The penultimate i-Sustain, a series intended to change the way we buy and wear fashion. This month features Scottish knitwear specialist Angela Cassidy.
Click images to enlarge.
i-Sustain is drawing to a close and this, the penultimate installment, comes after a short hiatus as photographer and writer took some time out from marrying words and pictures to marry each other. It seems fitting to share this news as the project has been a real labour of love! Partnering the two seemingly juxtaposed concerns of sustainability and fashionability is no mean feat; it takes passion, planning, lateral thinking and dogged determination, much like a wedding.
Marriage is topical but it is also a great analogy for the i-Sustain project as a whole; a celebration of possibility; a leap of faith; a commitment to the future, which also recognizes and respects history and heritage. We’ve showcased designers who are at the start of a journey, marrying their values and beliefs to their work and making this coupling an intrinsic part of their creative process. Some are revolutionary and some are simply evolving what already exists but they are all thinking beyond the short-term fashion norm, towards what could be as well as what is.
Each month we keep reminding ourselves, and you, that there is a good reason for trying to do things differently. Our relationship with the things we wear is failing; in the UK around 30 billion pounds worth of clothing sits in our wardrobes unworn and unloved for over a year. We’ve grown so used to satisfying every whim, to allowing ourselves to indulge even when we know we can’t afford to, that we’ve forgotten that most things worth having and maintaining take work.
So how can we put in the hard work to re-position our relationship with fashion? Firstly we have to be willing to question our own motivations and to search harder for the things we really want and will cherish; sometimes we have to be willing to save up and make an investment rather than relying on the quick, cheap fix. We’re not denying that starting from a place of unbridled passion is exciting and fulfilling, but we also need to look for passion that can deepen. In the end it’s all about connection, the things we buy and own should be connected to who we are and what we value, not define who we are and how we value ourselves.
You may have noticed that each month our pictures have featured two models, often holding hands or physically expressing a strong relationship with one another. This month, as we draw to a close, we’ll make the implicit explicit: we want to celebrate the designers like Scottish knitwear specialist Angela Cassidy, who work hard to re-connect the quality and innovation in their design to the people and places who make up their heritage. We also want to celebrate the network of people who give this new breed of designer a chance by forgoing the inimitable pull of big business and mega brand to engage with a deeper, more relevant story. These are the marriages we believe will endure and the unions that will stand the test of time.
Click here to see our i-Sustain series in full.
Text: Alex McIntosh
Photography: Kerry Dean
Styling: Sam Willoughby
Hair: Selena Middleton @ Soho Management using Kiehls
Make up: Zoe Taylor @ Jed Root
Photography Assistance: Lindsay Watson
Styling Assistance: Gemma Butterworth
Models: Pirina @ Ford & Anastasia @ Elite
