Izzy Lane…Rescued Sheep…at EcoLuxe

I interviewed Izzy Lane in an interview last year, at which time we learned about the company’s efforts to save a rare breed of sheep as lambs from slaughter by using their wool in each collection.

This month, Izzy Lane will be exhibiting the 2010 autumn/winter collection at Ecoluxe. So, this press release is for all you Green Fashionistas:

EcoLuxe, the ethical luxury fashion weekend is being launched on the 18th/19th September this year. It will be a bi-annual event to coincide with London Fashion Week. Created by a group of ethical designers, EcoLuxe promotes high end, environmentally friendly fashion designers and brands.

The official opening of this year’s EcoLuxe will be by leading international trade lawyer, supporter of environmental issues and the Deputy Prime Minister’s wife Miriam Gonzalez. Held at London’s No1 Aldwych Hotel, a stone’s throw way from Somerset House, EcoLuxe will be open to press and fashion buyers who are looking for high quality, luxury and exclusive brands with a conscience.

A maximum of thirteen luxury ethical designers and brands will be showcased at this year’s EcoLuxe including; award winning British wool designer Izzy Lane, vintage inspired clothing Beaumont Organic, London based Spanish designer Elena Garcia, Parisian natural skincare Sentuers De Fee, bridal and eveningwear Tammam, hats and scarves Sophia Couture, shoe maker Gwendolyn Carrié, Brazilian swimwear Olga Olsson, day-to-evening wear Outsider, timeless leatherwear pieces Anupa, Central St. Martins graduate Nyonyo&Yayra, leading couturier By Stamo and Indian embroidered accessories Panchachuli UK .

All the designers involved in EcoLuxe share the same philosophy of actively creating beautiful and environmentally friendly products in an ethical manner. The brands are all 100% ethical, not only in the production process of their designs but also with an overall responsibility to green issues.

EcoLuxe will be an biannual green event promoting leading ethical luxury brands and designers. From this year’s showcase held at No.1 Aldwych, voted ‘Green Hotel of the Year’ 2009, to the bust forms used to display the merchandise being 95% eco-friendly and even the signage made from 100% recycled paper. The event will also be a platform to support local charities who share the same ethical values and beliefs.

Have a peek at the collection here.

Photos Copyright Izzy Lane.

What the Designers Keep on Saying...

Each morning I awake with an intense desire to pay tribute to another talented emerging designer, model, showroom or boutique owner that has dedicated his or her life to bring us new and innovative designs to our wardrobe.

My only reward for my intense research is their feedback and yours! So here are a few more quotes of what some menswear designers and related industry workers are saying about my articles:

Izzy Lane
It's just great. Thank you so very much. We rescued another 4 sheep the other day…

Alexandra for Mackage
It’s perfect! :) Thank you so much for doing this.

A.D.Deertz
Thanks a lot, it looks great.

J Smith Esquire
Thank you, just seen it and it looks great.

0044 paris
Thank you for this news. The article is wonderful with a lot of images. We really like it and hope also to collaborate once again for any other occasion.

Complex Geometries
The blog looks great, thanks!

Emperial Nation
Thanks for your support! Your article is excellent. Please keep up the good work. I really enjoy your blog.

Christian Westphal
Thank you for your kind email and your interest in our brand. Also, thank you for running a very cool blog!

Cohesive
This is awesome.

Jonathan Mezibov
Thank you so much!! The article is fantastic and I can't thank you enough for your review and kind words! It was a joy to read the article and I can't thank you enough for your interest and support!

Poplife.biz
It's always truly engaging to read your posts. The series work your did for Michael Londrigan and John Patrick is particularly impressive. I bet they really appreciated your talent, too. The series you wrote on Londrigan, however, does stand out in my mind only because I have always enjoyed reading interviews like those. So personal; an entertaining pleasure to read.

Silvio Halleck

I loved this! So thanks! Come to the Rio one day... :)

You may find additional responses at What the Designers are Saying..., What the Designers have been Saying, and Some More of What the Designers Are Saying.

Me

By the looks of the picture, it's clear I'm getting ready for Rio! What can I say, I've been a competitive swimmer since a young teen!!! Something about water...

Izzy Lane Sings on for Animal Sanctity

In my article London Fashion Week: Doubly Green, I featured four menswear designers that exhibited at estethica—the green initiative of London Fashion Week, which requires participants to adhere to the three guiding principles of organic, fair trade, and/or recycled.

After posting the article, I had the extraordinary privilege to interview Isobel Davies of Izzy Lane, a voice crying out in the wilderness for the sanctity of animals that can only baa or bleat. When I spoke by phone to this impassioned knitwear designer from North Yorkshire, I was deeply moved by her devotion, dedication, and distress with regards to animal welfare.

Isobel is a remarkably creative woman, who pursued her dreams of a touring singer and songwriter. Her creativity, however, did not lock her into a musical box but rather led her to embark on an imaginative journey that is still unfolding. In 1994, Isobel pioneered the first organic home delivery box wherein she began collecting and packing fruit and veggies, delivering them to local customers, who now total 2,000!

When Isobel burst onto the farming scene, she was horrified by the brutal realities of the dairy farm. Farmers were burning the animals’ wool, while 80% of the nation’s wool was being imported from overseas. Meanwhile, the sheep were being shipped off to be slaughtered in inhumane ways. "Apart from fur," she reasoned, "no one questioned the origin of wool and leather—a gaping hole in the fashion industry!"

Morally unable to purchase the wool from dead carcasses of sheep and lambs—a hideous image that haunts her to this day—Isobel unveiled her creativity once again and rescued her first 4 sheep in 2002! Since then, Isobel has received innumerable emergency calls, compelling her to rescue a total of 600 sheep, mostly all within the past 2 years!

Isobel pays approximately 30 pounds ($44/33€) for lambs and 60 pounds ($88/66€) for adults, while the prices climb continually. Other costs include feed, grooming, medical care, and shepherding. The Sheep Sanctuary is home two main varieties: the Shetland and the endangered Wesledydale sheep, whose numbers have decreased to 1,800 breeding ewes, of which Isobel owns 250!

When I asked Isobel about her inspiration for the cosy "1970’s goes to the country" theme in her recent menswear collection, again, I was enthralled by her response. While admitting to predominantly British influences, Isobel instructed me that the wool lends itself to the pants, sweaters, and tailored jackets. "It is the inherent character of the wool that designs itself into the chunky knits!"

Izzy Lane collections are all processed within 100 miles of the Sheep Sanctuary. The wool is woven at an ancient mill in Selkirk, using hundred-year-old Victorian machinery and, then, hand knit into the plush chunky garments. While Isobel is researching natural dyeing processes, she informed me that the Shetland wool needs no dye in that the beauty lies in the natural color.

Isobel admits that we do not live in an ideal world, but she will never compromise her label. Rather, she prefers to set a standard for animal welfare—a choice that often leads to a host of sacrifices, such as foregoing mass marketing and retailer chains. But raising the awareness and profile of animals remains her sole reward!

Isobel Davies—radical, pleasantly rebellious, imaginative, passionate, and untouched by conventional institutions—is a lonely voice that will one day become a mass choir! Izzy Lane, sing on!!!

Photos Copyright by Izzy Lane.

Photo top center, Izzy Lane.

Photo upper right, Wensleydale sheep.

Photo lower left, Shetland lambs.

Photo lower right, the Shepherd Ernest Ayre.

London Fashion Week: Doubly Green

On Friday, February 20th, the British Fashion Council kicked off the 6th season of estethica—London Fashion Week's green initiative. Reputed as the world's leading showcase of sustainable designer fashion, estethica has grown from 13 to 37 designers, who adhere to one of three guiding principles: organic, fair trade, or recycled. From design to production onto retail and disposal, estethica aims at promoting sustainable life cycles in high end fashion. Encouragingly, several notable menswear collections were in attendance.

Born in Denmark of a Portuguese father and Danish mother, Naia Rico studied at the London College of Fashion, going on to design for Article 23, which inherited its name from the 23rd article of the Declaration of Human Rights. Inspired by the legendary 19th century figure Sherlock Holmes, Naia combined retro and contemporary styles to create a timeless selection of British poshness and "falsely neglected dandyism." Using organic cotton and natural materials, the collection was produced by a women's co-op in India.

Promoted as the voice for animals in the fashion industry, the impassioned knitwear designer from North Yorkshire, Izzy Lane, runs a Sheep Sanctuary of Shetland and endangered Wesledydale sheep that have been saved from slaughter. Portraying a cosy "1970’s goes to the country" theme, her ethically and sustainably Made-in-Britain collection was woven at an ancient mill in Selkirk, using hundred year old Victorian machinery and, then, hand knit into plush chunky garments.

Prophetik presented its preachy, almost apocalyptic "wearable philosophy" in the Impulsion collection, which represents slow fashion advancing with wisdom and substance. Inspired euro street wear that manifests art, love, poetry, and internal freedom, Prophetik supports numerous children's charities around the world, working also with the Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project. "In raising funds to buy land for the elephants," says designer Jeff Garner, "our partners train the elephants to paint on our organic silk fabric, which we turn into dresses to sell for the cause."

Based in Paris and produced by local co-ops in the Amazon, the Veja collection of comfortable shoe wear was inspired by 1970's Brazilian volleyball styles, merging an urban and vintage feel. Utilizing organic cotton canvas and Amazonian rubber soles, Veja rests on three pillars: 1) use of ecological inputs, 2) fair trade cotton and latex, and 3) respect for workers’ dignity.

Since Men's Fashion by Francesco will be contacting these four designers in the next several days, please feel free to present your questions concerning sustainability and menswear below!

Photo Sherlock Holmes Copyright Public Domain.

Photo Wensleydale sheep by Vicky Brock Copyright Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike 2.0.

Photo Asian Elephant by Rajesh Kakkanatt Copyright Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike 2.0.

Photo Amazonia by Phil P. Harris Copyright Creative Commons Attribution Sharealike 2.0.