One of the most frustrating things about working for a big company is that it’s very hard to turn the juggernaut around. At ASOS, I was approached regularly by incredibly talented designers who were operating in the sustainability space but it was very difficult, nigh on impossible, to get them any help. The aesthetic wasn’t right (ASOS was increasingly catering to twenty somethings). The price wasn’t right (see above) and even within fashion there was still that archaic idea that sustainable fashion just could not be fashionable – a little like those people who think that healthy food tastes awful. But ASOS does have the Green Room so that’s a start and the people working in that area are doing a pretty good job.
On leaving ASOS, my main ambition was, and still is, to help these brands get a foot in the door of the general consciousness. My take on this was to move sustainable fashion out of the periphery and into the mainstream. A lot of my ideas stem from Rachel Botsman and her work on collaborative consumption. I felt that if we could get a lot of sustainable brands into once space, we could then really start a movement – let’s call is collaborative marketing. It’s simple to do something like this online but offline it’s another challenge. That is why I am so excited about the event that I have been working on alongside Christine De Leon of Very Nice Threads, Alice Wilby of Future Frock, the guys over at Green and Tonic and our sponsors: Eurex, Wildlife Works as well as our carbon offset partner: ClimateCare.
The best part about this event, apart from having it strategically scheduled just before fashion week, is that it’s aimed at non-fashion people. It has been deliberately targeted towards people who would actually buy these clothes. We are extremely excited to see what people think about wonderful progress that has taken place in this area and to hopefully kick-start the next phase of this movement.
Watch for the #oxymoron2013 hashtag!
And keep an eye out for more information on twitter