New onto the ethical design scene is the Conscious Designers Collective, which launched last month. CDC is a collective for ethical designers to showcase and promote their ethical fashion ranges. House of Tammam and Elena Garcia took centre stage at the collective's Esthetica stand this season.

House of Tammam shows off skilled classical tailoring with its stunning wild silk and bamboo satin materials, made by people working in Nepal and India. Lucy Tammam's label is highly fashionable, wearable and gorgeously feminine.




Elena Garcia, part of the Consious Designers Collective also shows what can be done with an eco luxury range. Elena's eco couture designs use felt on silk and other sustainably gorgeous fabrics. Her designs flow around female contours to beautiful effect.



The designs at Esthetica carried many wearable designs, and Anatomy epitomises chic classic wearability. New to Esthetica, UK design label Anatomy was founded in 2005 by designer Claire Macauley and uses natural and organic fabrics from sustainable sources. Claire's designs are made from peace silk - a raw silk, hand spun and woven in India by tribal groups using traditional methods. She also uses hemp silk and hemp linen grown without harmful pesticides and fertilisers, dyed especially for the label and printed with their unique Anatomy design. Anatomy's Spring/Summer 09 collection takes inspiration from the couture of the 40's and 50's - chic tailoring and feminine lines - and the simplicity and modernity of the 60's. The result is a collection of timeless, sophistocated classics. I often lament there is little ethical fashion to wear in a professional environment, and Anatomy answers this brief. I enjoyed meeting Claire very much, and I hope the exhibition was a success for her, as Claire hopes to attract boutique buyers. This would be good for all of us, as Britain desperately needs ethical fashion labels on the High Street.



Another 09 collection that draws inspiration from the 1940's, in particularly Rita Hayworth, is Article 23. Article 23's designer Naia Rico draws on her multicultural roots (Danish mother and Portugese father) and produces a sportswear and eveningwear collection from responsible fabrics such as non-violent silk and organic voile and poplin cotton as shown below in this sensual bustier dress. Produced in India by a women's cooperative, this label is deeply committed to both its labour and environmental conditions.


Stewart+Brown also epitomises wearability and entered the ethical design movement in 2002 as 'organic pioneers'. The label only uses organic cotton, a variety of renewable green fibres, mongolian cashmere, eco friendly premium knitwear and factory surplus in their pursuit of sustainability. For their 09 Spring and Summer collections, Stewart+Brown have also introduced Japanese tissue cotton: It's featherweight woven fabric has been tailored to a diversity of styles, including lightweight dresses, slips and blouses. All in all, their casual chic collection is bound to be a hit among style lovers. Again, Devidoll.com has been smart to retail the Los Angeles-based brand where its current collections are available.


A favourite among many ethical fashion savvy buyers has long been Ciel. Designer Sarah Ratty introduced her ecclectic Spring/Summer 09 collection, where inspiration has been drawn from the steamy jungle tropics to disco jungle, as well as a feminine floaty collection of summer pieces, perfect for a summer evening. As ever, Ciel's easy wear has been fashioned using a variety of innovative sustainable fabrics, such as organic cotton sateen stretch, recycled cotton wood and hemp silk.



For me, Enamore's sustainably gorgeous styles have always caught my eye, and Jennifer Ambrose, the lady behind this saucy label put on a fabulous London Fashion Week party. It was a hoot; I arrived when the burlesque girls were in force, putting on a show for the party-goers. And Enamore's catwalk really showed off what Enamore do best: Cheeky, highly wearable clothes. Even better, the models were real women, not your emanciated sticks who strutted their stuff down the major LFW runways. Enamore's range and brand just gets better and better.



Another edgy eco fashion brand is Prophetik. 'Caritate', Latin for true unconditional love, is the chosen name for their S/S 09 collection and is characterised by skinny hemp jeans, reversible sustainable vests, women's reversible skirts and positive graphic driven tees. Not surprisingly, the label is coveted by DJs, creatives, activists and poets. But what I love most is that they also offer cool wear for kids. About time! Well done to Jeff Garner, the designer behind this hip philosophical brand.



Refashioning clothes from cast-off fabrics and up-cycling them into distinct wearable fashions was also a strong theme of Estethica 08. New onto the ethical scene is Minna, offering eco fabulously feminine clothes. Minna Hepburn, the label's designer takes fairtrade organic cotton and uses vintage Scottish lace and remnants found in antique stores to embellish her designs. I was also thrilled to see their beautiful range for little ones. Minna is definitely one to watch.



Myco Anna, who launched their Canadian ethical label back in 1995, produces at least 50 garments a year, partly or wholly from recycled materials and are all fairly traded. Their colourful designs are the ideal choice to boldly express environmental values. Their eye-catching clothes, a big hit on the other side of the Atlantic, are now available to us thanks to online retailing. Myco Anna deserves a lot of attention on this side of the pond. While I don't have photos to showcase their new 09 collection, here's a snapshot of what's currently available for Winter 08.



Junky Styling will spring to mind for those who love deconstructed, re-cut and recycled wears, and the edgy label's S/S 09 collection will not disappoint fans. Junky Styling celebrates individuality, as no two pieces are alike. Created in the early 1990s, the label's founders, Annika Sanders and Kerry Seager have traditionally taken old men's suits and transformed them into creative fashion pieces for those who wish to stand out from the crowd. But this distinctive fashion label is now taking its brand to a wider audience, such as recycling workshops in schools, a concession in Top Shop's flagship Oxford Street store and are soon to release a book called Wardrobe Surgery. Exciting stuff! These catwalk show photos by Duncan Bone will give you a strong flavour for Junky Styling's collection arriving next year.




Thirteen designers from the designer collective Revamp were present at Estethica this year. I was immediately drawn to this stunning halter dress with belt and silk drop, designed by Jane De Bono. Pictured here with a necklace by Kotomi Yamamura, Jane's handmade revamped designs are from materials sourced locally to her Spitalfields studio.

REVAMP, led by Canadian designer Jen Ruppert, offers young designers the benefits of pooling resources to get these creative young designers in front of a larger audience. The collective currently showcases the designs of twenty-six up and coming eco conscious designers.

Pictured below is a cashmere sweater design by Marina Pivot. To boost exposure for REVAMP, they have partnered with Cancer Research UK to give them a presence on the High Street.


Last, but by no means least, is Oxfam. Their boutiques are the ultimate eco fashion outlets on the High Street, and have done fabulously well to stock some high profile and talented eco designs.

Their sustainable wears come in 5 key themes: Good Fashion Sense, including Seasalt, Junky Styling, Casa Copenhagen, Voodoo Blue; Made with Love, designs from creative volunteers using donated fabrics; Loved for Longer, offering their best donated fashion pieces, including vintage; Reinvented, using clothing that's been restyled by designers, including Jumble and Defray; and Fairtrade, featuring Kazuri, Green Knickers, Amana and of course People Tree (pictured right), who also had their own stand at Estethica.

Judging by the success of the People Tree catwalk show, Oxfam will be a highly sought after store for the masses to view People Tree and other fab ethical designs. This is indeed an exciting time for Oxfam, its causes and their customers.


People Tree's catwalk placard "Cut the green wash" says it all. And Estethica's exhibitors back this statement up wholeheartedly. Mainstream designers take note. There's no need for the green wash or the environmental and social harm when we consider what the eco designers are achieving. Yes, we can have both timeless and fashion forward designs without costing the earth. Well done Estethica exhibitors, your work should make the earth loving movements proud.


For more eco designs, check out The GIN Lady's ethical fashion and beauty bazaar. And to keep up with the latest eco news and views, subscribe to our weekly glossy ginmail! And come back in a few days time, as we're also publishing an Estethica article on the accessory exhibits.