On Wednesday 1 October, the Orangery at Blenheim Palace will have been transformed into a runway worthy of London Fashion Week as the Sustainable Fashion Show by Cherwell Collective returns for its second year.
Serving as the Oxford hub for the UK-wide Sustainable Fashion Week, this initiative seeks to spotlight the inspiring designs and options on offer for style-conscious shoppers while raising awareness of the environmental impact of fast fashion and excessive consumption. Following what promises to be an unforgettable evening, original pieces from the show will be sold at a charity auction next month. This is reused, recycled and repurposed taken to absolutely fabulous new levels.
Oxfam will be taking part, showcasing second-hand style onlineshop.oxfam.org.uk and designers Rocqu and Emily Martinez focus on innovation in textile materials.
Emily Martinez’s grape dress is made from 100% biodegradable garments using innovative technologies like shibori fabric manipulation, creating agar bioplastics, and more. (carboncostfashion@gmail.com)
Rocqu forages leaves to create innovative new leather-like hand stitched pieces. rocqu100@gmail.com
Waste Innovation Station (WISH) creators Julie Bunn and Molliemae Cox will be closing the show with their conceptual designs repurposing waste products. Their fantastical creations will, Cherwell Collective’s Managing Director, Dr Emily Connally promises us, be “worthy of the pages of Vogue”.
If you are interested in commissioning a bespoke piece, please contact Julie by email juliecbunn@icloud.com or pop into the WISH community hub and shop at 4 The Parade, Kidlington.
We asked Dr Emily Connally what her vision was in planning the event and she told us: “Our vision is to inspire people to think about daily choices we all make, and how when those choices come together – across weeks, months, years, people, communities, and nations – they can cumulate into broader movement influencing industry.
"We showcase these possibilities on the runway with inclusive models so that all people can really see themselves in sustainable fashion. We want to revitalise what was once a bustling fashion community in Oxfordshire. Throughout the evening BBC Radio Oxford’s Sophie Law will be engaging the audience with fast fashion quizzes. This approach to climate action is one of a kind and is the driving force behind the National Lottery Award which funds our environmental partnership (WISH).
This is the Cherwell Collective’s second year at Blenheim. Last year’s show was aimed at raising awareness of the carbon cost of fashion and this year’s event, Ripples of Change, reflects “people doing a few small things over the course of days and weeks and months. The end result is often so seamless that people forget it is the result of hundreds of tiny ripples. "
So, what’s next?
"Our long-term hope in acting as the Oxfordshire Hub for Sustainable Fashion Week is to one day rebrand it simply as Oxford Fashion Week, achieving the dream of setting sustainable practices as the gold standard for all local fashion houses. That dream, like all visions, starts with one small drop which creates a ripple, in turn building to a tidal wave of change.”
What are some of the greatest challenges you encountered when putting the show together? Saying no to the wealth of local talent was the hardest part and we really hope to be able to grow this show for future years to be able to include all of the incredible, responsible, and considerate designers with ties to Oxfordshire." And what do you enjoy the most?
"For me, the most fun aspect is in collaboration, bringing partners together in new and fun ways and including people in the process to let them take ownership of parts of the show. We have had dozens of volunteers supporting with this for months now which is what makes the evening so special. We are collaborating with the inestimable Lady Boss Events who is volunteering as our stage manager on the evening but behind the scenes has also been training our amateur models on walking to show the creations off to the best of their ability. We have long partnered with Oxford University Development and Begbroke Science Park and also Oxford United Football Club in the community. This year, we are bringing football fashion into the fold and working with the incredible women stars, with two players modelling reimagined uniforms by talented local designer, Imogen Barrow-Starkey.”
Dr Emily Connally herself will be closing the show in an ensemble made from a Quinceñera dress which – like prom dresses in year 11 – are often worn once and then discarded. It has been made runway-ready with flowers and grasses destined for landfill, (via the Cherwell Larder).
Photo: Katrin Dr
See the incredible show-stopping pieces from the Cherwell Collective's Sustainable Fashion Show, Ripples of Change, in auction at JS Fine Art’s Pre-Christmas sale in Bodicote, Banbury on Saturday 15 November. Bid for your own one-of-a-kind piece made by local Oxfordshire designers on the forefront of fashion innovation. For more information, visit cherwellcollective.com
