London Fashion Week End

There was nothing really 'eco' (nor subtle for that matter) about it, but yesterday I visited Somerset House with a friend to emerse ourselves in extravagance at London Fashion Week End.

Fashion is inherently about trends that come and go with the seasons, where consumption is seen as a means to an end to get that desired look before moving onto a new one 2 minutes later. There were lots of jewellary stalls to browse and a maze of jampacked rooms where the larger designer labels were selling at sample price. Every attendee had made an effort with their look and often well-groomed ladies looked to other well-groomed ladies for inspiration just as much as to the clothing and accessories for sale.

I did see a nice trench coat and complimented the model wearing it, asking her where she got it from, to which she replied 'Burberry, sorry!' in a tone that was presumptuous of an inability to amass such funds worthy of her simply sumptuous designer coat. Well, I don't want one anyway!

So there we were in sunglass city, stood small among the willowy figures and draping silhouettes, our eyes aching from the retro prints gone crazy viral, our finger tips longing to touch every luxurious fabric in sight, our minds dizzy with the hedonistic atmosphere...when suddenly, a beautiful bright green beacon called out at me from a corner of the cacophonous chaos....a tiny whisper, what was that?

I moved closer and it screamed out at me: SAVE THE FUTURE.

Its voice only to be heard loud and clear when up close. It was the 100% organic cotton t-shirt designed by Katherine Hamnett for the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) selling for £25. Finally, like a breath of fresh air, the mother earth of using fashion for environmentalism (Katherine designed one of the first slogan t-shirts: 'Choose Life') spoke volumes to me. The girl selling them, however, did not: 'yeah it's for a charity which is really good because it's for the children and it stops pesticides because, like, the pesticides are like killing the children'.

Yes, dear.

I did not buy one but it got me thinking: which is better, a fair trade t-shirt, a 100% organic t-shirt, or a t-shirt made of locally-sourced natural materials? There is no one true answer, but my answer is none of them, if you do not need a t-shirt in the first place.

The slogan 'Save the Future' is an interesting way of highlighting the wrongs of the globalised and multi-billion dollar fashion industry, its unsustainable supply chains, and fatal engagement with want, lust and greed. It is just a shame that you have to consume in order to say it. A way of engaging those who would not normally think green, perhaps.

All in all, it was a fabulous day out, but for now I can only dream of a day when sustainability is synonymous with fashion- is that even possible? Sustainability should be thoroughly integrated into the industry and implemented as matter of course at every level: cotton growth, production, transportation, fabric sourcing, dying, printing, garment creation, packaging and purchasing. Rather than a stand-alone t-shirt in a sea of much sexier leggings, camel coats and preppy cricketer-style tops, sustainability should be woven into the structural texture of every one of those items.

Thank (the fashion) god that that EJF were selling £5 raffle tickets (I did buy one of those). Also, Estethica, the ethical fashion arm of the British Fashion Council are based at Somerset House and are doing really fantastic work in an industry so unimaginably widespread that it would be easy to feel helpless. I applaud them in their efforts and hope that more will pay attention.