Made with love, please

Words by Holly

Fast fashion is bringing me down. 

Don’t get me wrong; I like a bargain as much as the next girl… but since when did affordability translate to homogeneity? 

I’m not enjoying the glut of fraying hems and copycat designs on display in today’s department stores (here’s looking at you, Zara), or the way most people look like they own the same wardrobe. I want to buy clothes that I know has been made with love, not the sweat and tears of an underpaid factory worker in Bangladesh. Vivienne Westwood, the queen of punk, has issued us all the decree “Buy less, choose well, make it last.” Hear ye, hear ye. Let’s start investing in pieces we’ll still be wearing in ten years time. 

Yes, fashion is about whimsy and fun, and occasionally making regrettable online purchases late at night, but hey… let’s slow it down a tad. A little love and personal style goes a long way.

This piece was written by our contributing writer Holly, see more of her work here.

with love.

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Disrupt[ing] Fashion

Last time Tamara Mellon had a vision, Jimmy Choo was born, and this time it's going to "disrupt fashion". Well the exact phrase which she used when interviewed by Nicole Phelps of Style.com.

As the entrepreneur who changed the scene as the co-founder of Jimmy Choo, Mellon is what one can rightly call an expert in the industry. Yet, it's truly her business mind which is her most valuable commodity, especially considering her next big venture.

Her own namesake label. 

Mellon left Jimmy Choo driven with a vision, to create a luxury product, yet lowering the price. Did we mention she was also planning to ignore the fashion seasons and shows as we know them?

Tailored to similar foundations which Zara was built upon, Mellon wishes to create "attainable luxury".  Yet, let's not get ahead of ourselves, in saying "attainable" Mellon is still referring to the Alexander Wang like $500-$800 price point, just no four or five (gasp) digit price tags.

"I don't want to think about spring and summer clothes in February, and I don't really want to buy a winter coat right now. It all started, really, when shows went online. The customer and the world have moved forward, but the fashion industry hasn't moved forward. It hasn't really thought about how to keep up with the consumer." (Tamara Mellon)



Although, of course as good of a concept as it is, there is a sort of magic... the entire allure of the fantasy world of fashion which she is discarding. Fashion itself works on the fact that some things are just unattainable to the majority of the population. It's a heirachy, right?

And then there are the fashion shows. Remember the marvellous, golden lion at the Chanel Fall 2010 haute couture runway show at the Grand Palais? Or even the walls decked with fresh blooms at Raf Simon's debut for Dior?

Is Mellon liberating us from Lagerfeld's fantasy world?

People often ask to differentiate fashion from art, and that fine line is just what Mellon is wishing to disrupt. She is an entrepreneur after all.

with love.

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