Here comes Henrietta

A designer whose collections I absolutely adore is Henrietta Ludgate and last night I was excited to attend the launch of her brand new store in Whiteleys Shopping Centre. Entitled Work-shop, the space is kookily decorated with fabric rolls and is a lofty open space that showcases the brightly coloured sculpture of the Scottish designer’s collection perfectly.

Doubling up as a literal workshop, Ludgate is daringly putting herself on show in a bold move that will further encourage consumers to engage in the process of creating sustainable design.

Co-hosted by customers and ethical fashion champions, Livia Firth and Laura Bailey it was nice to see the usual suspects of our small niche of the industry.

Happy 5th Birthday Estethica

Image courtesy of the BFC, depicting Livia Firth wearing From Somewhere and Laura Bailey wearing Henrietta Ludgate.

An initiative very close to my heart is the BFC's Estethica, which on Tuesday night celebrated its fifth birthday. Whilst I couldn’t attend the event in the end I’d still like to show my appreciation of this great platform.

Estethica was founded in 2006 showcasing 13 brands, and has since gone on to support a total of 108 international designers. All Estethica designers have been selected as they adhere to at least one of the three Estethica principles of fair-trade, ethical practices, organic and recycled materials and are selected for both their ethical credentials and design excellence.

Among those celebrating the landmark were chair of the BFC Harold Tillman, Livia Firth, Laura Bailey and Lucy Siegle.

Harold Tillman CBE commented:“This anniversary of Estethica marks an important milestone for the initiative and also for the fashion industry. Each season we see Estethica grow to support designers in new and exciting ways, thereby placing sustainable values at the forefront of fashion design. This is a chance to celebrate Estethica’s achievements and look forward to future ventures in promoting sustainable fashion”.

Livia Firth said: “Estethica is where it all began for me – it taught me to look at the politics and the production of fashion in a different way. With such talented designers I can only see Estethica getting bigger and better”.