WRITING SAMPLE: PRODUCT ROUNDUP
The Best Sustainable Accessory Brands to Honor Earth Day
Earth Day is the perfect time to reflect on our fashion choices and their impact on the planet. Whether you’re in search of a new everyday handbag or a pair of shades, the list of sustainable accessory brands to choose from is endless. From the iconic Stella McCartney to the innovative VRAI, we've gathered the best ethics-first labels pioneering their own paths in little luxuries. Treat yourself and the Earth to sustainable styles that aren’t only fashion-forward but also contribute to a healthier planet.
Brands That Tick Every Box
Best Brand For Sustainable Bags: Stella McCartney
Best Brand For Sustainable Sunglasses: Finlay and Co.
Best Brand For Sustainable Jewelry: VRAI
Best Brand For Sustainable Belts: Matt & Nat
Best Brand For Sustainable Watches: Shinola
Best Sustainable Bags
Stella McCartney
It’s no secret that Stella McCartney is a frontrunner in high-end sustainable accessories. Known for her commitment to ethical practices, the label offers an array of stylish bags made from eco-friendly materials that fulfill every woman’s desire for luxury. Crafted from recycled polyester and featuring the brand's signature chain trim, the Falabella mini bag is perfect for adding a touch of sophistication to any outfit all while prioritizing the environment.
Best Sustainable Sunglasses
Finlay and Co.
Sunglasses are oftentimes the last accessory that come to mind when shopping sustainable accessories. Finlay and Co. offers an array of ethical eyewear options produced in Northern Italy. Handcrafted from responsibly sourced hardwoods and acetate, their Arlington sunglasses deliver UV protection while making a positive impact on the environment. The company also plants a tree for every pair sold, boosting your purchase to help restore natural habitats around the globe.
Best Sustainable Jewelry
VRAI
When it comes to shopping sustainable fine jewelry, there are many factors to keep in mind. VRAI makes vetting these styles effortless with their transparent production and focus on lab-grown diamonds. The Icon Cuff Bracelet is a shining example of their dedication to the planet using recycled gold and conflict-free gems. With an extensive collection of pre-order styles and bespoke opportunities, you can transform your jewelry box into a sustainable treasure chest.
Best Sustainable Belts
Matt & Nat
Did someone say vegan leather made from plastic bottles and rubber? Anything is possible with Matt & Nat’s innovative take on sustainable accessories. With a strong focus on eco-friendly materials and production practices, the label offers some of the best contemporary designs and high-quality craftsmanship. As for belts, the Zana leather waist belt beats the competition with its sleek, minimalist design fit for any pair of pants, shorts, or even dresses.
Best Sustainable Watches
Shinola
Made in the USA and putting modernity at the forefront of its designs, Shinola is best known for crafting timeless pieces with an eye for sustainability. Crafted with a durable vegan leather strap and eco-friendly sapphire crystal face, the Canfield 32 MM watch is among the classiest styles on the market. Beyond fashion-forward style, Shinola is also committed to supporting local communities and sustainability projects worldwide.
What to Look For When Shopping Sustainable
Sustainability goes much farther than avoiding brands that contribute to child labor and produce with genuine leather. In fact, shopping ethically includes a number of factors that go deeper than the surface, including:
Composition
Steering away from animal-derived textiles is just the beginning. Look for materials that are recycled, organic, or responsibly sourced to ensure minimal environmental impact. FSC-certified products help identify products that check all of these boxes.
Production
Consider where and how items are produced. Brands that prioritize fair labor practices, safe working conditions, and eco-friendly manufacturing processes are key to true sustainability. These should be made transparent on the brand’s website.
Impact
Beyond materials and production, think about the overall impact. This includes the carbon footprint of transporting goods, the brand’s commitment to reducing waste, and their efforts in supporting sustainability initiatives. These small efforts should also be made clear.
WRITING SAMPLE: FASHION WEEK COVERAGE
Rebecca Minkoff Dedicates Her SS20 Collection to the Working Girl
This New York Fashion Week, Rebecca Minkoff presented their Spring-Summer 2020 collection with another exciting feminine twist. As if it was a surprise, the designer made sure to incorporate all facets of what a woman could possibly look like, but this time–including her children. From having fun with the girls, to dedicated motherhood, this upcoming collection holds just about every need of the average working girl. From the hottest pinks for a brunch extravaganza to chill ensembles ready for a day out in the park with the family, this collection embodies the life of a true feminine. As stated by the brand, this warm collection “celebrates life.”
“I wanted to design from our origins of a west meets east coast sensibility, by integrating natural elements of the earth tones, floral patterns and silhouettes,” Rebecca Minkoff made note. The brand has been known at making the standard working woman a star, but this collection truly screamed feminine power across all of its elements. Not only had the presentation worked at making all women feel and look their best amidst the poppy atmosphere of ice cream and park benches, but it marked the first foray into Minkoff’s children’s wear fashion.
It is not a surprise to see another bold, stimulating presentation from Rebecca Minkoff, but the effort to push children’s sustainability into the industry is another remarkable milestone. The future plan for the brand is to continuing on releasing made-to-order items, triggered by a block-chain traceability system. As if that was the best it got, the label’s collection is entirely composed of biodegradable materials and uses 50% less water to produce than standard resources. Rebecca Minkoff has finally made it easier than ever for women, mothers, and their children of all shapes and sizes to enjoy fun fashion–in a sustainable fashion they can trust. The future for the woman has come.
Rebecca Minkoff’s children’s collection is said to launch online in February at www.littleminkoff.com. To shop the Spring-Summer 2020 womenswear collection, visit www.rebeccaminkoff.com for more information.
WRITING SAMPLE: BRAND PARTNERSHIP COVERAGE
Sustainability Maven, Reformation, Celebrates the Opening of Their Fourth NYC Store
Sustainable fashion connoisseur, Reformation, celebrates their store opening on Madison Ave. in Upper East Side. The label’s brick-and-mortar vacancy spreads far across New York City, with shops located all over Manhattan. Reformation announced its new tech-enabled experience last Thursday, attracting eco-conscious influencers and media alike.
The brand’s store concept is the best example of the future of fashion. In efforts to extending sustainability even further, the store’s stock remains at its lowest capacity, resisting production waste and surplus. As if that wasn’t enough, customer service is projected to be as seamless as possible, enabling customers to find their own size and information on touchscreens scattered throughout the space. This attempt at brick-and-mortar innovation holds a bright future, giving customers a chance to experience both online and on-site retail—all in one space.
As for selection, the options are endless. With less stock pile, Reformation is able to offer more styles with less space, organized by color scheme. Not only can sustainable shoppers ditch the retail mess headaches, but they can refer to countless editorial images from the wall fixtures. To emphasize the eco-shopping experience even further, silent video screens inform viewers on Reformation’s sustainability efforts.
If there’s one brand that does sustainability right, it’s this one. Their growth and expansion isn’t expected to stop here either. Shop with confidence and join the Reformation here.
WRITING SAMPLE: FASHION WEEK COVERAGE
Son Jung Wan's SS20 Show: The Ultimate Throwback
Trends come and go while classics tend to last forever—at least that’s what most industry experts claim. Son Jung Wan took the wild route, setting the bar high for what the seasons ahead have in store for its anticipating trends and colors. It would be a contradictive battle to claim the product line as trendy, showcasing the ultimate throwback trends of past decades.
The brand’s recent runway show at Spring Studios this New York Fashion Week proved the brand’s goal of delivering a throwback retro, yet polished flare. This backstage access delivers more than exclusive imagery, but a raw, candid glimpse from the past. The collection was the most exceptional peek into this upcoming year’s Spring and Summer fashion zeitgeist.
If there was one show at the recent New York Fashion Week who had ruled Spring 2020’s trend, the award would go to Son Jung Wan. Consumers expecting the Spring season to be saturated in light maxi and mini dresses, should expect a twist. Traditional Spring pinks and blues were replaced with cooler tones, incorporated with airy metallics, highlighter yellows, periwinkle shades, and every shade of white and off-white. Talk about the perfect transition from Autumn into Summer–Son Jung Wan defined Spring further than fashion has before, giving it the credit it deserves.
To differentiate these throwback styles, the collection resisted anything solid and basic, reinventing past decade trends into 3D textiles and embroidery, to high sheens jacquards, and never-seen color/textile pairings. There is no better time than 2020 to pull out the dated apparel. Not only is this collection an illustration of the history of fashion, its modern artistic approach is the ultimate neck-turner, jaw-dropper assortment. Where one would label Spring as the lightest season of the year, can now give it a whole new reputation.
View Son Jung Wan’s SS20 runway recap and collection here.
WRITING SAMPLE: DESIGNER INTERVIEW
Luxury Streetwear Label, Loveclosely, Redefines East Meets West Culture
Luxury streetwear label, Loveclosely, introduces to the industry a whole new meaning of east-meets-west luxury. Founded and led through a meaningful journey since 2018, the brand communicates rich rooted tradition, culture and history inspired by the Middle East and South Asia. In efforts to connect two ends of the world together, the label’s product lines illustrate a unique twist on the relationship between modern art and social consciousness across the globe. Making recent appearances on notable personalities such as French Montana, Roy Woods, Jessie Reyez, OVO 40, Yuna, Krewella, and others, Loveclosely is just one step closer to dominating both the fashion and entertainment industries.
The brand’s newest sustainable collection, “Birds of Love,” sets a new standard for luxury streetwear. Constructed from up-cycled textiles and patchwork, the newest pieces repurpose waste production in efforts to strive for a more environmentally-friendly version of luxury. The name, “Birds of Love,” has been claimed to derive from the Persian fable, “Conference of the Birds.” The story speaks of the search of happiness, for the birds to only find that true peace arises from within. This concept has been brought to the center of the newest collection in hopes for consumers to pull from the lesson and apply it to their lives.
As the industry enters its post quarantine era, many brands have found themselves in the modern struggle of adapting to the current retail climate. With the pressure push for representation saturating the industry, Loveclosely has turned its natural commitment into the new standard: transparent representation of people, culture and their values. While redefining what other brands have failed to portray, the label holds a special place in both streetwear and now a new vision for the future of fashion. With an ever-changing industry at its peak of differentiation, Loveclosely's contribution will surely leave an impact.
To dig deeper into the innovative brand, I interviewed the CEO and Creative Director himself, Taha Yousuf, about his intentions and creativity as the designer of Loveclosely.
Lianne Almeida: What inspired you to create Loveclosely and where did the name emerge from?
Taha: Loveclosely was founded to create meaningful streetwear rooted in tradition, culture, and history, specifically the vast amount of forgotten poetry, art, and culture from the Middle East & South Asia. By connecting the two worlds together, we are hoping to expose our community to the beauty of different cultures and traditions, and share it with the masses. The name is meant to resonate with our community to appreciate their innate passions, talents that differentiate from others and make them unique. It also aims to break down the negative connotations that may exist with the culture, and create a new perspective–one of beauty in fashion.
LA: What's the story behind your newest collection, Birds of Love?
T: This collection is inspired by the Persian fable, “Conference of the Birds,” a story of birds in search of happiness, only to find that true peace comes from within. Drawing inspiration from this Persian poem, we hope to encourage others to continue to focus on their personal and mental well-being. Especially during a time of quarantine and isolation, it’s important to find contentment outside of the regular daily life filled with work, school, and social obligations. We hope to create a new avenue of learning as a choice rather than a lesson.
LA: How do you think your brand plays a significant role in today’s retail climate post COVID-19 and beyond?
T: In a post-pandemic world, this East Meets West luxury brand doubles down on their message of creating meaningful apparel meant to resonate with their community. While other brands struggle to re-align to the new fashion climate, Loveclosely feels stronger than ever that the fashion community needs to be a leader in de-commercializing in order to truly represent the people & their values. As consumers become more conscious about the choices they make in life and in fashion, the complexity has increased for brands as well. Fashion now must be meaningful, carry a powerful message, and help to create a change that questions the status quo. The brand is also proud to take this step forward in sustainability as we continue to set the bar on how everyday fashion is consumed; not as a trend, but as an art-form.
LA: Your newest collection ‘Birds of Love’ is 100% sustainable. Can you elaborate on the development process and what it took to build a sustainable collection?
T: Design always comes first–using inspiration and innovation to create sketches and tech packs of what vision we would like to execute. Sourcing took the longest time and a lot of back and forth in order to find the right relationships with access to waste materials, and match the different colours and textiles accordingly. After being able to source appropriately, we were very hands-on with the development of samples. We went through about 3 iterations of different colours and back and forth with fabric textiles in order to arrive at the final sample; with which we went into production. The entire process, in all took 4-5 months.
LA: Where do you source your materials and production?
T: We work with a Canadian clothing manufacturer, producing goods locally, and internationally in Pakistan & China. In order to combat our concerns with ethical fashion, we directly interact with our factories to ensure we address exploitation of child workers and adult workers through unsuitable work environments, forced overtime, and subjection to physical and verbal abuse. Internal audits are performed on a regular basis, and compliance standards are met with regulatory authorities. We hope to also further improve our ethical standards through expansion, and pivot our factories solely to the Middle East / South Asia in the future.
Our factories have appropriate policies and controls in place to ensure minimizing of waste production and enforce protection of the environment. We recognize that cotton production, and specifically polyester can have an adverse impact on the world. Our mission is focused on empowering our community, and as such are striving to ensure we reduce the use of poly-based fabrics and better our environmental footprint. All our pieces are not meant to be fast fashion and are meant to last as essential wardrobe items to be worn for years. We are aiming to further better our sustainable apparel lines in the future through future releases. Stay tuned for more!
LA: What is your relationship with sustainability and why was it important for you to create the ‘Birds of Love’ collection in an ethical and sustainable manner?
T: We have only just started our relationship with gearing towards more sustainability in our clothing through this collection. We hope to continue to expand on this through positive reception with our community. It was important for this collection to speak directly to the current times, not only innately carrying a message, but empowering our community to think about the environment and the world around us.
