Edit Her loves…
Browns launches conscious initiative with The Restory, Le Colonel’s This Is How We Do initiative, NET-A-PORTER’s NET SUSTAIN edit and ‘Ravishing: The Rose in Fashion’ exhibition at FIT.
Browns launches conscious initiative with The Restory
London-based fashion retailer Browns have launched a collaboration with luxury goods and clothing repair service The Restory. This initiative allows Browns customers to send in their worn garments for a luxurious touch-up, in a bid to promote longevity and conscious shopping.
Garments will be collected from customers’ homes and delivered to the The Restory’s atelier where they will be revived.
The Restory can recolour an old, faded Hermès bag, reheel your favourite pair of Chanel shoes and even restore a hole in a well-loved pair of trainers. Items are then beautifully packaged and returned to customers.
“Striving to do better is at the core of Browns, and we want to be able to offer the chance to think consciously and extend the life of cherished pieces,” said Lee Whittle, customer experience director at Browns, in an interview with Wallpaper.
“With the very best restoration service working hand in hand with us, purchases become more thoughtful and will become investment pieces for life.”
Extend the life of your well-worn luxury goods here.
Le Colonel’s This Is How We Do initiative
Family-run business Le Colonel have launched a unique upcycling initiative, This Is How We Do, which invites consumers to send their pre-loved garments to their workshop in Lille to be given a new lease of life.
Send in an old shirt, dress or skirt and have it transformed into a selection of accessories, including bow ties, pocket squares and face masks.
The repurposed items can either be sent back to the owner or sold on to a new home, with 100 per cent of profits donated to the Good Planet Foundation.
Le Colonel will also be offering consumers €5 vouchers to thank them for their donations.
Repurpose an old item here.
NET-A-PORTER’s NET SUSTAIN edit
NET-A-PORTER’s latest NET SUSTAIN edit, which debuted in 2019, sees the offering of conscious brands rise to 153, including new additions Caes, Deiji Studios and Joslin.
Each item meets at least one of the luxury fashion retailer’s ‘key attributes’ for sustainability. These include ‘Locally Made’, when at least 50 per cent of a brand’s products have been made in their own community or country, “Craft & Community”, products that showcase exceptional artisanal skills or techniques and “Considered Materials”, products that take into account the welfare of people, planet and animals.
The final two attributes are “Considered Processes”, when products are made using environmentally conscious methods or technologies, and “Reducing Waste”, where products are creatively upcycled or comprise recyclable packaging.
NET-A-PORTER will also be partnering with regional care and repair services to extend the life of its products by offering alterations and tailoring services, as well as cleaning via eco-friendly techniques.
Browse the collection here.
‘Ravishing: The Rose in Fashion’ exhibition at FIT
A new exhibition exploring the socio-cultural history of the rose in fashion has been unveiled at the Fashion Institute for Technology’s New York city campus.
Featuring over 130 innovative and experimental designs, from Halston’s ‘American Beauty Rose’ evening dress to Noir Kei Ninomiya fantastical red wool creation – an ensemble covered in faux red roses – the exhibition is an exploration of how the rose has influenced how we look, dress, feel and fantasize. The collection also features a large collection of hats, including a black silk design by Elsa Schiaparelli and a pale pink ‘Primavera’ style by Mr John, made out of artificial rose petals, daisies, wild roses, violets and small yellow flowers.
The exhibition also features more than 75 original photographic portraits of people wearing roses, both real and artificial, dating from the 1850s to the 1920s. Collected especially for the exhibition, these images reveal how roses were used regularly as studio props and had the power to transform the wearer’s appearance.
Valerie Steele, director and chief curator of MFIT, said, “The Museum at FIT is reopening to visitors with a spectacular new exhibition on fashion inspired by the imagery and symbolism of the rose – whether crimson, pink, white, yellow, or black. Long associated with love and pleasure, the rose and its thorns can also allude to suffering, purity, and transience. Drawing on three centuries of fashion, this beautiful exhibition features work by designers such as Charles James and Alexander McQueen.”
The exhibition runs until November 28 2021. If you find yourself in New York, plan ahead and book tickets – it will be well worth your time.