted patterns which go well for any occasion - from a backpacking trip to an elegant business meeting. The choice, as usual, is a matter of personality. The light pastel colours - I particularly love the pink ones - are another feature of elegance of this brand.
Werner is a German family company more than 100 years old. Adaptation to the new economic and environmental conditions and economic challenges is a main condition of survival. For the 2017 autumn collection, the company presents beautiful shoes made of 'leather' made of olives. The shoes not only look good and elegant, but also have a smooth velvet touch.
The creation of popular jeans involves many ingredients that can be harmful for the environment. The new generation of designers are creating materials and dying substances keeping in line with the traditional jeans while obtaining environmental friendly results. One of the companies presented at the fair that I've found pretty interesting was Feuervogl, one of the many eco denim brands quite in fashion in Germany those days.
The children products are a very sensitive issue. It is important not only that are comfy and good looking, but equally made of natural ingredients and colours. Sometimes it is a difficult task to keep the eco- and ethical standards high, because the final costs will be higher and there products can have a limited life-span - the children clothes require more washing and the risk of exposure to various substances which might harm the material is higher. However, there were some interesting and quality products in this domain too.
For travelers - as me - Ethno-tek brought to the Ethnical Fashion Week some colourful and interesting bags and accessories. The products are hand-woven in various villages around the world - Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Each line of work uses traditional patterns and techniques. In each case, the product is supporting social local projects. The results are very beautiful yet practical for the busy traveler.
We are rarely aware of the materials included in the production of the things we wear. Shoes, for instance. Some people do and share their knowledge. El Naturalista produces high quality vegan and chrome free shoes. I loved not only their design, but also the variety of colours and the comfortable look.
The eco-friendly fashion entered also the world of glasses. Antonio Verde created a family business producing reading or sunglasses made of ecological products. Another aspect of the company is that it guarantees that its employers, many of them in third world countries, are offered decent working conditions - including health insurance - and children labor is not allowed.
For 20 years, NIX encourages the feminine look by offering comfortable and urban women clothes. Many of their clothes have an air of the 1920s, and are well fit to the long winter time in Germany and Berlin. The brand is using recycled materials and highly certified products in general. Although the predominant colours of the latest collection are a bit too somber for my colourful choices, there were some skirts and coats that can easily suit a variety of tastes.
One of the reasons I love to attend such events is for the opportunity of meeting interesting creative people from all over the world that would otherwise impossible to know about. Take for instance, this young company from Guatemala - Ukua Lov Baby - represented by its CEO and founder Daniel Guillen Cornet which launched a line of children clothes made exclusively of ecological ingredients, using among others the dyeing techniques from this country. Although most of the companies presented at the fair were from Germany, designers from Spain, Italy, Austria, Slovakia or Belgium were also present, creating quite a nice world and Europe map of responsible fashion brands.
My favorite products were those created by Feldman Wolf. The women clothes presented are, each and every one of them real works of art, with paintings or pictures printed on ecological silk or other elegant materials. The vivid colours and the lines of design are an example that responsible fashion can be also awesomely elegant.
Men are becoming in the last years more and more interested in wearing colourful clothes with rich motives and prints. Wish those birds from the bio-cotton hoodie presented by Dedicated Brand were available in smaller sizes. Another company that presented bio-cotton products that caught my attention was C.Pauli, also from Germany.
Last and not least, on the way out of the fair, my attention - and camera - was caught by a brand from the Basque country - Skunkfunk. Besides their big and comfy bags, the elegant prints of the purses were a real catch. If you go on their website, you can find also some very attractive women wear items, that can make your summer bright and colourful too.
I am really glad I made it to the fair this year. I got a lot of inspiration and ideas for coming posts. I hope in the next weeks to feature more responsible fashion brands, sharing the love for elegance and quality.
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