Timeless by timelessmagazine

The Slow Fahsion Magazine because true style has no time limit

Timeless Summer 2021 issue 01

Contents What is Sustainability? Why our fashion choises matter

P 4-5

The more you know Sustainability explained by Gaia Rattazzi

Greenwashing How can we spot it?

What do you think? Is price the reason you’re not shopping sustainably?

P 8-9

A simple guide to making your clothes last It’s cool to care!

P 10-11

Meet the brains behind the brands

P 12-13

Shannoony Shannon Oliver

P 14-15

Handmade R1ngs Leah Burnston

P 16-17

Susa Musa Asal Tehrani

P 18-19

Editor-in-chief: Anna Michaelides | All articles © Anna Michaelides Page 1 image © Asal Tehrani @susamusaclothing

Hello! Welcome to the first edition of Timeless, the slow fashion magazine. Style has been a major part of my life since I was a child but as I have grown up I’ve become more and more aware of how the fashion industry is exploiting the people involved in production processes and damaging our planet. The way we see clothes is changing, they should be treasured and passed down through generations. Timeless is here to break down the taboos of throw away culture and introduce some amazing brands who are truly sustainable by nature. Enjoy!

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Image © Sarah Lazarovic

What is sustainability? Why our fashion choices matter

he fashion industry alone produces 10% of all humanity’s carbon emissions making it one of the highest polluting industries in the world. We all wear clothes, so we should all know exactly what we’re buying into, who is making our garments and what impact it is having on the world around us. The oxford dictionary defines sustainability as “avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance” and when applied to the fashion industry, means full transparency throughout the supply chain and clothing which doesn’t exploit people or the planet. Fashion production, especially inexpensive clothing produced by mass-market retailers, otherwise known as fast fashion, contributes to many different forms of pollution including soil, air, and water. A simplified version of the clothing life cycle will go something like this: Extraction of raw materials; Textile production; Garment cut and sewn; Shipping; Retail; Consumer use (including laundry); Disposal.

Image © Manca via Adobe Stock Sometimes there are lots of other steps, especially when we consider fastenings, printing and dying. At each of these steps there is an environmental impact. Different materials have different environmental impacts but the two biggest textiles in production by far are cotton and polyester.

Cotton is a thirsty plant, taking roughly 2700 litres of water to make just one cotton T-shirt. In many cotton growing regions water systems are diverted into cotton fields and once naturally abundant areas are drying up. Polyester is a plastic, to produce it we must drill for crude oil and then refine it into a useable material. This means it contributes to the same environmental issues as oil and plastic. Tons of waste fabric end up on factory floors and are sent to landfill or

sometimes burned. The biggest issue at this stage is not environmental but a human cost. Almost all production of fast fashion is outsourced to the very poorest countries in the world, as this is where the cheapest the labour can be found. Big businesses can use their economic power to force down the price of production and get factories in these counties to produce clothing for next to nothing prices. The knock of effect of this is that garment workers, 80% of whom are women, work extremely long days, 7 days a week. These workers do not earn close to a living wage, meaning they cannot afford basic food, shelter, and education. Bangladesh’s main export is fast fashion garments and workers here earn around £25 a month. A living wage is considered £45. There are many human rights violations in fashion production.

Child labour is common, as is unsafe working conditions and exposure to chemicals. The Rana Plaza disaster, where a garment factory collapsed due to it’s operating illegally and unsafely, killed thousands of Bangladeshi workers. The factory was making clothes for many well-known High Street brands. Workers are often locked inside factories until they meet deadlines and fires are a regular occurrence. There are cases of factory bosses beating women if they try and start unions or try to demand better working standards. All of this to deal with and workers still can’t afford to put food on the table. There are obvious environmental costs surrounding the shipping of garments, but perhaps more than we might think. Through all the stages of production, wholesale, and retail, garments can go through many counties before they reach us, it is estimated that over 100 hands touch our garments before we buy them. Cotton may be grown in one country, weaved into fabric in another, the fastenings are made in another, the clothes are cut and sewn in another, shipped to a depot in yet another, the list goes on. The fuel used to ship materials and clothing contributes towards the current climate emergency. Many retail stores receive garments wrapped in individual plastic covers designed to protect the garments. These plastics are often not recycled and end up in landfill. If you think about the volume of clothes in any fast fashion store you can imagine the scale of this plastic waste. The water from our washing machines eventually ends up in rivers and oceans, the detergent we use to wash our clothes often contains chemicals which are harmful to marine life. When polyester garments are washed, not forgetting that almost all of our clothes are polyester or other plastics like acrylic or nylon, they shed tiny plastics which, again, end up in water systems damaging marine life and eco systems. Small marine life eat these plastic particles and they are then passed up the food chain. Micro plastics have been found in seafood including mussels. More than 300,000 tons of clothing are sent to landfill every year in the UK alone. When textiles breakdown in landfill they release methane, a greenhouse gas, which contributes towards global heating. Plastic clothing (polyester) may never fully decompose, instead it very slowly breaks down into smaller plastics. Eventually the plastics are small enough to leech into nearby water systems and after that, global water systems. Micro plastic pollution is cropping up all over the world including in extremities like the Arctic and Antarctic.

Image© Terovesalainen via Adobe Stock

The more you know

Sustainability explained by Gaia Rattazzi

ocial media has become a vital tool to promote and educate users on the importance of sustainability in the fashion industry. By reaching so many people at once, platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tik Tok are now essential means of spreading news that doesn’t make it to mainstream broadcasting sources. A recent study by Microsoft concluded that the human attention span has dropped to eight seconds, shrinking by nearly 25% in just a few years. This means in order to spread educational information through social media, content creators must stand out from the crowd. Gaia Rattazzi is passionate about sustainability and created the Instagram page @ssustainably_ in December 2019, since then she has built up a following of over 55k. Gaia’s content includes easy-to-read, engaging, and brightly coloured educational graphics with simple tips about how to be a more conscious consumer as well as other useful information about the fashion industry. A focus of hers is tips on what we can do as consumers every day to reduce our contribution to unsustainable fashion and lessen our impact on the environment through our fashion choices. Alongside her educational Instagram platform, Gaia studies environmental management and sustainability in Leeds, UK, but is currently studying from her home in Italy due to coronavirus. When asked if the fashion industry is currently moving in the right direction to becoming fairer for garment workers and the environment, the 19-year-old said: “I think so, slowly which is largely due to the pressure that consumers put on brands, that is increasing as people become more aware of the impact their clothes have on the environment and the people who make them. There is definitely still a long way to go.”

Misleading marketing is a major setback to the sustainable fashion world as Gaia explains: “The industry is still rife with greenwashing and brands throwing money at the problem. With so much money going into the marketing, customers who aren’t very familiar with the sustainable fashion movement can be fooled quite easily because these brands are really good at it. Anything can be marketed as sustainable so it’s hard to understand whether organisations really have good intentions or not.” While many of us have increased our online spending during the pandemic, Gaia suggests that covid-19 lockdowns may have been the reality check that some fashion brands needed, she said: “I think coronavirus really helped brands understand that the fashion industry is very inefficient. We have seen the excess stock that has accumulated in warehouses due to covid and brands don’t know what to do with it, which shows that we produce too much. “Overproduction is overwhelming for everyone, for the designers, for the garment workers and obviously the planet that can’t sustain the current production levels of the fashion industry. There needs to be a rethink of the whole model and hopefully this pandemic has led us in the right direction.” The current problem with fast fashion production is the lack of transparency from brands as to who exactly is making our clothes. It is essential that big brands begin communicating with their suppliers and listening to those working on the ground because that is how to answer the problems garment workers are facing. Gaia explains that current strategies need to be adapted and that, to put it simply: “The business can’t be sustainable if only the people at the top are profiting, it is essential that everybody involved receives a living wage. Transparency is key because what we know, we can fix.”

Greenwashing How to spot

reenwashing is disinformation spread by an organisation to present an environmentally responsible public image. The problem with greenwashing is that more often not, the sustainable claims made by brands are not accurate and since there is no legal meaning behind the words sustainable or eco-friendly, practically anybody can place it on their branding with little to no meaning behind it. Gaia Rattazzi explained greenwashing as when companies “spend more money marketing themselves as sustainable” than they do in actually implementing sustainable practices, she said: “It’s very common, especially within fast fashion brands because their business model in itself is based on producing as many clothes as possible, as cheap as possible and as fast as possible and that’s not sustainable from any point of view. It would require a rethink of the whole model for brands to move in the right direction, but since the model is profitable for the ones at the top, they’re not really yet to see the problem of over production.” To spot greenwashing, Gaia suggests asking ‘how much is this brand producing?’ because if they are generating thousands of new styles weekly, that is not sustainable. The 19-year-old explains: “These clothes are going to end up somewhere, probably landfill. They are going to

have a short lifespan because you are supposed to keep on replacing and discarding them, so they are basically seen as disposable.” For Gaia it is a red flag when businesses make big claims which aren’t backed up by facts and figures, brands can say anything about sustainability whether it is true or not so Gaia suggests asking yourself a few questions when you are considering buying from a brand, she said: “Do they go further and give you more information? If they do, that’s a good sign because at least they are trying. Obviously, it is a very complex issue and there’s so many angles to be looking at it from. Also, does the brand only make one sustainable collection? Because if only 5% of their collection is sustainable then are they really making a positive impact? And that is very common with fast fashion brands. Why can’t they make their whole production line sustainable?” Another important thing to mention is whether the brand have a holistic approach or not. If the brand markets itself as sustainable by taking an environmentally friendly approach, for example using ‘recycled cotton’, but doesn’t mention ethical working conditions and pay grades for garment workers then that isn’t a sustainable brand. Gaia says “sustainability is about more than just the environment, it is a social issue as well”, so this is important to take into account.

Images© Gaia Rattazzi @ssustainably_

Image© Mykola via Adobe Stock More than 300,000 tons of clothing are sent to landfill every year in the UK alone.

Image © Victor Garcia via Unsplash

What do YOU think?

How social media sees sustainability

n a survey conducted on social media we asked over 250 people if when shopping, do you consider sustainability? The results were mixed and showed that a lot of people do think about sustainability when clothes shopping, but that there are still many taboos surrounding the subject and reasons why some don’t consider it at all. When asked ‘do you consider sustainability when clothes shopping?’ 51% answered yes and 49% said no. With an almost 50/50 response, we asked those who said yes, did this change your shopping habits and how? To which, many people said yes it did, with the main change being second-hand shopping before looking for new clothes. Depop, eBay, Etsy and Vinted were the most popular apps mentioned for shopping preloved and vintage goods, charity shops were mentioned by a few but with the catch that you can’t always find what you’re looking for. Another popular response among those who answered yes was investing in quality over quantity. Fashion student Nona Cunningham said:

more if it is going to last a lot longer than a cheaper alternative. I’m fussier now and make sure that I’m going to like something enough to keep it for a long time without replacing it.” Aled Burt from Wales responded: “I avoid fast fashion brands and lean towards vintage clothing, it has changed my style completely.” The 22-year-old switched to vintage after becoming aware of problems regarding ethics and sustainability in the fast fashion industry and said: “I’m currently the happiest I’ve ever been with my style, not only how it looks and fits, but also knowing that I’m not aiding modern day slavery and all the other downsides of fast fashion.” Lucy Waring from Belfast has moved away from big fast fashion brands and shops preloved where she can, and also said:

“I shop small when I can and spend a little bit more on better quality sustainable clothing.”

Swapping clothes with friends is a great way to refresh your wardrobe without buying new ones. Lucy and her friends also do this when they have a big event coming up and a dress that would normally only be worn once, is enjoyed by several people. Law student Sarah Scott wants to be sustainable and is moving in the right direction to do so but says: “Shopping has become a moral dilemma of wanting new clothes but either having to pay way higher prices for sustainable bits or feel guilty buying fast fashion.” The 20-year-old has stopped making impulse orders online but wishes sustainable clothes were more vibrant and exciting with a more affordable price tag.

Natasha Michaelides, 25, said: “I don’t buy clothes as regularly and I stop to consider what I actually need, paying more for good quality that will last longer.” Tom Rodgers studies at Stirling University and felt the same, saying: “I don’t mind spending

“My friends and I swap clothes every couple of months.”

Is price the reason you have been avoiding sustianble shopping? “No it’s just not something I think about when buying clothes” ~ Dawson Cleland, 21 “No I don’t consider it at all, I just buy the clothes I like” ~ Emma Nicholson, 21

Image © Micheile Henderson via Unsplash ffordability was the main reason for avoiding sustainable fashion among those who answered no in the poll however, this was not the case for all. Ulster University student Dawson Cleland said: “It’s just not something I think about when buying clothes.” The 21-year-old isn’t alone, Emma Nicholson said: “No, I don’t consider it at all, I just buy the clothes I like” and wasn’t sure what the term sustainability meant within the fashion industry. Natasha Michaelides who answered yes in the poll “wouldn’t consider sustainability as much” if she couldn’t afford it, but Journalism student Chelsea Rasool said: “I actually find it cheaper to buy sustainable clothing, I buy off Etsy, Depop and Vinted or go thrift shopping!” The response made it clear that many find sustainable shopping less accessible, especially on the High Street and that sustainable brands aren’t as publicised as they could be. The more sustainability is promoted, the more the industry can grow, and everybody’s style and size can be catered to. Social media has a massive influence on the fashion industry with sponsored Instagram influencers constantly encouraging us to buy new outfits. There is also a large social stigma around ‘outfit-repeating’ in photographs. In our survey of over 250 people, 36% felt pressure to have a different outfit in every picture, and 41% felt pressure to keep up with the latest fashion trends. We asked if there was anything you wish was different or simpler about shopping sustainably to which Dublin based fashion designer, Maddie McRoberts, replied: “I wish we could see total transparency from companies, greenwashing is a major issue.” Greenwashing is when an organisation present an environmentally responsible image but in reality don’t practise sustainability day-to-day or prioritise ethical working conditions across the whole supply chain (see page 7). According to Fashion United in 2020 only 20% of consumers trusted brands sustainability claims. Joshua Ravey, 20, said: “Publicly we should be made more aware of the brands who are exploiting garment workers and the environmental damage caused by the fast fashion industry.” Kevin Tao however, felt the onus “shouldn’t be on the consumers” and that government policies should be protecting the whole fashion supply chain. University of Liverpool student Veeran Bhogal wishes sustainability was the “norm” as opposed to the consumer society he was raised in, he said: “If only sustainable shopping existed more in my upbringing, then we wouldn’t have a choice, but it’s difficult now to raise prices and expect people to shell out more of their income on clothing.” The 21-year-old studying psychology doesn’t think there will ever be a balance between affordable clothing and paying employees correctly because companies are reluctant to “take a hit” on their revenue.

“I actually find it cheaper to buy sustainable clothing. I buy off Etsy, Depop and Vinted or go thrift shopping!” ~ Chelsea Rasool, 19 “I wish we could see total transparency from companies, greenwashing is a major issue” ~ Maddie McRoberts, 25

“If only sustainable shopping existed more in my upbringing, then we wouldn’t have a choice, but it’s difficult now to raise prices and expect people to shell out more of their income on clothing.” ~ Veeran Bhogal, 21 9

Image © HollyHarry Adobe Stock Image © HollyHarry via via Adobe Stock

A simple guide to making your clothes last Our clothes take so many resources to be made so we should treasure them and take care of them properly. Increasing the life span of your clothing is the first step to a sustainable wardrobe and can be easily achieved

by following some simple guide rules. Not only does it save us time and money, but it also helps to reduce our carbon footprint and stops garments ending up in landfill when they have a lot more life to give.

4 2 1 3 Wash smart

Check your labels

The composition tag will tell you exactly how to treat your garment. It is worth while looking at these tags before buying something new because if a garment has special treatment requirements such as dry cleaning, this may not be suitable for you and standard washing procedures will damage the fibres of the item, shortening its lifespan.

Washing clothes in cold water will prevent fading, as will washing your darks inside out. The same goes for t-shirts and hoodies, turning them inside out will prevent the print from cracking and fading. Putting a wash on when you don’t have a full load is a waste of water but overfilling the washing machine isn’t good for your clothes as not only do the clothes not wash properly, but they will also rub against each other causing damage and fading. For delicates, it is worth investing in a delicates bag to protect them in the washing machine with any other fabrics which may be abrasive.

Wash less

It is important to consider what a garment goes through when it is put in the washing machine, tumbling around with lots of other things around it. Washing constantly will drain the colour and cause an elastic stretch and may end up in a hot tumble dryer where it could shrink, fade, or fall apart completely. Unless something is visibly dirty or smells, take the challenge to wear your garments at least three times before machine washing.

There’s more to life than washing machines

While washing machines are obviously a great way to clean your laundry, stop and think if what you’re washing really needs it. If something just came out of the wash but got a small mark on it, spot wash it with some stain remover or soap and give the fibres a break from the machine. Handwashing might be a better option if you don’t have a full load or have only delicates.

56 7 8 Reduce, reuse, repurpose

If your clothes are at the end of their days or just not your style anymore, have a go at repurposing them. Gaia Rattazzi is currently studying environmental management and sustainability and she recommends getting creative by experimenting with old clothes before putting them in the bin. Pinterest and YouTube have hundreds of hacks for making the most out of your clothes.

Don’t hang, fold

Avoid tumble drying

The heat given off in a tumble dryer risks shrinking, fading and even those which state they are safe to be tumble dried will deteriorate over time much faster than had they been air dried. Air drying clothes saves electricity and money, the bill payer will thank you for this one!

To store heavy jumpers and sweatshirts, it is best to fold them rather than leaving them on hangers. If stored on a hanger for too long, heavier items will become misshapen as the fibres start to stretch and hang downwards. For the lighter items, it is also worth investing in wooden hangers as most plastic and wire hangers will stretch out the shoulders of your garments over time.

C OO S ’ T I L

Stain remove, pronto

Carrying around a stain removal pen in your handbag is next level organisation, don’t let the next glass of red wine ruin your favourite dress. Apart from this, it is wise to keep stain remover in the house at all times and apply it to the stain as quickly as possible to prevent an unwanted mark.

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Meet the brains behind the brands Shannoony...p14-15 Shannon Oliver : @shannoonysews Depop: @shannoony © Shannon Oliver

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Susa Musa...p18-19 Asal Tehrani : @susamusaclothing Depop: @susamusa www.susamusa.com

Handmade R1ngs...p16-17 Leah Burnston : @handmader1ngss Depop: @leahburnston Etsy: @handmad3r1ngssshop

Image © Leah Burnston

milkmaid heaven

s h a n n o o n y 14

All images © Shannon Oliver @shannoonysews

hannon Oliver is a verified top Depop seller who balances her English literature and philiopsophy univeristy degree with sewing new designs each week. The 22-year-old blew up on Depop at the biginning of 2020 when her milkmaid tops were discovered and reposted by many on social media. At the time of writing Shannon, known on Depop as Shannoony, has over 20 thousand followers on the selling platform and her following is growing every day. With three sewing machines in her bedroom, Shannoony creations are a one woman show at the minute, but Shannon has hopes to grow her buiness more in the future and make it a focus when shes finishes university. Online fast fashion retailer, AliExpress, stole Shannon’s photographs and started selling the tops for as little as £7, she explains how this made her feel after all her hard work. When did you start selling on Depop? I started Depop in College when I was 17 but it was only about a year and a half ago that I really wanted it to grow. At one point I did sell second-hand clothes and that was mainly what I was doing but I started making milkmaids about 2-3 years ago, they have been around for a while it was just about them taking off. When I started selling milkmaids, I didn’t even make it known that they were made by me because I was too insecure about people not liking them. Was sustainability a focus of yours from the beginning? More so when I started properly last year. When I was younger, I always wanted to do something with fashion, but I talked myself out of it because it’s such a toxic environment when you think about body image and things like that. I did textiles at college but then I dropped it. I really wanted to go for Depop, but I wanted to do it with a clean conscience. If I do hire people in the future, I know I want it to be UK-based, paying above minimum wage. Sustainability has always been part of my brand because when I started making milkmaids, they were all made out of old duvets from charity shops. I try to make sustainability as much a part of the brand as possible, last year I was using recyclable packaging but now I have invested in the biodegradable ones because even though recycling is good, it’s still not enough. How do you manage creating with university workload? Last year it was awful, there was a point where I was posting three or four milkmaids a day because there was a massive demand. I had a bad sleeping pattern, and I was getting stressed because I felt like I needed to churn them out constantly. I decided to do two drops a week which were Mondays and Fridays and around that time I was making about 25 milkmaids a week so my only days off were the drop days and even then, I would be packaging orders and cutting loose threads. I completely neglected university but this year when university started back, I really thought about a schedule. Now I get up at about 8:30am, try to get as much sewing in as possible until midday and then I’ll spend the next five hours or so doing my university work. It is difficult to balance, and I don’t think enough people show how hard it is. Where does the inspiration for your designs come from? I’ve never actively gone out of my way to design, I just can’t do that. With trying to find inspiration I could never find things that I liked, I’m really picky about clothes because I’m five foot one, I’m petite but I’m not skinny, I’m heavy chested and I’m also quite heavy on the bottom half so clothes never looked right on me,

I wanted to mix girliness with a bit of cheekiness and create the milkmaids to be flattering for the bust and it worked out. Have you ever felt there has had to be a compromise between meeting the demands of your customers and practising sustainability? Yes, a lot of the milkmaids are now made from new fabric, it’s not remnants, which was a big deal over lockdown because I couldn’t go to charity shops, I didn’t know what to do. On the scale of things, no matter how many I am making I’m still a small business, so I know I’m not over producing like the fast fashion brands. It also reassured me that all the fabrics I was buying were from small businesses and local fabric shops that had set up online because they couldn’t open and I’m not going to feel guilty when I’m helping somebody financially. Any fabric you see on my page such as the more recent stretchy fabrics are all remnants that I have bid for on eBay. Even though I don’t necessarily feel guilty for using new fabrics for milk-

maids, such as the gingham and broidery which are all new, there is still part of me that will always feel guilty using new material but there is only so much I can do. What happened when AliExpress used your photos to sell milkmaids? I got message from a girl to tell me AliExpress have stolen my images and started selling milkmaids and I just knew it was coming because of the amount of people that were buying my milkmaids, wearing them, and posting them. I was angry and upset but I wasn’t surprised. I just wish people would stop shopping on sites like AliExpress, obviously I’m bitter that they stole my designs but aside from that, with the working conditions and everything else, it makes me feel horrible. I went onto the website to see what I could do about it and it took me to a website that is completely written in Chinese, they make it so that you cannot do anything. It has happened two other times with items I was selling. So, it’s happened several times now and I just feel like ignorance is bliss. It’s also really weird seeing my body on the internet because the milkmaids are busty tops and I have boobs, you know? I get a lot of sexualised messages on Depop and now my images are on a website where thousands, maybe millions, of people will see, it’s not a nice feeling. What kind of sexualised messages do you get on Depop? The type of message I get are “do you have an Only Fans?” or “do you sell pictures?” or saying things like “your tits” and then heart eye emojis, I get so angry. I was talking to one of my male friends about it and he asked if I am surprised and I said yes, because this is my job, Depop is my workplace,

I shouldn’t be harassed or violated when I’m trying to run my business. Do you shop sustainably yourself and what advice would you give to those on a budget who want to be more sustainable? Firstly, I will say it’s hard, it’s really hard. My entire family are typically Northern working class, I’m not an idiot and I see why people get annoyed at the price of shopping sustainably. I don’t really buy clothes that much and 90% of the clothes I do buy will be from a charity shop or small business. I’m not going to lie, if I need a pair of jeans and ASOS is the only place I can find them, then I will buy them and I’m not going to feel guilty about it because I know I have looked and done as much as I can to find alternatives and there are none. I understand that some sizes aren’t catered to and I, myself do not cater to anything above a UK size 12 most of the time and I hold my hands up to that. The issue is we live in a consumer society so it’s always “I need to buy this I need to buy that”, it’s so fast paced we get bored of things so easily. It is very much a consumer issue and all the big companies telling us we need things now, but they said we needed something else the week before, it’s never ending. The most sustainable thing to do in my opinion is just to stop buying and I know that is coming from me and I depend on people buying my things but if we’re thinking sustainably, buy things you are 100% sure of and if you’re not sure if you really like it or not then don’t buy it. When you buy online and return it, it doesn’t go back into the shop, it ends up in landfill. If you hold off and buy things once a month as a treat that you know you’re going to wear and keep forever, then in my opinion it is OK to shop at the fast fashion brands, absolutely I don’t see any fault in that, it’s just about being mindful. What are your hopes for the future of Shannoony? That feels like a very big question for a very small girl. I’d love to expand in every way, I want to have a little team at some point and take a step back because right now I have calluses all over my hands where they have been chaffing from cutting out fabric on the carpet and sewing. I would love to expand sizes and cater to everybody because it makes me angry that I can’t at the minute, but because I have no professional training with sewing, I don’t trust myself to do it at the minute. I might think about a different location because I don’t always want to be in Manchester, it’s easy to become complacent and never move again. Part of me has always wanted to go down to London but I think I’m too northern to be in London. It would be nice to have a set plan of releases instead of just throwing things in weekly. At the minute I’m keeping my aspirations small because I don’t want to jinx anything or make any promises that I’m going to take back, but definitely the sizing is something that is going to happen and I want everything to be completely sustainable, that’s the goal.

Handmade

R1ngs

Image © Leah Burnston

eah Burnston started making rings during lockdown because she loves buying and wearing new jewellery. Leah is building up a following on Depop, Etsy and social media in the hopes to grow her independent business and the brightly coloured, unique designs are proof of why we should slow down and shop small. At only 17-years-old, Leah already shows amazing creativity passion for her craft, this is going to be one to watch. What inspires your designs? I was inspired to make my own jewellery by watching different tutorials online, I started by making rings just for fun and now it’s turned into a small business to keep me busy in lockdown. I started off by making the rings from old vintage spoons, then started making clay and resin rings which are also very popular. What’s the next step for Handmade R1ngs? The next step for my business is to introduce more designs, I am looking into getting more equipment to make bigger and better spoon rings, and I’m also looking into a variety of new moulds for my resin rings.

How does it make you feel when people choose to shop with you instead of bigger brands? I am so grateful for all of my customers and everyone who has helped support my business, I feel so blessed that people choose to shop with my brand as I take care of all of my products and present and package them well. I also feel all my rings are reasonably priced which attracts a lot of customers. Do you get a lot of support for your business from family and friends? I have received a lot of support from my friends, they have helped grow my business by reposting my products and my business page. My family are also so supportive by giving me new ideas and allowing me a space in the house for my stock and equipment. Where did you learn to make rings? I have watched so many videos on YouTube which taught me how to make rings, it has taken a lot of practice, working nearly every day to make my rings perfect. What is the creative process behind each design? I get some of my inspiration from bigger ring brands such as La Manso. La Manso are a big ring and jewellery business, they have inspiring designs which are currently very trendy. I create different designs and post them on my page, but I also let my customers choose their own patterns or styles and colours for their rings to add their own touch. Have you always been passionate about sustainability? Becoming a sustainable business is definitely something I am working on, I’m very passionate about being friendly to the environment and I want to make my business more sustainable. I have tried using as little plastic as possible and I’ve recently bought a lot of new compostable packaging to become more environmentally friendly.

How would you describe your designs in three words? Unique, colourful, and eye-catching. How important is accessorising with any outfit? I think my jewellery adds so much to an outfit, accessorising is a big part of fashion and I believe my rings make any outfit look 10 times better! Why is it so crucial to support small businesses? Recently I have seen a lot of people supporting small businesses and it’s been amazing. I have done collaborations with other small businesses such as handmade nails and handmade beaded necklaces. I send off some of my rings in return for their products and we promote each other. I think it’s such a lovely and supportive thing to do and I’m always open to helping out other small businesses. What has been your most popular design so far? My most popular ring designs have probably been my chunky resin rings, since starting my Etsy shop, I have had a lot of orders for my resin designs. How do you juggle life and creating designs? I make my rings alongside another part time voluntary job and I am also currently doing a business studies course at college. Making rings is something I look forward to and I find it very therapeutic, I love being creative and making things!

SUSA

MUSA

S 18

sal Tehrani started selling on Depop four and a half years ago when she joined university, only to clear out some old clothes. The 24-year-old is now a verified top Depop seller with, at the time of writing, 102k followers on the platform and creates her own designs which are all produced ethically in London which can be found on www.susamusa.com alongside selling pre-loved vinatge gems.. Her mum took her to a vintage market when she was starting out and Asal described what they saw there as “one of the luckiest finds” which were 200 pairs of high waisted flared trousers in almost every colour and size, it was a gamble but she went for it and hasn’t looked back since. Sustainability has been a focus of Susa Musa since the very beginning and the young business owner explains why this is so important to her.

out as quickly as possible is quite challenging and I’m trying to do it as cheaply as I can. I don’t make much profit on my own items, I make more money on the vintage and deadstock pieces. It is more the demand that fast fashion brands made for us as an online business and people expecting next day delivery is what I think adds pressure to me. In the first lockdown a girl called Olivia Grace Herring wore one of the Gina tops in a Tik Tok and the video did really well, so we sold a lot of Gina’s and I didn’t have the fabric or anything at the time so it was the most stressful week of my life, but everyone was quite understanding about it.

What kind of fabrics do you like using or tend to avoid?

W SO L Where does the name Susa Musa come from?

The name was originally was just my name Asal Tehrani and then as Depop started getting more serious I didn’t really want to associate it with my name because at that time I was thinking of applying for different jobs after university, so maybe I shouldn’t have my own name associated with it. I’m from Iran and Susa is an ancient town in Iran, Susa Musa is a play on words which sounds quite nice, so I just stuck with it.

I did chemistry at university and wrote my dissertation on the effects of chemicals dyes from the clothing industry on the environment and my research was shocking. Most things that we colour our clothes with is done using Azo dyes which are so bad that they are banned in the EU but that’s why companies outsource them in the likes of Indonesia, Pakistan and India. So, not just in terms of the fabric, the dying of clothes, the amount of water, bleach and acid that they use is really really bad.

How do you get around that?

At first, I was really picky about what I would put up and then I realised there’s so many people I can reach to and not everyone has the exact same taste. For three years I was just selling vintage and deadstock and then I started making my own pieces. I’m not calling myself a designer or anything, but I’ve modelled 20-30 thousand pieces of clothing, I know what flatters a certain body shape and what girls want. The designs came from that, the Gina top, which is a high neck, backless top, is classy but also sexy.

It’s hard to get around but this is also another reason why I wouldn’t buy new fabrics because if I do, I know how much dying has gone into them. One of my long-term future goals is to find an environmentally friendly way of dying clothes, there are so many cool projects on it but the problem with that is it’s extremely hard to get a bright yellow or orange just using fruits and vegetables. I could use beetroot to dye a white dress but if I sell that to someone and each time they wash it there is a chance the beetroot juice runs through their washing machine, you have to work out how to get around that. When you think of sustainable clothes you generally think of organic ‘mum’ white shirts, I want to shift that and make it into clothes that we would actually want to wear.

Who are your style icons?

What is your current set up in London?

How are your own products sustainable?

Will you continue to sell second-hand clothes when your brand grows bigger?

Where does the inspiration for your own designs and the stock that you sell come from?

A lot of myself is 90’s inspired like Rachel Green from Friends. I like simple classic cuts that are elegant. My mum had the best clothes back in the day, so she is definitely one of my inspirations as well. I think I just like something simple that fits you really well and people who know how to dress their body, Rachel Green (well, her stylist) was always really good at doing that.

I was against making my own stuff because there are so many clothes out in the world and I don’t need to add to that. Selling vintage or deadstock originally motivated me, but I thought if I could make clothes in a way that isn’t harming the environment as much then I’m going to do it. At first everything was made to order, we had a tailor called Mhasi and a little studio in West London and when we would sell something she would make it for me. There was no over-production, and it was always small runs of orders. All the fabric was deadstock fabric or end of the line. No new version fibres have been used, everything already existed they are just being made in a different way.

How important are ethical working conditions and how do you ensure this is the case throughout the whole supply chain?

This is a massive question for me. As a consumer it is so important to know exactly where everything that we buy comes from and who is making it, I feel that is a right owed to everybody in the supply chain not just the people you are directly buying from. It is obviously much cheaper to manufacture outside the UK, but I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t know exactly who was making my clothes. It’s so important, and not just giving garment workers a minimum wage but giving them a living London wage. As a small business I’m just enjoying what I’m doing, profit margins aren’t as important as how exciting it is to get items out. It is really important to pay everybody at each step a good wage, not just my tailor Mhasi, who is so talented so everything she gets she deserves, but even the guys I purchase my fabrics off, everybody in the chain needs to be looked after.

Have you ever felt there has had to be a compromise between meeting the demands of your customers and practising sustainable?

That’s a really good question because I know that buying sustainably isn’t always the cheapest option. Obviously, we are competing with fast fashion which is £5-10 for one top, so it is hard to win the customers yourself. It is hard to ethically make clothes for a reasonable price in West London when paying for a tailor and studio, the sewing machines alone are around £800 each, all of these costs and trying to get the tops

I have a pink studio in Queensway which was my office to begin with and then we got two sewing machines. Now we have made that into a tailor house and literally opposite the road is my office where we do packaging. I have a packaging assistant who packages for me and does customer services, I’m basically dipping in and out of the tailor house and it’s all done quite quickly. We make it and send it on the same day.

Definitely, I love selling vintage. The reason I started making my own clothes is because with most vintage stock it’s just one-off items so usually when I sell it somebody asks if I will be getting it again, but my love is for vintage so I will always sell vintage alongside my own pieces. Also, a lot of my inspiration is from vintage clothes so the more I’m surrounded by vintage the more ideas I get, like a nice buttonhole or a nice shape or cut.

What advice would you give to those who are on a budget and want to be more sustainable?

I accept that supporting my brand isn’t the cheapest option compared to fast fashion brands so I would say be more open minded with what you buy. Depop is a really good platform to buy second-hand and vintage clothes but three years ago I could buy a Morgan De Toi top for £10 and now it’s about £60/70. So, my advice would be looking at charity shops, going to markets, car boot sales, and using Vinted, because it is less saturated than Depop. But also, not buying as much! With myself I have a rule, I think ‘will I wear this enough for it to work out as £2 a wear?’ and if it is, I’ll buy it. Not just buying from brands if they are second hand, but only buying things if you really need it and investing in good quality stuff that you know you will wear time and time again. With vintage pieces, most of it is timeless.

What are the hopes for the future of your brand?

To have a team of really cool girls working together and sourcing more deadstock. My hopes are to find more suppliers, be more international, and hopefully travel to find more stock. I’m not in a rush, there’s always pressure from what you see on Instagram but I don’t feel it because it takes a lot of time to make one item and perfect it. The future of Susa Musa is to hopefully grow organically, get a bigger team, be more creative. Right now, it’s a one woman show, it would be nice to spread this out with people who know more about fashion and design than I do. My long, long-term goal is to find a sustainable, environmentally friendly way of dying clothes. One of my friends from university has stayed on to do a PHD in Chemistry so that’s something we are going to work on when she finishes, and she will know a lot more than I did at undergrad.

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