Anyone who has been doing any kind of outdoor training, skiing or snowboarding will probably agree with me that merino wool is one of the best – if not THE best – fibre when it comes to wicking moisture and keeping you warm – as well as keeping you cosy during the winter months. I genuinely love every single merino wool item that I own*- be it base layers, socks or jumpers - and naturally wanted to use the fibre for the newly launched Jinhae knit jumper. Unfortunately, there is some controversy surrounding wool production, which is why we chose a very soft fine Italian yarn made from 100% recycled merino wool fibres – and according to the Italian mill...
Today is the start of Fashion Revolution week in which brands are encouraged by the global Fashion Revolution movement to be transparent about their supply chain in order to drive change in the fashion industry. The movement was born in 2013, out of the devastating tragedy in Rana Plaza, Bangladesh, where 1138 garment factory workers lost their lives when the building collapsed. Up until then, images from garment factories were seldom seen in the press; and we consumers rarely considered the people who made our clothes, their working conditions and how much they were paid. Indeed, many people I have talked with think that their clothes are made entirely by machines. It may be the way things are going in the...
Recently I have spent a lot of time going through model portfolios to select a model for our upcoming Christmas campaign. Booking models is a new experience for me and it sparked some thoughts on size and retouching. Two years ago, the Danish fashion magazine Cover used a young model that was far too thin in an editorial. It sparked outrage on social media with people quickly naming the scandal #covergate and demanding that the editor be sacked. It appears that, at no point did anyone raise concerns about whether it was ethical and morally sound to use a visibly underweight model in a magazine directed at teenage girls/young women. The model agency was also challenged on why they had not encouraged...
Do you know who made your clothes? With the aim of improving the working conditions for fashion workers across the globe, the Fashion Revolution movement is urging consumers to ask their favourite brands “who made my clothes?”. The placards illustrate the need for transparency in the fashion industry to overcome poor working conditions and unethical practises throughout the supply chain.In response, fashion brands with an ethical stance post pictures of workers holding placards saying “I made your clothes”.The images are largely symbolic. Small brands producing garments in an artisan way may be able to post an image of the person who hand embroidered your dress. However, this one smiling face does not truly represent the reality in which there are...
