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CONTRIBUTORS Editors in chief Martin Mitchell & Pernille Mosbech
Contributing writers Myrto Papaliou Andrea F. H. Kamper Phillip Monge Pernille Hammershøj Else Skjold Susanne Guldager Caroline Salomonsen Pernille Krogh-Jensen Sarah Dieckmann Søren Henriksen Nicklas Thrysøe Kristine Harper
Other Contributors Phillip Koll Oscar Schmitto Pernille Krüger Verena Schepperheyn Nicolas Andreou Peter Pohjola Charline Skovgaard Jakob Ostenfeld Michala Højtved Charline Skovgaard Silja Björk Hoff-Møller Cathrine Thomsen
Graphic Design Vanessa Hoffmann
Proofread Anna De Laurenzio
Cover by Nir Sarig
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FOREWORD The power of empowerment At the Sustainable Brands 2014 conference in London we had an inspiring, yet slightly alarming conversation with Novozymes. They talked about an enzyme that can prolong the new appearance of cotton garments. This technology is called biopolishing, which Novozymes invented over 20 years ago. It is cheap and the treatment is straightforward, but the apparel industry has shown almost no interest in it up until now. Apparently the industry seems to maintain that there is no profit in making clothing last longer, despite the fact that this would be welcomed by consumers. This reveals the true consequences of letting the power of profit make the decisions. Power is a central and driving force in the fashion industry, and it can be constructive but also destructive – depending on how it is used and what drives it. We are thrilled to present to you the fourth official issue of Less Magazine with a focus on the concept of empowering yourself or others. We set out to investigate this from a range of different perspectives. To be empowered is to have the power of choice or a range of possibilities. To empower someone is to mobilize this kind of power and make it available to them. In fashion we strongly need to empower the workers in factories around the world because their possibilities are limited. However, empowerment is not always without its downsides. Labeling of clothing in order to give consumers the opportunity to make ethical choices is to empower them – to pass on power. Though being informed is never a disadvantage, ‘empowerment’ can be used as a buzzword that powerful corporations and institutions can use as a smokescreen for shifting the responsibility onto the individual consumer. We don’t believe that the responsibility to save the earth lies solely with the people who are out shopping – but that doesn’t mean they do not have power to do something. Empowering your own wardrobe might seem hard, but PhD, post. Doc. Else Skjold, gives you the opportunity to understand ways in which you can do so. This could serve as a way of telling companies how you want to consume! At Less Magazine we believe that information is key, therefore we have had help from Danwatch’s Søren Henriksen and Sarah Dieckmann who take us through the value chain in the fashion industry and we look more specifically at two places in that chain by interviewing Barbara & Ole í Gongini as well as Morten Lehmann, CSR Manager at IC Group. We have also had the opportunity to visit local artisans or seamstresses in Sri Lanka and experience production and craftsmanship up close. Putting a face to the people who work on our garments could change the way we think about production and factory workers. We will forever have in our minds that it is actual people who are sewing our T-shirts or knitting our sweaters. In one of our visualizations we have imagined world apocalypse overturning the earth, leaving mankind to live on water as a consequence of global warming and rising oceans, caused by people ignoring the seriousness of the circumstances we are faced with. We are proud of this issue and as always we hope that our work will inspire you or maybe offer you the necessary insights into becoming a critical consumer. Always be critical! Pernille Mosbech and Martin Mitchell on behalf of the entire hard-working Less Magazine team.
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Essence
Power Relations in the Value Chain of Fashion
Interview Mai-Gidah
Visualization Peter Pohjola
The Power of Your Wardrobe
Where I End and You Begin
Does the Super Textile Exist?
Visualization Nicolas Andreou 4
Background on Unfair Fashion
Visualization Charline Skovgaard
Eco Labeling
The Empowering Experience of Working With Local Artisans
Performance Society
A Column by Mr. Monge Do You Have a Blog?
Slow Clothing
Brand List 5
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Shoes by The Last Conspiracy Asgaard Collection Trousers & T-shirt by Leon Louis Knit by Gudrun&Gudrun
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Left: Sweatshirt by JUUN J G , Underwear and plastic skirt - stylist’s own Right: Earring by Chanel G
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Hair piece - Stylist’s own
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Emil: Black organic tee by Protect Climate. Leathershorts by Pelechecoco Cap-headpiece by Barbara i Gongini Boots Handmade in England by Dr. Martens Albert: T-shirt by Protect Climate Shorts & cap-headpiece by Barbara Ă Gongini Boots Handmade in England by Dr. Martens
Nude underwear by Under Proction Goldring by Anna Moltke-Huitfeldt Gold plateau shoes by Miopo Haute Couture dress by Kristian Goerup
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Albert: Leatershirt by Pelechecoco Sweatshorts by A Questin of Tights by Barbara i Gongini Emil: Sweartshirt by HunKøn Leggings by Barbara i Gongini Leatershorts by Pelechecoco Trine: Black body by Johanne Rubinstein Sealskin sneaks by EthnoCph Paper piece by Sara Gaardbo and Maria Ibsen
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Bodystocking by UnderProtection 98 Sealskin wedge boots by EthnoCph Paper piece by Sara Gaardbo and Maria Ibsen
Emil: Leggings by Barbara i Gongini Sweatpants by A Question Of Boots Handmade in England by Dr. Martens Albert: Sweatshiert by Hunkøn Jeans by Farmers Market Boots Handmade in England by Dr. Martens Headpiece by Sara Gaardbo 99
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SLOW CLOTHING A c c o r d i n g t o L e s s M a g a z i n e J a n u a r y 2 0 15 Less Magazine focus on Slow Clothing, as you probably know. But you might not know exactly what we mean when we say this. So, in order to become more transparent we made a definition, so you can have a clearer idea of what you see on the following pages. The fashion industry itself is not very transparent at this moment. We are doing the best we can, but we can only be as transparent as the brands let us be. At Less Magazine we define slow clothing as a specific approach to clothing consumption mainly from the consumer point of view. Because of this a brand can be acceptable in the slow clothing sense without awareness of it and without branding itself as such. A single garment can also be acceptable while the brand is not. At Less Magazine we expect a slow clothing garment to be of very high quality in both materials and handicraft. This assures that the garment will last a long time and a lot of use. Furthermore the garment should fulfill at least one of the following standards to be accepted as slow clothing: The garment should have • Special features that makes it long-lasting eg. a timeless fit and color • Special meaning that makes it more than just clothes to the owner. This could be in the form of sentimental value, or a special artistic or conceptual idea behind the design. • Be made of reused material or other eco-friendly materials • Be made using techniques that consider the environment For a brand to be accepted as a slow clothing brand it needs to ignore seasonal trends, be of very high quality and at least meet one of the following standards: The brand should • Only make garments that live up to our definition of a slow clothing garment • Work on maintaining or developing new sustainable materials or techniques • Present a high level of transparency towards the consumers To the best of our ability we will mark every garment in one of these ways: or
slow clothing garment from a non-slow clothing brand a slow clothing garment from a slow clothing brand.
This Slow Clothing definition will be reviewed biannually.
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BRAND LIST The Last Conspiracy www.thelastconspiracy.com • Timeless • Artistic • Craftsmanship
Nico Uytterhaegen www.nicouytterhaegen.be • Timeless • Materials • Craftsmanship
Daniel Andresen www.danielandresen.com • Timeless • Artistic • Materials • Craftsmanship • Production
Yohji Yamamoto www.yohjiyamamoto.co.jp • Timeless • Craftsmanship
Amoire Officielle www.armoiredhomme.com • Timeless • Materials • Production Gudrun&Gudrun www.gudrungudrun.com • Timeless • Materials • Craftsmanship • Techniques • Production Leon Louis www.leonlouis.com • Timeless • Materials • Craftsmanship Rohrmann www.rohrmann.dk • Timeless • Craftsmanship • Materials Tobias Birk Nielsen www.tobiasbirknielsen.com • Conceptual • Materials • Production
Rick Owens www.rickowens.eu/en • Craftsmanship • Conceptual BARBARA I GONGINI www.barbaraigongini.dk/home • Timeless • Materials • Craftsmanship • Techniques • Production Verena Schepperheyn www.verenaschepperheyn.com • Conceptual • Materials • Craftsmanship • Techniques Tibbe Smith www.tibbesmith.com • Timeless • Materials • Craftsmanship • Techniques • Production Dr. Martens www.drmartens.com/uk • Timeless • Materials
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A Question Of www.aquestionof.net • Materials • Production Mai-Gidah www.maigidah.com • Conceptual • Artistic • Materials • Technique • Production
Miopo www.miopoessence.com • Timeless • Production • Materials
Victoria Mingot www.victoriamingot.com • Timeless • Materials • Craftsmanship • Techniques • Production
Farmers Market www.farmersmarket.is • Timeless • Materials • Craftsmanship • Production • Techniques
Hunkøn • Timeless • Materials • Craftsmanship • Techniques • Production
Protect Climate www.my-fair-shop.com • Materials • Production
Tyre Loe • Timeless • Materials • Craftsmanship • Techniques • Production Valeriya Olkhova • Timeless • Materials • Craftsmanship • Techniques • Production Pelechecoco www.pelechecoco.com • Timeless • Crafsmanship • Production • Materials
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Anna Moltke Hvidtfeldt www.moltke-huitfeldt.dk • Timeless • Craftsmanship • Production • Materials
Johanne Rubinstein www.johannerubinstein.dk • Materials • Craftsmanship • Production • Techniques Underprotection www.underprotection.dk • Timeless • Materials • Production Sara Gaardbo www.instagram.com/saragaardbo • Craftsmanship • Artistic • Production