Models Direct: London Fashion Week’s Sustainable fashion

Estethica was launched by the British Fashion Council, and began being sponsored by Monsoon four years ago. The brand works towards showcasing cutting edge designers committed to producing ethical, environmental and sustainable clothing, and has evolved to be a key part of London Fashion Week.

Camilla Wellton debut her first collection for London’s Fashion Week’s Estethica just last week. The collection was both sleek and elegant and a million miles detached from the dull and dreary designs we have previously come to expect from ethical clothing.

Synthetic trims were substituted for eco-friendly materials, as well as ten percent of profit going to agro forestry organisation, Vi-Skogen. The point of such collections is to create beautiful, desirable clothing that is sustainable both environmentally and ethically. It is hoped that purchasing such clothes will make us much more conscious of the effects that our movements have in the world have.

This is important as a recent report commissioned by the British Fashion Council revealed that the fashion industry is worth £21 billion to the UK economy, with ethical clothing only worth £175 million. This report dramatically highlighted the need for more ethical and sustainable clothing for a world that is in both financial and environmental crisis.

London fashion Week have put a brilliant foot forward by showcasing 37 designers in this season’s Estethica collective, and have also made these sustainable designs available to buy online. The full range of clothing, shoes and accessories from over 30 Estethica designers such as MAXJENNY, EFJ and Prophetik are available at yoox.com.

Highstreets have also begun to address the issue. H&M introduced their organic collection last spring, and Tescos and Topshop are adopting limited editions of upcycled diffusion lines.

With 59% of the population citing that ethics is an important factor in their fashion choices it is important that we start answering to their call. Ethical clothing has been said to be too tricky and cost prohibitive but with a clear market out there it would seem a solution needs to be both found and encouraged.


About Models Direct

Models Direct (http://www.modelsdirect.com) is a talent and model agency for female models, male models, teen models, child models and baby models for advertising, fashion, film, TV, promotional and photographic modelling work. We are a Government-regulated Model Employment Agency... not an online showcase, we're the real thing!

If you think you, or perhaps your partner, child, baby or pet, might be a suitable model for us to put forward for selection to appear in films, TV, fashion, promotions, advertisements and photographic modelling, please visit the website (http://www.modelsdirect.com/become-a-model) or call us on +44 (0)871 224 6000. Modelling can be great fun & often rewarding as a part time hobby.

You can also find out more by visiting the blog (http://modelsdirect.wordpress.com) or by following Models Direct on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/models_direct).