The latest book connecting provenance with fashion

Alice V Robinson is a designer based in London and is the co-founder of British Pasture Leather. Her journey began through the process of making a handbag, whilst studying her MA in Accessory Design at the Royal College of Art.

On realising the lack of connection between agriculture and fashion and the convoluted supply chain she was faced with, Alice embarked on a journey of extraordinary lengths to make a connection and discover the provenance story of British leather.

Provenance is often ubiquitous with food, but doesn’t always connect with fibre in the same way. In writing her book ‘Field Fork Fashion’ Alice purposefully makes this connection, whilst working at a smaller scale with regenerative farming practices.

Through this interview, Meg Pirie and Alice discovered many thematic similarities between Fashion Roundtable’s work on regenerating British wool and Alice’s discoveries while working with leather as a medium.

Zebedee: The Inclusive Talent Agency taking the fashion sector by storm

Zebedee is an inclusive talent agency, championing disabled, visibly different, non-binary, and trans UK models. Global names already signed by Zebedee include Ellie Goldstein, who recently made the cover of British Vogue and Jasroop Kaur Singh who appeared in the Australia Vogue ‘Vogue Vanguard’ issue.

Zebedee was established by co-founders Laura and Zoe in 2017 as a direct response to the lack of representation and inclusivity in the media. Now Channel 4 has created an insightful documentary series with the working title, ‘New Model Agency’ which follows Zebedee HQ and many of their diverse and dynamic cast of models. The documentary will air in February 2024 around London Fashion Week – so watch this space!

Meg Pirie speaks with co-founder Laura Winson who also sits on our Representation and Inclusion Committee. They talk about the progress Laura feels has been made in the fashion sector; what still needs to happen; and the spending power of disabled people – which is thought to be around £280 billion pounds every year in the UK alone and £1.3 trillion worldwide; and the fact that if brands don’t get on board, they’ll soon be left behind.

2023_2Tamara CincikOctober 30, 2023Representation, Inclusion, Zebedee, Ellie Goldstein, Vogue, Laura Winson, Meg Pirie

We talk adaptive fashion with Victoria Jenkins

Meg Pirie in conversation with Victoria Jenkins.

Victoria Jenkins co-chairs our Representation and Inclusion Committee and is a garment technologist with 14 years of experience in the fashion industry who became Disabled in her 20s. She is behind the sustainable adaptive fashion brand Unhidden. The idea was born after a chance encounter with a woman with cancer that changed the course of her life. As she watched the woman during her own hospital stay, she realised that there were no adaptive clothes on the market and this is how Unhidden was born.

Now Victoria is listed as one of Vogue’s Top 25 Powerhouse Women, redefining Britain and co-presents and designs on Channel 4’s Unique Boutique. A must-watch where inclusive fashion lovers and designers create bespoke outfits for every-body in a custom-built shop.

We speak about future plans for a not-for-profit arm of Unhidden, training people with disabilities and chronic health conditions how to sew adaptive alterations so they can then work as and when they choose making adaptive alterations for any one who doesn't sew. There are also plans for workshops that will cover how to adapt clothing you already own yourself so there is no barrier to accessing adaptive clothing and re-loving your existing wardrobes.

Finally, Victoria shares her key policy asks to ultimately make fashion more inclusive.

[This is an image of Victoria Jenkins, wearing a royal blue power suit, standing in the street, with a sparkly mobility aid. Credit: Deb Burrows]

OP-ED: Meg Pirie - Carbon-offset Schemes Pricing Welsh Farmers Out

Wool, 2022_2Tamara CincikApril 19, 2022Meg Pirie, Carbon, Wales, Farmers

OP-ED: Why this can’t be the end for Welsh woollen mills - Meg Pirie, Writer and Slow-Fashion Activist

Wool, 2022_1Tamara CincikMarch 8, 2022Meg Pirie, Wool

Greenwashing: CMA to call-out brands

2022_1Tamara CincikFebruary 1, 2022Greenwashing, environment, Meg Pirie

The Rise of Sartorial Ease

Since the lockdown began over a month ago, the demand for loungewear has soared by 322%. As more and more of us grapple with working from home, comfort has become key. But, with many of the Autumn/Winter shows being cancelled, what does this mean for fashion going forward?

2020_3Tamara CincikMay 5, 2020loungewear, fashion trend, consumer, stylist, style, Meg Pirie

"Adaptation to our new set of circumstances is vital": the slow-fashion activist Meg Pirie on how the pandemic has affected her wor

“Like many other fashion freelancers in the UK, this has been a nail-biting couple of weeks for me. Since Covid-19 hit the UK, all of my talks and workshops have been postponed, all freelance hours have been cut, leaving me with very little income until normality commences.”

PPE, 2020_2Tamara CincikMarch 31, 2020Meg Pirie, slow fashion activist, op-ed, stylist

Informer