ETHICAL FASHION WEEK BERLIN - PART III

To tie up the end of my reporting from EFS - here is my latest discovery for upcycled accessories.

I instantly fell in love with this chunky silver metal bracelet by Finnish brand Mifuko which I spotted at the exhibition's E-werk site. The label's products combine traditional African workmanship with Scandinavian design. For their cast aluminium & brass jewellery collection made from recycled metal scraps they collaborated with Kenyan artisan Steve Kine who lives & works in the Kibera slum in Nairobi. Watch his amazing story here...

It's brilliant to see jewellery being approached this way with the ultimate aesthetic upcycling challenge to create something desirable from waste.  I think Mifuko totally pulled it off, so much so that immediately after the show I went to buy the bracelet for myself.  If you live in Berlin you can purchase the bracelet & more Mifuko jewellery here...

ROHstoff ❤ Mifuko

ETHICAL FASHION WEEK BERLIN - PART II

@ Elsien Gringhuis

@ Elsien Gringhuis

@ Aliki van der Kruijs

@ Elsien Gringhuis

Straight after I finished my facebook post about the british upcycling showroom I went down to check out the green showroom at Adlon hotel which showcased sustainable luxury & high-end labels.  Here I revisited label Elsien Gringhuis which I had already discovered at last season's fashion week. The unusual but rather glamorous venue provided the perfect contrast to the designer's sleek & modern designs. Aiming for low environmental impact from minimal waste pattern drafts to conscious choice of natural materials Elsien's creations have a timeless quality to it which makes them credible long time wardrobe classics.  The beautifully tailored trousers & boxy jacket for their S/S14 collection are the results of collaborating with textile designer Aliki van der Kruijs who creates prints through a technique called hydrography which allows her to capture water movement - in this case rain!   I also got to try on this amazing hooded cape made from beeswax coated cotton. I love the unexpected texture and sculptur-like silhouette, with a little tuck you can change your entire look....❤

Check out Elsien Gringhuis' recent collection here!

ETHICAL FASHION WEEK BERLIN - PART I

My second time at Ethical Fashion Show Berlin got off to a brilliant start with the 'British Upcycling Showroom' - an amazing demonstration of British 

award winning & cutting edge fashion labels with resourceful skills pushing the boundaries in low impact fashion.

Massive congratulations to the team at Upcycling Fashion Store, concept store for upcycled fashion in Berlin for hosting this fab installation which included exclusive clips of collections from British designers 'From Somewhere', 'Goodone', 'Antiform' and 'a case of...'  

as well as a dance performance by independent dance group 'zeitgetroffen-KOLLEKTIV'. To watch their steps follow the link.

ROHstoff UPCYCLE WORKSHOP!!!

Zealous to spread the 'ROHstoff' message I ran the first UPCYCLE workshop this Thursday at Naehinstitut Moritzplatz in the heart of the capital's most diverse & style exuberant district X-berg.

On my agenda was to illustrate how easy it is to find inspiration for 'new' clothes just by searching your wardrobe for things you no longer wear and transforming them into cool custom-made designs.

Everyone brought some preloved things they wanted to 'refresh' so I demonstrated a brief introduction to sewing techniques & gave individual design suggestions to kick-start the ROHstoff process.

Then the girls set about constructing their own wearable creations with a passion & energy that left the air crackle.

We had an absolute blast when everyone realised how easy it is even if you've never used a sewing machine before and after only minutes they were cutting, slicing, tucking & darting.  Here are a few snaps of the gorgeous designs and slogan Tshirts the girls came up with and from the fun of the 'ROHstoff' process ❤.....

BLOG LAUNCH PARTY

  

Last Saturday ROHstoff got together long time London friends and new Berliner friends for the label's first party to officially launch its new blog...

The space was transformed into an actual swap-shop keeping in line with the label's core ethical approach to reuse and cut down waste.  Guests could bring preloved wardrobe items & refresh their outfits with 'new' ones.

Additional party treats included an exclusive blog preview & a free upcycling workshop where party guests had the opportunity to create a ring from left-over denim. Head over to the post to see how.

A HUGE thank you to the ROHstoff crowd & everyone who came!!!

Special thanks to Mikael & Kat for all your support, Tassie & James for your skilled snapping, Iona & Gwen for your helpful hints & the gorgeous Layla for sharing your expertise, mixing the tunes & keeping me sane....
MUCH LOVE.....XXX