S CONSCIOUS LIVING
bassike
This fashion label’s passion for ethical design is shaping Australian style while keeping an eye on the planet ABOVE Bassike co-founder Deborah Sams in her office with Butch, her 12-year-old Pomeranian. RIGHT Butch gives some perspective to the company’s expansive headquarters in Warriewood, NSW, designed by Akin Atelier. The void in the roof was non-negotiable, says Deborah. “We had to have a lot of light and fresh air, even if it meant sacrificing some of the office space.” OPPOSITE PAGE, FROM TOP Casual beanbags scatter the design floor. A Winter 2020 collection viewing in the showroom. Deborah at her desk with her essential design reference library. Business partner Mary Lou Ryan’s minimalist office mirrors Deborah’s space.
26 | INSIDE OUT
“Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, so it doesn’t mean anything anymore,” says Deborah Sams, the co-founder and creative director of luxury fashion label Bassike, explaining that businesses in the habit of greenwashing have diminished the power of businesses that are serious about sustainability. “We have been working hard on doing it, not working hard on talking about it,” she says. From the beginning, when Bassike launched with its range of twisted seam tanks and tee-shirts in 2006, the choice was there to either work with organic cotton – or not. It was a natural decision. “If we can actually make a difference on this Earth and still produce beautiful clothing, why would we not do that?” Deborah asks. Specifically, that meant using fabric made without pesticides (which can go on to contaminate the water sources of the small communities they’re made by) and sourcing cotton from crops that require 80 per cent less water. Fourteen years later and organic materials are an integral part of the range, which includes luxurious linen grown from water-free flax. “We are trying to develop it into other categories and fabrications where we can,” Deborah says. “Fabric is going to change dramatically in the future. There are factories and mills I go to in Italy that are insane. What they’re doing is exceptional. It can be more expensive and more complicated, but it’s important. And I think natural organic fabric is more beautiful; there’s an earthiness and I like that feeling – I gravitate towards that.” Provenance was the next step. “It was a very conscious decision to produce locally in Australia. Over 90 per cent of our product is made here. Again, it’s more expensive, but gives us full transparency into our supply chain and we’re supporting local industry, plus it means we can reduce our carbon footprint significantly.” Australian-made has now become a core part of the Bassike DNA. “When we started,” Deborah says, “people didn’t really care about sustainability – no one checked labels then. But now, with things like the recent bushfires, people are all across it and want businesses to be accountable.” Bassike extends this sensibility to its store design and interiors around the world, collaborating with acclaimed architect and interior designer Kelvin Ho of Akin Atelier on each of them, from Avalon to Venice Beach in Los Angeles. The alliance is a good one – Akin is of the same mindset, with a plan to take its own business carbon neutral by 2021.
PHOTOGRAPHY: BART CELESTINO
ustainability has become a generic term.
