SLOU magazine 09-16 (English version) by SLOU

welcome to the world of

SLOU 09/16

sus t a i n a b l e fashion day report

SLOU phonetic transcription of the English word SLOW - slow. Slow Fashion - the opposite of Fast Fashion. Fashion manufactured, sold, worn and mainly thrown at a slow pace. Quality and care. One that will last. SLOU – a term in urban dictionary meaning 'bitch', 'slut', a woman with moral values of a man. Our woman does not care what one thinks about her and takes a leading role in a society.

ON THE COVER

SEASONAL REPORT FROM SUSTAINABLE FASHION DAY

SLOU

06.

Once you go sustainable, you never go back. By founder of Sustainable Fashion Day, Kamila Boudová

08.

Find yourself Get familiar with the world of sustainable fashion and the categories of our sellers

20.

Q&A with Petra Langerová We interviewed our notable foreign guest

26.

Upcycling is the new black

32.

Upcycling in practise with Respiro

36.

SFD in numbers

37.

Exclusive Fashion Story

52.

Q&A with Andrea Oviedo We interviewed the founder of La Petite Mort

56.

Top-notch experience with Fashion Revolution

58.

A list of selling brands

60.

Next year Take a part

Coat Free Circle Handbag UASHMAMA Model Lucia Červenáková Styling Sim Luhová Photo welinna.com

“ “It's like organic food or tantric sex. Once you try it there is simply no way back. Your body begins to reject everything else and you fall for sustainable fashion.”

Kamila Boudová, founder of Sustainable Fashion Day

After year of babbeling about sustainable fashion and what to do about the current system I founded Sustainable Fashion Day where we can keep babbeling about the topic and in addition we can bring hot and awesome sustainable fashion brands closer to the public.

once you go sustainable...

It is the same story as food. If you do not have your own garden and you have been eating the veggies from supermarket since ages tasting some organic food might turn your world upside down, change your life once and for ever. Tomatoes smell! And they smell great! Just touch them and they smell! Vegetables have a taste! It is like eating a soup at grandma’s again… after she picked up all the ingredients in the garden. It is just awesome! But checking your budget you realize that you cannot replace all the food at home by the organic alternatives and so you drop back to the routine of conventional shopping in conventional supermarkets. I know it myself. For months we were draining our account with my man to eat organic only. After some time we had to admit that this is a real luxury and we cannot afford it. And so after months of organic food 6

I went back to conventional store last week. I did a huge shopping for a fraction of price I paid before. Peaches, grapes, plums. I did pay attention the country of origin and solely chose “made in France” since this is where I live now. But despite of that the result was disappointing. Of course, we ate it. We ate it all and it was at least half the price of the organic food I used to buy just next door, but it was really disappointing. And so today I went back to my favorite bio store where tomatoes smell like heaven, water melons actually have some taste and all the shopping, paying and consuming evoke a joy deep inside of me. All the world is full of joy knowing that with my purchase I protect soil, water and the people working in the fields. With the fashion it is the same. I remember the first time I did NOT shop. I went to one of those chain store

few year ago, I touched the materials, checked the labels and prices, figured out how much nature paid for this and I did not buy anything. And then new experiences followed up: second-hand hunting in my home town in Czech Republic - I found a cashmere jumper for less than a pound. Shoe repair… and another shoe repair and more and more NON shopping which allowed us the funds for the luxury of organic food. Only quality materials, first jumper from baby alpaca and first organic cotton t-shirt. Once you start treating your body with all that quality and nature and meaning it refuses anything else. It is like organic food or tantric sex. Once you try it, there is no way back and you fall for sustainable fashion.

... you never go back

Seminars and workshops Seminars and workshops on Sustainable Fashion Day appeal to both experts and the general public. We bring sustainability into the wardrobe with stylists through workshops and into hands of participants through DIY workshops (or 'Do it yourself'). For desinger and businesses, we hold discussions at round tables, seminars on materials or even workshops on how to implement upcycling into the collection. shopping zone

Sustainable Fashion Day demolishes myths about sustainable fashion. Especially the myth that sustainable fashion shirts made of unbleached cotton are for hippies. More and more brands and designers

are devoted to sustainability and its many forms with a sense of aesthetics, with a mission to keep the lifestyle and aesthetic codes, even for people who want to shop responsibly.

Kamila 7

Find yourself At the Sustainable Fashion Day event, one could find brands that declare different principles in terms of sustainable progress. All the stands of different vendors were labelled by signs confessing their philosophies. If you were not sure about the meaning of some of them, read on.

C R A DLE T O C R A DLE None of the brands at the Sustainable Fashion Day has been certified by the Cradle to Cradle institute yet, though one of the presented brands employs their principles. La Petit Mort uses purely organic cotton or best quality alpaca wool. All of their materials are dyed and printed using natural paint only. This means that after you wear out their t-shirt or a scarf, you can simply compost it and thus feed the nature. Which is absolutely in accordance with the principles of Cradle to Cradle. The technological cycle is represented by a pioneer of sustainable fashion – the American brand Patagonia, which uses plastic bottles to make fibre to be used for fleece jackets and other products. H A ND M A DE Everything that is handcrafted. At the Sustainable Fashion Day, this category was mainly represented by jewellery, cosmetics and

accessories. Rolling Hooks, brand led by Jana Rollová, presented its hot pots and cups pads, which may also be used as textile images. On top of that, they are made of waste material, such as old t-shirts. The t-shirts are first dyed using natural paint and then crafted into a designer item. Rolling Hooks has also recently started producing jewellery! Hand-crafted cosmetics is available from brands like Mylo and Aroma – Ateliér. Marie Bernotová and Irena Marie Hartingerová also make their jewellery by hand.

M A DE IN C Z / S K / EU Made in the Czech Republic or Slovakia. We are mainly looking for brands, whose products are manufactured locally or within the EU area. This is important for sustainability mainly because transportation emissions are minimised, local market are supported and in the above all – the EU has strict regulations in terms of using chemicals and water purification. There was a great deal of Czech brands at the Sustainable Fashion Day, among others Free Circle, Bohempia, K.BANA, Playbag, or Fresh Essentials – the very own brand of Fresh Label. Brands falling under the EU label included Italian fashion brand Uashmama or Startas from Croatia.

DI V ER S E F I B ER S Have you ever heard of the importance of natural diversity or biodiversity protection? It is crucial for preserving the variety of animal species because when one dies out, the entire system is disrupted and hundreds of other species may vanish. To preserve diversity in nature it is also good to apply diversity on the crops we grow. For that reason we also have a label to mark those brands that do not use cotton or synthetic materials but focus on other fabrics, like hemp or flax – e.g. Bohempia or Chriss Pola.

s k i n f r i e n d ly Clothes dyed and printed with natural, inoffensive colours or perhaps undyed and unbleached, absolutely natural. This category is often connected with categories like Eco-Certified or Made in CZ / SK / EU. Moreover, in the developed countries the rules for the use of chemicals in fashion industry are a lot stricter. Among the products gentle to the skin were those of e.g. K.BANA, reSITE, Brána k dětem, or the yard fabrics vendors AMWA and Kdotokdyslyšel.

Z ERO W A S T E About 15% of material is never made into clothes. Some of this waste is used by our upcycling brands. However, wouldn’t it be absolutely perfect, if there was no trash as all? “Zero waste” is the name of a technique of cutting fabric in a way that absolutely no waste, or very little of it, is actually produced. The cut is so designed to fit perfectly into the piece of fabric. Sustainable Fashion Day presented one brand devoted to this technique, 7dub led by fashion designer Zuzana Sedmidubská.

F A IR T R A DE Label for fashion made on the southern hemisphere in respectable working conditions with fair wages, usually suggested by workers themselves. This sort of fashion was presented by Naturveda. Many fair trade items were also presented by vendors such as EtikButik or Suvi + Matias or fair trade fabrics by AMWA organic. 11

Eco certifikované a ekologicky potištěné byly i tašky a košile pro náš tým od slovenské firmy MerchYou.

OR G A NI C In this category, one can find materials made of crops grown without the use of any chemicals. In contrast to conventionally grown cotton for which 25% of world’s pesticides are used annually, organic cotton protects not only your skin but also the Earth and water in the areas where it grows. The organic cotton plants are chemically pure and not GMO,. Simply, nature as we know it. You could buy organic products from e.g. La Petit Mort, Kdotokdyslyšel – fabrics with stories, AMWA Organic, Patagonia, Freshlabels, Etikbutik or Suvi + Matias.

RE C Y C LED / U P C Y C LED Using old items to create something new. Fabric clippings can be used for necklaces, old t-shirts can be made into hot pot pads. Instead of buying new fabrics creators use old and discarded ones to sew their collections. Or they alter second-hand items into something new. This category was the most heavily represented, among others by Respiro, Hana Frisonsova, Teabag, WinWin Love, Lubica Skalska, Rolling Hooks, Veronika Hubková, IMH jewellery from plastic bottles, Prostě Prim, charitable project Metráž and many others.

Animal lovers

At Sustainable Fashion Day one could purchase cosmetics or apparel from vendors who would not hurt a fly. Their products are made with respect to animals. This means that they do not contain any animal ingredients and cosmetics is not tested on animals.

Animal Friendly T-shirt Better On Me 1 299 Kč

VEGAN Vegan brands are devoted to saving animals. They do not use any material of animal origin – stop leather purses and crocodile-leather shoes. Brands marked as vegan also do not sell woollen sweaters and buttons made of antlers. Of course, not all alternatives are sustainable, such as PVC. New technologies or traditional fibres made from plants can substitute animal based materials in a way that is ecological and attractive. For instance shoes made out of cork or new artificial leather made of pineapple. The leading vegan brand at Sustainable Fashion Day was Holy Cow which sells shoes for vegans, who do not want 14

to make compromises when it comes to aesthetics and lifestyle. Vegan shoes look like leather shoes but they are made out of nanotextiles which do not contain PVC and are air-permeable. Still, they would not fall apart on a compost, but as Eliška L. Prunarová, the founder of Holy Cow, points out: “Even leather shoes cannot be considered natural or compostable because of chemicals used in the production.” More brands in the vegan category: Better on me, Uashmama, Bohempia, or Playbag. On top of that, Naturveda offers vegan condoms.

Second-hand adjusted fashion collection WinWin Love

Fair trade dress made of tencel yarn and organic cotton EtikButik 1 650 Kč Vegan, handmade soap Mylo 120 Kč Vegan patent moccasins Holy Cow 2 750 Kč

Eco travellers Cool guys travel by train and move around the city on bike. To preserve your status of a cool guy, choose some pieces which are sustainable as well as functional and aesthetic.

City cycling in style in a coat by Free Circle 20 990 Kč

Vegan riding boots Holy Cow 3 600 Kč

Upcycled bag Respiro 2 300 Kč

Jacket tailored for urban cyclists Free Circle 16 990 Kč

Trousers tailored for urban cyclists Free Circle 7 990 Kč

“

"When you know, who you are, you can make better decisions. Once you find your own style, you can start investing into your wardrobe meaningfully.” Petra Langerová, notable foreign guest of Sustainable Fashion Day

Do you consider yourself an advocate of sustainable fashion?

Petra

Langerová Petra, what is your answer to a question ‘Who is Petra Langerova? a curious enthusiast. Being very critical and opinionated, I continuously surprise myself with the level of childish curiosity and enthusiasm that I gather to explore new places, ideas, projects and people. This is a quality that transpires through everything I do, weather it is to be a designer, artist, daughter or a parent.

Born in Slovakia, she has been living in New York for 21 years, where she ended up studying fashion design. She started her career in the Narciso Rodrigues company, later on she moved to J. Crew and then to multinational giant GAP, where she worked as Design Director. She left the company only to join a transparent startup Everlane.

Yes. consider myself someone deeply disturbed by wastefulness since childhood. I think it has a lot to do with the education of my grandparents. But back then it was not spoken about as sustainability, but as a normal, sane and understood way to be. Wastefulness, inability to maintain or repair things was considered bad housekeeping and in fact a sign of bad taste. I don't think we can choose to be sustainable in one area, like fashion, and not in other. It is one's life principle to live with consideration of others and of the future. From this perspective, I believe that sustainability is a behavior issue equally as it is an industry standard issue.

What do you like the most about fashion? I really like its ability to transform people. Fashion is like the costumes of cartoon heroes - it can make you invisible or striking. Another interesting paradox is that fashion can express and change the way we see and perceived ourselves. In Slovakia we say that “the clothes make the person”. I believed this to be still valid and true. On the other hand talking about the production of fashion I appreciate the opposite. I like the challenges such as how to produce a white t-shirt that will last for ages, have a perfect cut and improve with every wash. It sounds banal, I know. But even such a basic feature as produce good quality clothing for reasonable price is an utopy today. I know more people who cannot find qualitative white t-shirt that than the ones who own such one.

A & Q

How many year did you spend in GAP and what was the reason to leave?

I worked there for almost four years from 2009 to 2013. I left mainly because of the fatigue of constant travelling that disrupted my family life. Another reason was the strategy of GAP. The main focused turned on the internal interests of the company instead of adapting to the changing conditions of the market. And finally I left because of the increasing pressure and responsibilities for results out of the frame of my competences. In the end I did not even feel like a woman but more like some sort of soldier in a front line of battlefield with blurry borders. But I must add that there are a lot of people in USA that would be highly pleased if GAP went back to the original philosophy and quality production. Including me. 20

When it starts to grow, the audience becomes a lot less forgiving and the company a lot more vulnerable to abandon its original principles.

YOU said that small companies are capable to take the giants down. We r e c e n lt y s aw G A P c l o s i n g down over 200 stores. Is this a sign that it is already happening? It is a big and broad question. The idea of small company taking down a giant sounds romantic and appealing in Robin Hood way, especially in times fatigued by massive scale productions and gigantic companies selling anonymous product. But every big company was small at the beginning. What is different today is the speed at which a small company can grow, specifically speaking of e-commerce with appealing â&#x20AC;&#x153;missionâ&#x20AC;&#x153; and clever marketing through social media channels. The funny thing is that small and local is the new cool and therefore the real strength of a small company is actually it's size.

Today I am also a lot more skeptical if the point is the battle of small taking down the big, mostly because of generalized considerations of big companies as bad and small as good. Especially in regards to sustainability. In example case study Everlane vs Gap, Everlane for sure might take over a portion of Gap's market share and demographic due to it's similarity of product end use, and might take more in the future, but the closing of Gap's stores is certainly not because of Everlane and possibly a good thing for Gap.

I s t h e r e a way f o r s m a l l companies to compete with a m u lt i n at i o n a l g i a n t s a n d m ay b e e v e n ta k e i t d o w n o n e d ay ? If there were such an universal manual everyone would have done it already. But if a small company with original product and approach focuses on keeping its core values and principles even during the time of its development instead of focusing solely on profit, it is going to evolve into a business that no one will want to take down one day.

FASHION ACTIVIST is a self-confident woman who likes to flirt with fashion trends, but to her wardrobe she only accepts quality and sustainable pieces!

Fashion activists

Pad made of recycled textile Rolling Hooks 890 Kč

Eko certified dress Free Circle 14 990 Kč

Bag made of washable paper UASHMAMA 1790 Kč

Vegan clutch made in Zlín Playbag 1 200 Kč

Vegan pumps EtikButik 2 690 Kč

Upcycling

is the new black

Na jedné straně nekontrolovatelný chtíč po On one hand, there is this uncontrollable desire for low cost fashionable clothes, on the other hand, there are tons of wasted pieces ending up on the dump. Clothes are so cheap, that we wear them only for a short while and as soon as we are bored with it, we just throw it away and buy something new. Millions of tons of textiles then pollute our planet and the situation is getting worse day by day. But these textiles may, to some extent, be reused. Upcycling is one of the ways of how to relieve our planet of the masses of unused textiles.

Upcycling as the future of fashion industry

Visitors of the third Sustainable Fashion Day could find a whole room dedicated to upcycling and there were fashion brands devoted to this phenomenon in other rooms too. All of our staircase decorations by Hana Frišonová were also upcycled, and so this feels like the right time to make it clear and explain what upcycling is and also make you fall for this concept.

Written by Barbora Kadlčková

We are very glad that there are people in the Czech Republic who create upcycled fashion or plan to establish a fashion brand of that kind. We had the opportunity to meet some of those people at the Sunday’s workshop “Upcycling for designers”. The workshop was led by German fashion designer and co-founder of the Aluc and Upcycling Fashion Store brand in Berlin Luise Barsh and fashion designer Veronika Hubková, who believes we should avoid producing more than we actually need, and therefore 80% of all the clothes she makes is made of what was meant to be thrown away. Would you like to know how to make upcycling part of your the fashion designs? Are you wondering where you can get the materials? Or are you just curious what upcycling means in terms of fashion industry? If yes, just keep on reading because this is just the right article for you.

fashion. This new way of “transforming” old things and using them anywhere you can think of – you can for example upcycle furniture. At Sustainable Fashion Day you could enjoy the opportunity to sit on upcycled chairs and in upcycled armchairs by Z pokoje do pokoje which kindly provided their furniture.

W h at d o e s u p c y c l i n g a c t u a l ly m e a n ? Upcycling is a process that breathes new life into old things, so that they can be made into something useful and beautiful. Unlike recycling, during which consumable materials (usually plastic, glass, paper and metal) are used to produce goods of the same or lower quality, during upcycling something new is created, quite often of higher quality and serving a brand new purpose. Upcycling is not only a matter of 27

“Don’t waste the waste” Basically, there are two possibilities. You can get waste from textile factories. This kind of waste is called “pre-consumer waste” and includes bits of textile, the ends of roll fabric, imperfect pieces, or deadstock. Approximately 15% of the material factories produce will never be used to make something, and therefore will end up as preconsumer waste. One of the brands using pre-consumer waste from textile factories and introducing upcycling into mass production is the Estonian brand Reet Aus. If you are interested in learning about their journey to Bangladeshi textile factories, check the “Out of Fashion” documentary that will take you to Asian workshops as well as to negotiation table with multinational giants. Druhá možnost, jak získat materiál, je tzv. „post-

“

"Material needed to make of 15,000 pairs of jeans can be used to make another 1,000 pairs."

consumer waste“ – již použité látky či oděvy. Vhodné místo, kde sehnat tento druh materiálu, jsou například hotely, armádní sklady a nemocnice, kde se zhruba každých 6 měsíců zbavují ložního prádla, ručníků a dalších tkanin. Dalším zdrojem může být nevyužité šatstvo ze sociálních organizací, ze kterého se dá ušít plnohodnotný oděv. Materiál zde nakoupený vás mnohdy vyjde levněji než oblečení pořízené v sekáčích. Dalším tipem může být i odkup materiálů z českých pletáren, které nesou nálepku “textilní odpad” – tímto způsobem získává textil i módní návrhářka Veronika Hubková.

When it comes to the price of your products, be transparent. Make sure your customers understand everything that is included in the final price of the product – such as how much you spent on the buttons, threads, transport or marketing, in other words everything you had to do to be able to sell the product. The project Be Honest based in Antwerp or Everlane from the US may serve as perfect examples. Thanks to this kind of transparency you will be able to justify your prices to your customers.

I upcycle, you upcycle, we all upcycle The fact that upcycling is very “now” was also illustrated by the number of brands dedicated to this phenomenon, which were represented at the Sustainable Fashion Day. Visitors had the opportunity to buy clothes by L’ubica Skalská, Win Win Love, Veronika Hubková, 7Dub or Hana Frisonsová or upcycled accessories by Respiro, Rolling Hooks, IMH jewellery, ProstěPrim, Teabag and the charitable project Metráž. Veronika Hubková at her stand at Sustainable Fashion Day full of upcycled pieces.

treasure hunt Unlike the usual way of shopping for materials, shopping for fabrics will turn into a real adventure. You will not be able to buy them from the comfort of your home via the internet. You will have to go to the streets, sometimes even the world, and search for them. In the case of the pre-consumer waste, if it’s possible, get in touch with your local textile producer. You will find amazing high quality fabrics, but don’t forget you will always be limited in terms of the amount you will be able to get. Simply visit the textile factories and look for unused bits of fabrics. Sources will be limited, of course, but your fantasy will not. You will create unique and sustainable pieces with a story – you will make clothes with added value. This is something fashion designers working for big brands can hardly ever say.

Jakub, how did Respiro come into being? Was upcycling at the heart of your business plan from the very beginning? Our story began one morning while running for our life to catch a bus, when we came up with the idea to create original fashion brand which would express moods, attitudes as well as mutual communication and interaction. And hence, Respiro was created in a small Ostrava garage. The 2009 financial crisis was supposed to make us sink but it actually gave us second chance. We got a firsthand experience of what is upcycling. Unused material like old bike inner tubes, banners, automobile covers, wine bottles or fire hoses – all these are used in the company to create new elaborate designs and original fashion products.

Jakub

Respiro business manager

Upcycling in practice In a way, upcycling is a better form of recycling. Instead of using material to make an object of equal value – a new plastic bottle from a plastic bottle – you use waste to create an object of higher value. Upcycling is a way of extending life of the material, reducing the amount of waste as well as the demand for new raw materials. And therefore, three cheers to Respiro where many materials get upcycled.

What was the impulse for your first upcycled product? There was a whole bunch of impulses, but among the main ones was the crisis I already mentioned which made us to search for new possibilities. We want to be significantly and substantially different from others, to entertain people around us, create unique design paired up with quality and last but not least, green is not just a colour for us.

Which materials do you use and where do you get them from? Manufacturing materials can be divided into standard – such as old bike inner tubes, banners, gramophone records, wine bottles, fire hoses, IT components or old parachutes. We keep bringing in other materials based on what our business partners ask for, among these we can mention metal, old electronics, newspaper, floppy disks, plastic bottles, etc. We usually get materials directly from the companies, from their sources, so that the products have unique stories connected to the companies. But in terms of bike inner tubes there we created a well-functioning mutual symbiosis with bike services. 33

What is the most favourite product among your clients? For the cycling fans it is definitely products made from bike inner tubes, but among women it is usually colourful products from banners. For people who fancy a glass of wine from time to time, just like us, we have a serving board from wine glasses. This product is one of the most favourite, both in our e-shop and among companies for the end of the year.

I upcycle, you upcycle, we upcycle, or we love when old things become

What else can we find in your collection? What would you like? Shoes made from tires? Toys made from old T-shirts? Motorbike put together out of three old motorbikes? Or maybe furniture made from old baths? In our company, everything is possible and even much more than that.

something new.

Organic cotton T.shirt. EtikButik 279 Kč

What is Respiro’s mission? When will you feel like that mission has been completed? Our motto/mission is: Green design for better future. This is how I would describe our mission and the beauty of this motto is that it will never be 100% complete. When I look back to our beginnings, think about how many materials we started with and then realise where we are today. We have celebrated success in the Czech Republic and abroad and we are proud of our new cooperation project with kids and youth. We are trying to introduce young people to the added value of upcycling and the overall importance of the environment we live in.

Upcycling enthusiasts

W e r e a l ly l o v e y o u r i d e a o f u p c y c l i n g bikes. Where do you get the originals and what is necessary to be done on such bike before it reaches the shop? We cooperate with the organization called KolaproAfriku where we carefully choose the oldest pieces that cannot be used any more. If you can not use the bike any more, then it meets our selection criteria. Almost everything needs to be taken care of on the bikes – from bike wheel wickerwork, spraying to the most complicated bit, which is searching for original parts. Sometimes these need to be handmanufactured, because components are no longer on the market, but that is exactly what we enjoy – overcoming obstacles and finding new solutions.

Clock made of gramophone record. Respiro 470 Kč Jacket made of recycled PET bottles. EtikButik 990 Kč Upcycled fire hose and banner bag. Respiro 1 990 Kč

Slip ons made of pineapple fiber. EtikButik 2 690 Kč 34

SUSTAINABLE FASHION DAY in numbers 7 months and 1 week pregnant founder Kamila

effective wardrobes created

Sustainability is cool, but you k n o w t h at. We have prepared a fashion story as a small sample of what you could see at SFD, which will convince you that slow fashion is not only ethical but also stylish, sexy, playful and sophisticated at the same time.

33 sellers

hours of

shopping

foreign

speakers

act of breaking the law

1286

smiles captured by photographer Lukáš Bistřický

blocks of workshops and seminars 36

presentations of non-profit organisations sponsored by our team

Dress Ľubica Skalská Earrings Marie Bernotová Model Lucia Červenáková Styling Sim Luhová Photo welinna.com

Dress Ľubica Skalská Earrings Marie Bernotová Shoes Holy Cow Clutch UASHMAMA Model Lucia Červenáková Styling Sim Luhová Photo welinna.com

Coat Free Circle Shoes Startas Purse UASHMAMA Model Lucia ฤ ervenรกkovรก Styling Sim Luhovรก Photo welinna.com

Top, trousers WIN WIN love Coat Chriss Pola Backpack Playbag Shoes Holy Cow Watch Prostě Prim Model Lucia Červenáková Styling Sim Luhová Photo welinna.com

Vegan backpack manufactured in Zlín Playbag 2 400 Kč

Local ambassadors We love Czech brands that are not indifferent

Zero-waste frilly dress made from organic cotton 7DUB 990 Kč

Vegan wallet manufactured in Zlín Playbag 1 250 Kč Upcycled bracelet made by women in need Metráž 450 Kč

to the impact of their business on their surroundings. Furthermore, they are really stylish and their novel designs score around the world, too! Why not wear them with those sneakers from our Slavonic brothers? A perfect union.

Vegan and recyclable Startas sneakers 1 190 Kč

Upcycled bicycle Respiro 7 400 Kč

Bio moms RE-STOCK WAREHOUSES, POLISH WARDROBE RACKS

Férový svetřík z bio bavlny EtikButik 2 190 Kč

IN OTHER WORDS GET READY FOR

Sustainable Fashion Day 03 -17

Ve Zlíně vyrobený batoh Playbag 2 950 Kč Kolekce z upravených kousků ze secondhandu WinWin Love

Jeans z bio bavlny EtikButik 2 690 Kč

Will take place in the second half of March 2017

Are you interested in getting a stall in the shopping area?

Or in organising a workshop?

If you fall into one of our categories - from vegan fashion to zero-waste - we are happy to offer you a stall or a showroom to present your brand. Furthermore, we can help you to promote your company and make it more

We organise workshops for professionals and general public. If you have a skill you would like to pass on and relate to our values, fell free to suggest your workshop for the accompanying programme.

Get in touch with us on sustainablefashionday@gmail.com .

Recyklovaný a recyklovatelný kočárek Brána k dětem 5 763 Kč

Veganské derbys Holy Cow 2 750 Kč

Veganské lodičky Holy Cow 2 700 Kč

“

“Reach out to people who are nice and share the same interests. The more honest you are, the stronger the connection is going to be.” Andrea Sanabria Oviedo , founder of La Petite Morte and a foreign guest at Sustainable Fashion Day

How do you transform sustainability i n t o yo u r e v e ry d ay l i f e ? D o yo u believe, it´s possible for one to b e c o m e c o m p l e t e ly s u s ta i n a b l e ? I do make a lot of tiny practices at home and on my choices of consumption trying to be as sustainable as I can, mainly, on everyday basis, I try to support local production, organic when available, I put a lot of thought on separating trash … to me that’s the key to sustainability, instead of doing a 360° twist to have a zero waste life, it’s about integrating small daily actions, little by little, that can became a habitude. It’s easy to demand people to change, but we need to be understanding, we can’t change from one day to another, it’s a long process of education. Even for me, I’ll tell you straight away I’m not vegan! It’s so not part of my culture, but I do try to change my diet little by little. I can’t imagine somebody being completely sustainable, in any case, I don’t think that’s the objective, the point to is create awareness to live a more responsible life.

Andrea, when did you first get interested in sustainable fashion? Andrea, původem z Peru, dnes žije v Paříži. Prošla si od práce v reklamě přes management až po založení udržitelné značky La Petite Mort, kterou řídí na dvou kontinentech. Vášeň k tomu, co dělá, a její know-how jste mohli nasát na Sustainable Fashion Day, kde vedla přednášku „Jak založit udržitelnou značku“. Text: Sim Luhová

In early 2014, when I was exploring the possibilities of starting a project to bring Peruvian know-how and natural fibers to the international market. While doing my research I found out that Peru was one of the main producers of high quality organic cotton worldwide, I was surprised to see that most of this production went abroad and that the local market was mostly unaware or indifferent to quality fabrics. From there, out of curiosity, I started to read more about sustainable fashion and how it was developing internationally. This gave a total twist to my initial idea of a project.

seeing all these European brands importing high quality raw materials from my home region to their demanding clients. I couldn’t help but to compare the offer here and the one on its native market, infested by overpriced low quality alternatives coming from Asia. I thought it was not only ridiculous but also sad, I felt (and still feel) like Latin American consumers are being abused by the industry. I guess I took it like a personal mission. To me, the fair thing to do, was spreading information and giving people better options. After that, it’s up to them to decide, but we must give them the right of an informed choice.

A & Q

As you said at your lecture, before getting into business in sustainable fashion, you worked in advertising. What was the breaking point and your m o t i vat i o n , t h at r e a l ly m a d e y o u decide quit advertising and establish a sustainable fashion brand?

I did work in advertising, I love the creativity and the speed of the industry, but I did not quit advertising to do sustainable fashion, I first quit advertising to do marketing (where all the important decisions were taken), then, I quit marketing to do fashion management and, finally, I moved from fashion management to sustainable fashion. As I mentioned during the seminar, starting up on social entrepreneurship is a road of discovery, one thing leads to another and ideas take time to settle. I first connected with sustainable fashion because I appreciated the value of transparency behind it and the distance it took from over-consumption. Nevertheless, I’m going to say that my breaking point was

“

“In sustainable fashion, it is not only about the brand, but also about the education"

T h e n a m e o f y o u r b r a n d , L a P e t i t e M o r t, is an expression that is associated with sexual orgasm. How do these three words relate to the brand? La Petite Mort, as a concept, goes further than the sexual orgasm itself, that’s just a superficial connection. It refers to the feeling of ecstasy, a place (or a moment?) where nothing matters, where there are no limits, we have no worries, no thoughts, we just are. This is to me the ultimate freedom. We all have our own ways to freedom, this project is my vehicle on this feeling.

Managing ethical fashion brand r e q u i r e s a l o t o f p e r s i s t a n c y, e s p e c i a l ly w h e n y o u o p e r at e o n t w o continents. What are the biggest obstacles that you had to overcome, or you are still overcomming in your business? Definitely training your team on the distance can be very hard. It is important to invest time into developing the skills of the people working with you but sometimes, due to distance, there can be a lot of mistakes that take longer to fix. Responses can be slow and measuring their progress can be hard. Then, keeping strict control of your resources can also be challenging. On the other hand, I’m gladly surprise of my suppliers, they are always reachable and of quick response, as they are also women entrepreneurs, they are highly committed, out of small normal mistakes/delays, it’s a pleasure to grow with them.

not so confident and networking is their biggest nightmare. Do you have any tips for them? I think the problem with networking is the label itself, it is too much of a marketing/ business word and I understand how it can intimidating. The reality is that networking is just talking about what you do, sometimes not even, sometimes you start with a smile and “Hi, what’s your name…” and you let the other person do the talking, you can be talking about life, studies, the weather… not necessarily business right away. If you are really into your idea of business project, you’re going to feel the urge of sharing it, some people will like it, some others won’t. The story of how I got to Prague is the perfect example. I went to an event in Paris where I knew nobody… didn’t talk to a lot of people, I am shy myself plus French can be tough to reach sometimes. Then I noticed Kamila, the founder of SFD, was speaking in english and figured I should asked her where she was from. It was natural curiosity, I had no idea who she was or what she did. Eventually we shared our ideas and we connected. I don’t believe in the business idea of “talking to the right people”, I believe in the simple “talking to people”, no strings attached.

I was very much surprised of the quantity and quality of sustainable projects in Prague, then again, I didn’t know much about it since I don’t read Czech magazines. I found several projects that were very creative and took care of the details of presentation, plus the people behind these brands were just open and honestly engaged with sustainability. I loved the energy in general. It’s very different from the scene in Paris. Contrary of what people may think, the sustainable scene is still very little and leans more towards the ethical, local production than the sustainable materials. In general, sustainable fashion is a matter that awakens the interest of the public but the market is yet to develop.

What do you think is the biggest mistake sustainable fashion brands make in terms of not being attractive to the audience? Is it the image, communication, price, lack of knowledge that discourages the audience? Well, the audience itself is already small, but to me the issue comes with communication. Most brands want to communicate the social/ sustainable side of their product, which can

be very appealing to a certain public. For the wider audience it can result attractive as well if the visuals are engaging, but when brands concentrate on showing the ugly side of fast fashion, labor exploration and such… Can result on rejection by the wider audience. People see bad news all day, everyday, they don’t want to be nagged by a brand through social media. Of course, the objective is to create awareness, but I think that it would be better to show your good practices instead of the bad practices of others. This will make people be in love with your product and your values (sustainability included)

“

“You can have a good brand but it doesn’t mean it’s going to survive.”

How do you see the future of fashion? Do you think people are becoming more caring and brands more responsible?

In the lecture, you talked about networking and how it´s important to c o n n e c t w i t h o t h e r s e v e r y m o m e n t. I r e a l ly l i k e a q u o t e o f y o u r s s ay i n g : „Never underestimate the power of talking to people. That´s also how I got to Prague.“ But some people are

People is definitely becoming more caring! This is what is pushing big brands and even luxury to be more responsible. It’s the power of consumers. Changing from traditional to ethical/sustainable procedures is tough, so new sustainable brands have an advantage from this point of view. It’s the new small brands, along with the educated consumer, that are going to change the face of fashion for the better. Ragwear - hrdý sponzor Info Zóny

At SFD, you had a chance to see the scene of Czech sustainable fashion. What impression did you get of the brands that were a part of the shopping zone, taking the international merit into a consideration?

Peaceful warriors Do you need to take a break from all the piledup duties? Clear your mind during a yoga session or a short stroll in some comfortable clothes by sustainable fashion brands. Upcycled bag made of banner Respiro Kč 990 1

T O P - NO T C H E X P ERIEN C E In the world of fast fashion and online shopping we paused to ask ourselves: are we still able to recognize good-quality material and fabrication? Fashion Revolution introduced a new concept called Top-Notch Experience where everyone had the opportunity to get their hands on some really good and some really poor quality fashion items and accessories. This way visitors were able to prove to themselves the common truth that secondhand and vintage shops conceal some true treasures.

J o i n t h e f a s h i o n r e v o l u t i o n and ask the brands, which make your clothes. Post on social media @brand I want to know @whomademyclothes

Linen harem pants K.BANA 950 Kč

Eco-certified silver raincoat Free Circle 19 990 Kč Vegan trainers Samo Holy Cow 2 800 Kč Sneakers made in Zlín Playbag 1 850 Kč

WWW.FASHIONREVOLUTION.ORG 56

SEZNAM PRODEJCŮ L a P e t i t e M o r t R o l l i n g H o o k s E t i k B u t i k V e r o n i k a H u b k o v á www.etikbutik.cz

www.ollinghooks.com

www.la-pm.com

www.veronikahubkova.cz

W i n W i n L o v e 7 D u b U a s h m a m a S u v i + M A T I A S www.7dub.cz

www.winwinlove.eu

www.uashmama.sk

www.suvionline.cz

B r á n a k d ě t e m ľ u b i c a S k a l s k á R e s p i r o B e t t e r O n M e www.branakdetem.cz

www.skalska.cz

Prostě Prim

M a r i e B e r n o t o v á

www.prosteprim.cz

www.betteronme.com

www.respiro.cz

www.mariebernotova.cz

A M W A www.amwa.cz

Mylo www.mylo.sk

K . B A N A B o h e m p i a P a t a g o n i a L á t k y s p ř i b ě h e m www.namche.cz/patagonia

www.bohempia.eu

www.artbe.cz/vylohy/k-bana

I r e n a M a r i e H a r t i n g e r o v á www.hartingerova.com

P l a y b a g www.playbag.cz

S t a r t a s H o l y C o w www.startas-shoes.com

F r e s h L a b e l s www.freshlabels.cz

www.latkyspribehem.cz

H a n a F r i s o n s o v á www.hanafrisonsova.com

F r e e C i r c l e N a t u r v e d a freecircle.cz

www.holycow.cz

www.naturveda.sk

T e a b a g C h r i s s P o l a r e S I T E A r o m a A t e l i e r www.chrisspola.com

www.zimmerm-design.cz

E c s t a t i c F a s h i o n www.ecstaticfashion.com

F a s h i o n R e v o l u t i o n

www.facebook.com/fashionrevolutionczechrepublicandslovakia.org

www.resite.cz

www.aroma-atelier.cz

M e t r á ž www.facebook.com/metrazdesign

SOFFA www.soffamag.com

M a t e r i a l T i m e s - M a t e r i o N e w s w e e k R a d i o W a v e e s t r e l l a www.materialtimes.com

www.newsweek.cz

www.rozhlas.cz/radiowave

www.estrellarestaurant.cz

Would you like to joing our team?

S u s ta i n a b l e Fa s h i o n D ay & S LOU t e a m

No matter if you are a man or a woman, send us your CV and cover letter on sustainablefashionday@gmail.com.

Kamila Boudová / founder and CEO / @kamila_moyomi Petra Kvarčáková / production manager / www.facebook.com/lamodista.cz Eva Galová / design and web / evegalova@gmail.com Barbora Kadlčková / social media / bara.kadlckova@gmail.com Petra Veselá / accountant / @petra_vesela Barbora Hrbáčová / coordinator / barbora.hrbacova@gmail.com Simona Luhová / art director of SLOU / @canyoucani Veronika Kavková / Instagram ambassador / veronikavka@gmail.com Externally Photo Welin Nagyová / www.welinna.com Photo Lukáš Bistřický / lukasbistricky@centrum.cz Video Denisa Richterová / de.richterova@gmail.com

PARTNERS

MEDIA PARTNERS

PRODUCT PARTNERS