An Estethica Short

Posted on 23 January 2012 by Christine de León


(Images by M. edited and post-production by Christine de Leon)

Joanna Cave, Michelle Lowe-Holder and The Environment Justice Foundation.

Sorry people, I took a short hiatus last week from blogging. Mostly to get myself back together – lots of spending time with family, friends, my duvet and a wide and varied selection of tisanes.

So to make up for neglecting you dear, gentle readers, I’ve put together a short film just for you. These images were taken at the Estethica S/S 12 Showcase, Somerset House during London Fashion Week. Again, this was done in collaboration with my most favourite 9-year-old and the best assistant you could ask possibly for.

Joanna Cave collaborates a lot with the sustainable fashion label Partimi. Cave uses ethical gold and also recycled metals for these intricate and delicate pieces.

Michelle Lowe-Holder recently featured in an issue of ID’s Sustain – click the link to see more of her beautiful work. She upcycles ribbon and leather into wearable sculpture – headpieces, collars, necklaces and bracelets. Her work makes me think a lot of the modernist sculptor Isamu Noguchi (a personal favourite). The pieces in Lowe-Holder’s S/S 12 vibrant collection are all built on clean, precise lines and overall have a generous flow.

Finally, the Environmental Justice Foundation, who tirelessly campaign to raise awareness of the environmental degradation caused by the cotton industry. One of their t-shirt designs was a Christian LaCroix commission.

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The Friday Round-up: Rachel Freire S/S12 at Estethica

Posted on 13 January 2012 by Christine de León

Photo credit: M.

There was a lot of controversy over Rachel Freire‘s ‘cow nipple’ dress which made its debut at London Fashion Week’s Estethica (seen here on the left). But really, how can one reasonably object to something that uses up wastage from the leather industry? This is sustainable fashion at its most basic. I am sure the strict vegetarians amongst us would hate this, obviously. But my question is: if an animal is going to be slaughtered for its meat, surely using the entire animal is better than letting it all go to waste.

Controversy aside, it wasn’t the ‘nipple shaped as roses’ gown that took my 9-year-old’s fancy (she’s a vegetarian and was pretty grossed out by it), it was this black number and the message on this t-shirt that resonated with her:

Photo by M.

I am feeling better now, thank you everyone for your kind words and support. I still haven’t found the strength and courage to go out and take street snaps, so M.’s 9-year-old view of Estethica through the lens is my main collaborator for the interim.
 

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At the Ada Z. After Party

Posted on 10 January 2012 by Christine de León

… in Shoreditch. Here is a photo that didn’t make the first edit but here it is now because I’m still pulling my s*** together after last week’s you-know-what. Anyway, I liked the stripey business going on here and also I quite enjoyed the high waisted denim with the leather biker jacket. Hello 1992, it’s nice to see you again.

By the way, things are getting better every day. I keep thinking that each day that I am unwell is another day I give to those low lives. I hope that they either are shooting up with dirty needles or else smoking crack cocaine that’s been cut with rat poison.

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Ada Zanditon Dress & Poseisus

Posted on 09 January 2012 by Christine de León

Photo credit: M.

So for just a little while I’m digging into the files to find some photos I can upload until I am feeling better and well enough to go out and take photos again.

The photo above was taken by my daughter M. who accompanied me to Estethica at London Fashion Week last September. I just gave her my camera and said that she should take pictures of whatever took her fancy. Ada Zanditon’s signature dress for S/S 12 caught her eye.

And this is the fashion film for it:

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The Friday Round-up

Posted on 06 January 2012 by deleon

So normally on the Friday Round-up, I have a few sustainable fashion tips, a story about ethical fashion, I might talk about some cool art I’ve seen or some great music I’ve heard lately.

This Friday Round-up is written in haste because I’m not in a great frame of mind right now due to being mugged on Tuesday night. At the moment I’m working on insurance claims, getting a mobile phone number up and running again and trying to rest and recover from the ordeal.

I can tell you that I bought two pairs of jeans in the Boxing Day sale from Ascension Online which I will have to return unfortunately because their sizes comes up incredibly small. I also bought some Pants to Poverty underwear from them for my kids – these are in the sale and a good deal. Also, I’m thinking that I might set myself a challenge to buy nothing new this year. Finally, I am pretty smitten with illustrator Zakee Shariff’s collaboration with People Tree. Click here to see.

One of the most successful things that has kept my mind off Tuesday’s horrible event is the new U.S. comedy series ‘New Girl’. It’s on Channel 4 this week and it’s FUNNY.

Also, this came in on the Twitter feed and I really like it because it talks about ‘Writer’s Block’ which is kind of what I have right now.

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