Fashion / Fashion independents
Label lovers
When it comes to thinking about living a more sustainable lifestyle in 2018, it’s doesn’t mean not buying clothes: just thinking about when you buy from. The garments made by these five Bristol independents are sustainably made, either by hand or using sustainable processes, and they produce small collections of high-quality garms that will last a lot longer than your fast-fashion Primarni buys, with a lot more love and hard work put in. From sustainable fashion, knitwear to festival style, Bristol certainly has it covered – and these five local fashion brands are ones to watch in 2018.
Tamay and Me unisex hand embroidered jackets
Tamay and Me
is needed now More than ever
Producing beautiful handmade unisex jackets for both adults and kids, Bristol-based designer Hannah Cowie has collaborated with embroiderer Ly Ta Ma, from North Vietnam, who uses traditional Dzao methods to create indigo cotton jackets. They use zero waste patterns, as well as home grown, spun, woven and dyed cotton and indigo, produced in the same North Vietnamese village by the Red Dzao community. Every bit of these jackets is locally sourced; even the embroidery threads are reclaimed from old clothes and the silk threads are hand plaited. Hannah and Ta May hope to raise awareness of the Dzao’s exceptional embroidery skills and to provide reliable and flexible employment in their community, producing these spectacular and unique jackets.
Prices range from £75 for kids’ jackets to £135 for adults.
Tamay and Me mens jacket
Insane in the Rain
This environmentally-conscious brand create super cool rain jackets using fabric upcycled from plastic bottles, with each jacket produced containing 17–23 bottles that would otherwise have gone to landfill or into our oceans. The Happy Jacket, as it’s known, looks great in various colours and prints: perfect for the winter months and festival seasons. Plus, you’ll be keeping a little bit of plastic away from the dolphins and helping in a fight for a plastic-free planet. The Happy Jacket is unisex, and is also available in children’s sizes.
Kids’ coats start from £65, while adult sizes are from £95.
Insane in the Rain sustainable raincoats
RB Knitwear
Knitwear designer Ria Burns creates her fun handmade garments, accessories and homewares from her Bristol based studio using vintage knitting machines. She sources her yarn from mill end stock, vintage sources or sustainable British suppliers. Her knitting style includes bright patterns, like leopard print, geometrics and her signature flamingos, and Ria incorporates them into products ranging from beanie hats to bespoke garments. RB Knitwear is available on Etsy, with selected accessories available at That Thing on Stokes Croft. Ria also takes on commission pieces for those looking for a unique piece.
Accessories start from £20-£30, and from £55 to £140 for knitted garments.
Leopard print legwamers, flamingo bobble hat and Bowie jumper by RB Knitwear
Grove and Co
Founded by friends Tristan and Ben, with a mission to create the best shirt they had ever owned – something high quality, a great fit and that would last much longer than mass produced shirts – this newly-launched sustainable menswear company promises big things in 2018. Together with Tristan’s sister Joss, a pattern cutter and designer, they create high-quality shirts on small runs of 10-15 items, and as a contrast to the high street’s fast fashion, these guys create slow fashion ranges that are unique and sustainable.
Shirts range from £105-£120
Handmade shirts by Grove and co
Laa Woof
Inspired by a clash attack of the 80s and RuPaul’s Drag Race, fashion designer Laura Wood, aka Laa Woof, creates magnificent, eye-catching garms covered in sparkles and colour, perfect for clubbers and festivals – or just to add some quirky glam to any day of the week. The self-confessed fabric hoarder creates these amazing handmade collections and limited-edition pieces that are certainly unique and awe-inspiring. Laura is currently working on a new collection inspired by female empowerment and girl gangs, due to drop later this month. The Laa Woof range includes catsuits, kimonos and bomber jackets, that come in an explosion of colour, sparkles and print clashes: the perfect way to stand out from the crowd in 2018. Laa Woof is available at Rex: The Concept Store in Cabot Circus, and is soon to appear on WEKOKO.
Prices range from £25 to £150.
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LaaWoofUK
Laa Woof tassle catsuits
Laa Woof leggings and kimonos
Read our fashion editor Emma’s blog No Debutante
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