Dressing It Up. Designer Lynzee Moores talks about the SUST experience
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Dressing It Up. Designer Lynzee Moores talks about the SUST experience |
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Dress it up any way you like, no matter how much effort went into the production of the event, this year's Sustainable Urban Styles Today (SUST) show would be nothing without the input of our designers. In meeting up with one of these designers, Lynzee Moores, I really wanted to ask about her opinion of the show and what she felt it meant that shows like this existed. Lynzee is a strong supporter of what the SUST show stands for, and the opportunities it creates for up and coming conscious designers to impact both consumer awareness and the fashion industry at large. After the success of her collection at SUST06, Lynzee has decided to use SUST07 as a perfect opportunity to showcase the launch of her new label, Psyche-L. This focuses on the innovative reuse of quality reclaimed manmade fabrics and new sustainable fibres as shown on Lynzee's page at www.sustfashionshow.com. Whilst speaking about the future, Lynzee suggested that sustainable fashion is the most essential part of the industry's actual survival, saying that it would be impossible for the industry to keep consuming the way it does. However she accepts that, "Presently the supply network of sustainable fabrics is not at such a level where it could possibly cope with demand from the entire industry. It is becoming more geared towards this goal, however, and is therefore making sustainability more of an attractive and realistic option for designers. With recycled interest this will most certainly grow. In the meantime it is encouraging to see desirable designers with sustainable ethics making their stamp on the industry and creating awareness on these important issues. The industry will eventually have to make changes, whether it be due to consumer demand or impending government legislation, it is inevitable." These are still baby steps however, and the designer really wants sustainable fashion to be seen with the same regard for taste and aesthetic as 'high fashion', not as an alternative to it. She sees the expansion of the SUST show as an important part of this, and suggested that the planned independence of the show would distance it still further from the idea that sustainable fashion is in any way 'alternative'. Reaffirming that "sustainable fashion is the future". Beyond the SUST show, and looking out on an industry coming to terms with the changing conditions and opinions in the world, I asked Lynzee where she saw things heading in her own career. "I really like the idea of being a consultant to companies wishing to operate in a more sustainable way but are unsure of where to begin." In conversation this idea expanded to include her hopes to establish a collective of designers sharing the same vision who could collaborate on new designs, under the Psyche-L umbrella, and support communities in developing countries. She also expressed a wish that SUST became "much more than a fashion show" and hoped that it could act as a networking resource for future designers interested in finding out where to source sustainable materials as well as a platform to showcase their designs. All I can say is that this is a very exciting time for sustainable fashion, and if only a few of these ideas came to fruition the industry could benefit, but the drive and determination of all involved with SUST, including Lynzee Moores, makes me think this will go a lot further than that. James Warner |
Action for Sustainable Living, St Wilfrid's Enterprise Centre, Royce Road, Hulme, , M15 5BJ.Email: [email protected] Tel: 0845 634 4510 Fax: 0870 167 4655. |