Slow Fashion
Junior Edition is now 5 years old and, with the passage of time, we have become increasingly aware of the impact the fashion industry is having on both the planet and the people producing the clothing itself. Whilst we have always tried to make carefully considered choices, how we might be able to positively influence the future based on our decision making now has become increasingly important.
In more recent times we have started to adapt our buying practices, shifting focus to support, and bring, small volume artisan produced brands to our customers who have expressed a growing desire for 'Slow Fashion'.
The term 'Slow Fashion" was first used by Kate Fletcher, currently Professor of Sustainability Design and Fashion, based at the London College of Fashion. It is an approach to fashion that is rooted in sustainability, encouraging slower production schedules and fair wages whilst creating fashion that is beautiful, timeless and well made. Styles with an enduring appeal, designed to be consumed more thoughtfully.
Of course making clothes that are destined to last a lifetime means high quality and hard wearing materials (with a low environmental impact) need to be used. As such you will find lots of wool, linen and organic cottons used in the production of brands that embrace the slow fashion ethos.
At Junior Edition we work with numerous brands who employ small teams of talented craftspersons to make the most stunning and luxurious products, often entirely by hand, in much smaller quantities known as small batch collections.
One of most sought after brands, Misha and Puff, strongly believe in producing beautiful, functional pieces that are made to last forever. Every Misha and Puff piece is lovingly hand knitted in Peru by talented knitting ladies and each knitter takes great pride in the pieces she chooses to knit - rather beautifully you will find her name on the hang tag. For this reason, stock is extremely limited and each Misha & Puff piece is very precious, made to be passed down from one child to the next.
Soor Ploom is SUCH a beautiful brand, producing collections that are both classic and simple but far from ordinary. Crafted from the finest fabrics including soft linens and fine cottons and manufactured both ethically and sustainably. Soor Ploom is all about the appreciation of quality over quantity and creating garments to be loved by more than one owner sits at the very heart of the brand.
Apolina is designed in England, but inspired by travel and the natural world. Traditional handicrafts from many different cultures serve as the starting point for all Apolina pieces, particularly folk art from Scandinavia, Mexico, America and Eastern Europe. All of their garments are proudly and ethically made in India, at a small family-run sample workshop where the free-hand machine embroidery is created by true artisans. Apolina works with a family-run Indian manufacturer, who employs equal numbers of women and men (unusual for this industry). Ethical trading and production practices are strictly adhered to and workers are not only paid a fair wage, they are also treated as members of the extended family.
Poudre Organic was created by Manon Frottier in Auxerre, France. Having struggled to find reasonably priced ecological and natural clothing made in Europe for her third child and drawing inspiration from simple fabrics such as organic cotton muslin gauze and vintage styles she started to make a range of simple, practical and beautiful clothing for her daughter, which other people loved too and wanted to buy! In 2014 she turned this into Poudre Organic.
As the name suggests, everything in the collection is organic and is made in Portugal. Ethically produced from the softest organic cottons, it is perfect for babies and children's delicate skin. The collections are always simple and wearable, well-made and super soft, with a simple palette of earthy colours in easy-to-wear timeless shapes. We also stock some beautiful adult pieces in this brand.
Slow fashion embraces the concept of zero waste and we have several brands at Junior Edition well known for their efforts in this area. Little Cottons Clothes is a range of simple, beautiful and traditional girls clothing designed by sisters Imogen and Leonie here in England, lovingly handmade in a handful of small factories in India. Any waste fabric is donated to a charity in India who recycle it to make clothes for families in need.
Similarly Long Live The Queen, from Dutch designer Hetty Van Driest, is a collection of ethically produced and environmentally conscious clothing that is made from up-cycled materials, organic jersey and super soft knits, all carefully selected to help reduce the footprint left behind.
We have touched upon just a handful of our 'slow fashion' brands. Angulus, Engel, Fairechild, Faune, Gray Label, Nellie Quats, Omibia, Oeuf, Minimalisma, Mingo and Mabli also all very much fall in this category and we have several new brands joining the family this coming year that also follow this ethos. We can't wait to introduce those to you as we continue our own journey to become a fully sustainable business.
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EU we love you. We are working hard to find a solution to Brexit and in the interim period will be offering our EU customers a 21% discount to offset the new additional VAT costs of importing from us at this time.
Please be aware that this is a temporary solution, a sticking plaster on a painful Brexit wound, and is liable to change at any time. In the short term at least, the discount code EUVAT is our solution and we hope it helps.
For further details, including the full list of countries to whom this offer applies, please click here.