Worthy Cause – Think Act Vote Refashioned Project

U.K. – Think Act Vote is a campaign to inspire Britons to think positively about their future and the votes they cast, today, tomorrow and forever. The idea behind Think Act Vote is to use creative energy to challenge the negative perception about politics held by so many people today. It’s a ‘Rock the Vote’ for personal agency, politics with a small ‘p’ if you like, focusing on the future we choose (and can create) through the daily decisions we make.

The campaign kicked-off in February with a competition to design the perfect campaign t-shirt. Judged by a panel of some of ethical fashion’s best-known faces, including Katharine Hamnett and Cyndi Rhoades, as well as “queen of cool” Daisy de Villeneuve. The winning design has been printed onto Earth Positive t-shirts and is available for sale for £20.00 from Komodo.

For the Think Act Vote Refashioned Project, eight leading ethical designers – including Junky Styling, Ada Zanditon, Beautiful Soul and Ciel, were given one of the campaign t-shirts and asked to either customise it into something we can all do at home, or make a show piece using only off cuts from their collections. The idea behind this was to encourage creativity and show how fashion can be used to express yourself and a message. The results will be shown on the catwalk at UK Aware (17 April), Alternative Fashion Week (21 April) and The Future I Choose Celebration (5 May). If you’re not in London and can’t see for yourself – let us share some of the magnifeco pieces with you:

About Tara Starlet

Tara Starlet is a vintage inspired fashion business run by a mother-daughter team, born out of a shared passion for 1940s and ‘50s fashion, and a mutual concern for our planet. We are advocates of recycling and we upcycle Cashmere jumpers, injecting some fifties glamour to give them a new lease of life! We use end of roll fabrics too, putting to good use Pre-consumer waste. This means that you won’t find hundreds of other women wearing the same thing! On top of this, all of our clothes are made locally in London, to keep our conscience clear as crystal and our carbon footprint dainty.

Tara Starlet “When tackling the challenge of upcycling the Think Act Vote t-shirt, it was a no brainer that I would have to make it into a dress. Here at Tara Starlet, we are all about dresses! I chose to do a fluted skirt because I wanted it to be a nice classic 40s length and I didn’t just want to attach a skirt on a waistband. The fabric I used was scrap from some blouses we have made in the past. Making a fluted skirt out of panels meant that I could create the effect of something that would take a lot of fabric to make, using scrap pieces sewn together.”

About Ada Zanditon

Ada Zanditon designs fashion that is both sexy and desirable yet futuristic and avant garde. The brand aesthetic balances perfectly creative originality and commercial appeal, which has been widely recognised by industry and press. The brand also happens to responsibly source all eco & sustainable fabrics and manufacturing. Ada interned with Alexander McQueen before going on to study at the London College of Fashion where she attained a 1st class BA (Hons) in womenswear and was selected for the prestigious LCF centenary press show at the Royal Academy. Once graduated, Ada worked on projects including: Centre for Sustainable Fashion’s first Shared Talent Project in South Africa and creating product for Oxfam’s first boutique. She then went on to set up her own company in early 2008 after working for Gareth Pugh. Ada made her catwalk debut at London Fashion Week in September 09 at Vauxhall Fashion Scout’s “Ones to Watch” show. In late 2009 Ada was selected for the Estethica eco fashion mentoring program by the British Fashion Council. From this Ada displayed her first solo catwalk show at London Fashion Week in February 2010 with Vauxhall Fashion Scout at The Freemasons Hall; this was featured on Vogue.com, Nylon, Dazed Digital & Recognize Magazine. Ada Zanditon pioneers in creating and evolving a business with a common sense approach to sustainability, a commitment to transparency and a belief in business that treats people, planet and profit with equal importance. Stockists include: Beyond The Valley, Machine A, Young British Designers, Not Just a Label and Farfetched.

Ada Zanditon “Think Act Vote is vital and important because so many have become really disengaged with politics so its great to see a neutral campaign that encourages people to be engaged and make choices and feel empowered. Everyone has an opinion and we can only say we live in a democracy if we discuss/ express them and act and vote!”

About Beautiful Soul

Founded by London College of Fashion graduate, Nicola Woods in November 2008, Beautiful Soul is an eco- aware, luxury womenswear label and has gained recognition for its creative, intelligent and open minded approach to design. A world away from throwaway fashion, Beautiful Soul is aimed at a woman who is aware of the importance of originality and quality in a garment, relishing also the story behind each creation. Beautiful Soul prides itself in combining the most indulgent vintage fabrics with sustainable alternatives. The delicacy and luxury of the materials combine with the expert London-based manufacturing, to give the wearer a truly unique fashion experience.

Nicola Woods ““Be the change you want to see in the world”. Think.Act.Vote encourages us to think about our future, voice our opinion and communicate our message; Beautiful Soul is proud to be part of such a refreshing campaign. Individuality is a key factor in Beautiful Soul’s design process. Women these days aren’t taken in by throwaway fashion, and seek to buy and wear clothes that are unique and timeless. The use of a vintage Japanese kimono offers exclusivity and by giving it a new lease of life, it is hoped that it can be cherished for a lifetime. We have captured Beautiful Soul’s signature style, but have also added a playful twist, in keeping with the refreshing message of Think.Act.Vote. The collar is removable and has been made from old business cards (that were produced in error) and combined with scraps of organic peace silk, providing a solution to ‘zero’ waste. The garment is multi functional and can be worn as a dress or as a skirt, depending on your mood; after all, a woman loves to change her mind!”

About Ciel

Hip luxurious and special, the new label from Sarah Ratty the designer who brought you Conscious Earthwear. Ciel makes a more ethical and environmental choice available to the fashion conscious woman. Satin signature Quilt jackets with faux Fur trims sit well beside the supersoft Organic Cotton printed t-shirt’s and hand knitted cotton cable shrug cardi’s, Alpaca cable knits all certified by Skaal. It’s a fashion label that already attracts an A-list following worn by Cate Blanchett, Sienna Miller and Zoe Ball. It is currently stocked in designer boutiques in the UK & US. Ciel’s range benefits from gorgeous design led garments developed with a high tech eco-philosophy.

Sarah Ratty “As I set to work making the Ciel Think-piece for Think Act Vote I thought a bit about the decisions we make everyday and how these “daily votes” change and shape our lives a little bit at a time. This year I thought isn’t it about time our governments acted for us in terms of the environment and human rights, there’s such a lot we can do personally in our daily lives to make a difference daily, drink fair-trade coffee, buy organic, recycle, turn off lights, save energy, we need our government to mirror these actions for us to make meaningful legislation to back us up, that’s why I launched the Designers Call for Action in association with the panel on the rise of the Ethical Consumer as a designer and also as the Chair of the EFF at the United Nations in Geneva in January to call for a pledge from industry and government to create more with the resources we have, to use recycled polymers and keep this loop going by making more meaningful recycling plants in the Uk that can separate the plastics & prevent landfill and give opportunities for textile recycling on a larger scale not just led by charities and NGO’s, give grant aid to solarize factory power in the developing world, this and so much more can be done.. I don’t usually talk about this kind of thing but quietly add it into each collection I make and let the designs speak for themselves, which I have been doing for the past 1twenty years, but this year as I was invited to be a key speaker at the UN I thought it was time to speak up and call for action, Think Act Vote is a campaign that asks us to do the same thing, speak up and make a difference…”

About Junky Styling

Annika Sanders and Kerry Seager established Junky Styling on Brick Lane in London 13 years ago,with an exposed studio in the shop reflective of a completely transparent working practice. Their work consists of one- off ‘wardrobe surgeries’ which invites customers to bring their own treasured garments into the shop and get work done, (eg. that very boring suit you bought in that sample sale but have never worn), as well as an internationally stocked women’s ready-to-wear collection, bespoke creations for special occasions and experimental off the peg out of the their store in London’s East End. Now that Junky Styling is launching their very anticipated MEN”S Wholesale Range for Autumn/Winter 2010.The Men’s Collection will encapsulate what Junky Styling is all about: Men’s Suits and exquisite tailoring details in the most wearable stylish forms. The primary source material for Junky Styling is men’s tailoring suits and every scrap is used one way or another. Suit jackets are transformed and take on a new personality as Hooded Bomber Jackets and Hooded Waistcoats with detachable hoods. Another featured Waistcoat consists of the disection of many suits that are blended together as one great piece. Trousers are newly challenged to morph into unique silhouettes. A very masculine wrap cardigan with a nod to the military in two versatile colours. Junky Styling arouse an instant curiosity – a double-take; you want to try things on to see what happens. This reaction is something missing from much of fashion today.

About TRAIDremade

TRAIDremade specialises in turning damaged textiles, vintage and clothing destined for landfill into gorgeous clothes and accessories. Set up in 2002 by fashion recycling charity TRAID, the label was conceived as a way to create beautiful clothing from waste and offers people who love fashion but hate its impact an alternative and sustainable way to buy clothes. As well as sporting an extremely small fashion footprint, all the proceeds raised are used by TRAID to support projects fighting global poverty.

The design process: – Paula Kirkwood “I started the design process in exactly the same way that I would with our in house pieces: looking at current trends and then choosing which fabrics and clothes to rework that have been collected for me by the TRAID team. All the textiles TRAIDremade work with are donated by the public to TRAID but can’t be resold in our much loved charity shops due to faults or damage. For this particular design, I created an asymmetric look and combined it with stretch jersey. The jersey was taken from five shop soiled sweaters. I took apart each one and then re-stitched the panels together to create a piece of fabric to cut a pattern from. Finally, the front panel of the dress was created by incorporating the ‘THINK, ACT, VOTE’ Tee.”

About Nancy Dee

Nancy Dee is an ethical womenswear label specialising in day-to-night jersey. The look features uniquely- designed retro prints and vintage-inspired shapes. Launched in 2008 by sisters Tamsin and Seraphina and now in its fourth season, Nancy Dee aims to make ethical fashion more accessible by creating fun, easy-to-wear styles at competitive prices without compromising on quality or standards. All of the pieces are manufactured in India in factories that respect fair working conditions, using sustainable and organic jersey fabrics.

Tamsin and Seraphina Davis “we felt this campaign was a great way to raise awareness and remind people that their vote affects their future.The showpiece is based on one of Nancy Dee’s most popular designs that combines a cute mini-dress with a contrasting T-shirt top. We wanted to inject the showpiece with the colourful, retro style that Nancy Dee is about.We recycled as much of the original T-shirt as possible as not to waste fabric, hence the use of the two circular cut-outs.The additional fabric was sourced from our current Spring/Summer collection, a fabulous jersey mix of sustainable soy bean and organic cotton. Soy bean is a fantastic fibre for fabric, as it is recycled from the waste of other soy products like tofu and soya milk. When spun and knitted with organic cotton, it becomes a super-soft, drapey jersey.”

About Miksani

At Miksani we believe that fashion doesn’t have to come at a cost to those who make it. That’s why all our garments are manufactured in World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO – formerly IFAT) certified producers or those working towards this. Miksani garments are unique and often hand woven, hand knitted and hand printed meaning that artisans in small communities are supported and traditional skills are kept alive. Miksani create stylish, luxury fashion whilst employing socially responsible and ethical business practices. Our garments are manufactured to the highest standards in Nepal, Peru and India and are produced using natural, sustainable fabrics such as organic cotton and silk, banana, alpaca wool and mohair wool.

Katie Wieghtman “I wanted to be involved in the Think Act Vote campaign because I fully support it’s positive approach, we are all responsible for the small and large choices we make in our lives each day. For the t-shirt with the fringes down the front, back and shoulders: I used an old white t-shirt the same size as the T.A.V. tee. Using as much fabric from the t-shirt as possible I created fringes by slicing the fabric into strips and then stretching out to create tubes. I then cut the T.A.V. t-shirt up both sides and stitched in the fringed sections to create the t-shirt. I wanted to create something contemporary that would be fairly easy for anyone to re- create, with the added material being something that most people may have lying around.”

About The Think Act Vote Refashioned Shoot: This shoot was styled using only ethical fashion, and eco hair and make-up products.

Photographer Credit – Dominic Clake

Stylist Credit – io Takemura

Make up – Louise Dartfod

Hair –Yuhi Kim

Models – Nastya and Sara Karen at Profile.

For information about Think Act Vote – join the conversation: www.facebook.com/thinkactvote or www.twitter.com/thinkactvote