Two emerging creative enterprises – fashion label Ampersander and fine art consultancy Lineaist – have teamed up to create Silver Linings, a pop-up shop in Darlinghurst, Sydney, showcasing new collections of ethical fashion and textiles for this week’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia.
The pop-up’s showpiece, a collaboration between Ampersander’s Angela Nash and Jonathan Blackwell of Lineaist, is a limited edition textile design inspired by the latter’s painting Trinity Abstract and printed on twenty metres of fluid white silk.
According to Blackwell, the collectable fashion piece, made from sustainable materials and locally produced, is a statement about the need for more consideration of ethics in the clothing and textile industry.
“Silver Linings refers to the positive aspect of ethical clothing, which we want to highlight [for] fashion week,” says Blackwell.
Ampersander’s recent collection Fresh Frocks, launched at the pop-up’s opening, sports the Ethical Clothing Australia accreditation.
“I want to encourage people to consider the impact of their purchase, where and how it was made, who it impacts. It’s important to me personally, and to my brand, to offer a product that has been independently accredited for ethical work practices,” Nash says.
Accreditation used to be under the No Sweat Shop banner. In 2010 this became Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA). The change has given small businesses more opportunity to meet the standards.
“When I first looked into accreditation is was quite expensive, but a few years ago, it became more affordable and more suitable for small businesses outsourcing work rather than employing people,” says Nash.
“There was a lot of paperwork, I had to sign documents for every manufacturer [I use] certifying that their employees are paid fairly. But that’s good – it means it’s not a rubber stamp. Ampersander is one out of 80 Ethical Clothing Australia fashion labels catering to…customers who want to buy ethical,” she says.
Nash’s business has not been without setbacks.
Prior to the launch of her first collection in 2005, Nash studied at Sydney’s Whitehouse Institute of Design before being awarded a prized scholarship to complete a masters degree in Florence, Italy. Then, after a promising start, Nash made the hard decision to pull Ampersander from the market after just five seasons.
“Being a young designer I took on too many consignment orders which made cash flow difficult,” she says.
Nash re-launched after a twelve-month hiatus, quickly attracting local and international buyers. Her new collection is feminine, unstructured and relaxed.
“Vivienne Westwood [a headline partner with the International Trade Centre Ethical Fashion Initiative] said that we could save the world through fashion. It’s amazing to have a large designer taking those steps towards ethical design and supporting manufacturers. My vision is to help link Australia to the global ethical clothing movement,” Nash says.
Ethical Clothing Australia spokesperson Claire Grigaut says the international trend towards a more ethical fashion industry is rapidly gaining momentum.
“People are tired of hearing of incidents like fires in clothing factories in Bangladesh. Accredited brands such as well known Australian labels Veronica Maine, Cue Clothing, Carla Zampatti and Collette Dinnigan, as well as emerging labels, are ideally placed to capture a healthy slice of the growing market for sustainable and ethical fashion,” Grigaut says.
While not yet at the stage of holding twice-yearly ethical fashion shows as Paris does, the Australian ethical fashion movement is increasingly visible. Last month Melbourne hosted Fashion Box, a sustainable ethical fashion forum as part of fashion month with panelists textile manufacturer New Model Beauty Queen’s designer Dale Cornell and Vicki Sterling from Bonds Clothing.
Plus the annual Undress Brisbane ethical fashion show features established and emerging sustainable designers showcasing no-waste collections, ethical production, food dyed garments, natural fibres and unique pieces made from off-cuts.
Ethical fashionistas can join the Facebook group Sustainable Fashion Australia.
A small but notable handful of designers, including Ginger & Smart, and Roopa Pemmaraju will fly the ethical flag at this week’s fashion week, held at Carriageworks, Redfern.
The Silver Linings pop-up shop is located at U-N-M on 118 Oxford St, Darlinghurst, 7-14 April.
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