I feel jet lagged! Yesterday I got up at 2 o’clock in the morning to get everything ready for a new fashion shoot. At 2.45 my sister Åse who’s a model arrived with our stylist Christine, and we started doing hair and make up. Two hours later we hit the road for Särö, a beautiful coast village south of Gothenburg.
The place turned out to be the perfect for a crew of seven people with loads of equipment. We found a number of different locations at a walking distance of five minutes.
We started at sunrise with Åse balancing her high heels on a little cliff above the water. One or two early joggers looked really surprised passing by… As we continued with a shot in the middle of the wild beach grass the light was amazing – I’m already in love with that picture! I also like the classic scenario with Åse standing in the water wearing rubber boots, and of course the close ups in the woods.
My artistic vision when planning the shoot was to add an arty touch to our Saab Pure Bio Collection, and to enhance the Nordic feeling by using natural locations. I brought some vintage accessories from the fashion show in New York, and made Åse look like an edgy ferry with her dark eyes and her rough, curly hair. My idea was to show how to make fashion out of our quite basic collection . Of course I haven’t seen the final result yet, but I’m quite sure we’ll get at least three amazing pictures.
Everyone worked constantly for about seven hours without any major problems. Or, almost everyone - I took a nice break by myself, watching the sun and gasping at the amazing villas around the bay.
At about eleven we wrapped things up and returned to civilization; me and Åse went for a big brunch!
Stay reflective!Josefin
Dear reflector,
By the start of February I went to Paris to check out So Ethic.
So Ethic is the name of the part of the gigantic fashion fair in Paris, Prêt-à-Porter, where ethical and ecological fashion brands from all over the world are exhibited.A small corner including about 70 brands is probably a fairly good visualization of the fair-trade percentage on the global fashion scene. Natural woods, green details, offering ecological coffee and juice…so very ethic!But still- this fashion monster in Porte de Versaille, containing 12 sections divided into 9 fashion- and 3 accessory- “universe”, all together 65.000 square meters exhibiting 1.500 brands for 43.000 visitors and 1.100 journalists, after all choose for it´s 103:d season to show ethical fashion.As a matter of fact, the number of exhibitors at So Ethic actually increases about 100% each season, and now, for the 3: d season offers over 70 ethical fashion brands.
As far as I know, it is the first time we see a conscious gathering and exposal of ethical brands at a fashion faire, and this time it is not even a small local version, but rather one of the biggest and most established fashion fairs in the capitol of fashion. I remember, a couple of years ago, asking for a separate division for sustainable textiles at the big textile fair in the same city, Premiére Vision, and got a really unfriendly answer, that if I wanted to find out witch suppliers who carried eco-textiles, I had to go through the exhibitors list, and check their individual homepage out. Totally cold, so to say.
But those were the times. Today we see a whole new branch of the fashion tree about to establish itself, find its form and actors. We see a calf-legged structure about to form. So far, ethical fashion has been forced to live side by side by “usual” fashion, being exposed at the same fairs and meet the same buyers. One of the big difficulties has been to integrate the ethical brands along with their more established cousins on the hangers of the shops. They didn’t quite fit in; the buyers thought it was a bit too hard to guide their personnel in this hard defined jungle and the costumer maybe just didn’t think about asking for fair-trade or even read the text in small print on the hang-tags. Completely understandable!
David against Goliath in the second most money-generating industry in the world.Now, as a change, it is being talked of”green as the new black”, meaning ecological fashion as a standard. We experience a deficit of raw material and fair-trade products, the costumers want it and all the big fashion magazines with self-respect publish “Green Special”. What happened, really? Are we riding a tsunami trend invoked by the Weather Gods? Or are we floating in a new IT-bubble? Or is ethical fashion really getting established as a new global economy? Or what?! In building nr.7, on the third level, it is situated.All the companies exhibiting their clothes at So Ethic, have to make an application and fill in the ethical questionnaire, where it is described why the collection is ecological, how and where it is produced, textiles used etc. There after the paper is signed to certify the honesty and that the participants fully understand the meaning of Ethical Fashion.Some brands are not approved.The 70 brands that exhibit this season, has accepted the following “playing rules”:
On the spot I experience some sort of pioneering spirit, and I get that feeling confirmed by Matthew Allen, the man behind So Ethic. We meet over an ecological espresso, for a small talk about fashion and ethics.He is a slim man in his 30´s, dressed in a trendy suit and pointed shoes. His eyes are glowing as he explains.
- There has been a good vibe here from the very start, the exhibitors help each other and get together and we have got amazingly positive feedback both from the world press and the head of our organization, Prêt-à-Porter. I am so pleased and proud of the success it has become!Matthew Allen is an Englishman in Paris. He used to study arts in N.Y. and came to Paris to work with Maison Martin Margiela. That was where he fell in love with the line 0 10, designed exclusively of recycled fabrics.All the pieces fell into place as he met with the sales manager of Prêt-à-Porter in N.Y. and they decided to establish So Ethic.
- Each season ethical fashion gains more importance, every week I discover existing labels who are proposing their new ecological or socially conscious line and new designers and labels are appearing regularly who propose positive fashion alternatives. Ethical fashion is rapidly growing in importance in the industry. The big French department stores are starting to catch-on and even H&M are bringing out an organic cotton line in March 2007. There are so many examples of growing interest in ethical fashion including a VIP key audience: teenagers!! Ethical fashion is a broad spectrum of all of the styles and genres you usually find in fashion: From sports wear, street wear, urban wear, sneakers, high-end shoes to Haute Couture etc. Everyone can dress ethically and its becoming more and more possible, the world over.....
- Its not a question of style, it’s a question of making every aspect of a given business ethically sound; it’s the moral aspect, a question of respect. Respect of other human beings and their future and the future of those not even born yet and the respect of our earth and nature which are in terrible danger.... The difficulties with ethical fashion is still that it is usually more expensive and many people still think of it as un-stylish and boring.
Matthew has to move on in his fully booked agenda so we have to finish our discussion.
- Until the next season we will try to grow even more and still keep the high standard of exhibitors…alongside I am trying to exchange all vehicles used by Prêt-à-Porter Paris to Hydro Mini Coopers.
We say thank you and goodbye. I stay a while watching the video installation that high-end ecofashion brand Edun produced especially for So Ethic. Matthew is already involved with a new group of people. It is the President of Prêt-à-Porter, Mr. Mocho, and a French minister, who officially agree about norms and guidelines of ethical fashion in front of the gathered Medias.`Cause here, in Paris, people are very aware of the power of fashion, and now it is ethics that rules.So so very ethic.Inspiring ethical fashion according Matthew Allen (in alphabetical order):
Talk to you soon,Yours, Josefin
This is my first letter to you in this form. My first blog text, and how I have longed for this moment! ?Outside the wind is moaning, and the black, bare branches of the trees are dancing- it is astonishing beautiful.
I take the chance to be still and silent and connect – putting out the direction for the week to come and the work related tasks to be performed. I see a lot of people at the moment, looking for the right Reflective Team, and need a good focus.
Yesterday I woke up, after a late night out dancing with my friends, to blue skies and an uncommonly mild weather. I immediately wanted to get out, and opened my window to find out witch coat to put on. There, just by my side was my neighbor, taking the opportunity to clean his windows. I said good morning, and we had a really nice chat hanging out the windows. Since the conversation was getting more and more interesting I told him I’d come over. There in his kitchen, with his kids around, playing online games, we had a wonderful talk about life, the meaning of it, work and play and suddenly it stoke me that this man, my neighbor for many years, who I had many nice, neighbors smalltalks with and with who I spent many times in the backyard with my little ones playing, was also a perfect member of the Reflective advisory network, with unique and broad skills within fields appropriate for my business. Found next door! Thank you!!!
This made me more aware of the different ways of creating things. It is a really old one, and still…dig where you stand! I just couldn’t get it more obvious, could I? Either you create through really hard work, afraid of what might happen if you fail, or you create through asking and receiving.The subject of work and rest has been central for me during the last year. Being one of those people who is truly passionate about their work , and adding to that an old inherited gene of performance anxiety, I have used half my life working too much, being quite badly burnt out a couple of times. The difficulty is always to keep the balance, to get the job done, working up the high energies, but then to be courageous enough to stop…and get some rest.
I new there had to be other ways to manifest, but once you are there, riding the high waves of creating, working, getting results, it is hard to let go. You keep pushing and pushing and you WANT, you DESIRE you ARE GOING TO MAKE the result that you fantasize of. It is like a drug and makes you the addict. The strange thing is that you believe that that condition is your natural and true self, but when you fall down (witch you always will) or when (God forbid) some other part of your life calls on your attention, like family, friends, your health or else, that is nothing but a distraction steeling that precious time of yours. And following every high, comes implacable a down. Then”something” is wrong. Most probably it is someone (or something) else’s fault and you are a failure and a looser. After feeling sorry for yourself cursing the unfair circumstances you get back to it. Fight it.Does this make you a more interesting person?Does this make your working results better?Does this make you happy?Of cause not.
I will give you an alternative picture:You decide for yourself that everything you need is there for you at the right moment. You dare to let the space-in-between, time for reflection, into your life and see how time is suddenly expanding. Once you accept not to identify yourself as the one carrying everything onwards (seriously, you can’t really believe that you carry everyone around you?! ? Superman or Superwoman) you can simply accept the assistance from life and people around you, and do YOUR PART when the time is right. In this way you don’t get drained of energy, but rather get new energy from doing your job, you let other people be and feel important, witch will make them grow and you will get truly giving relations. Instead of constantly keeping your brain solving problems, you will be present when you spend time with kids and family. And with yourself.This is courageous!
It is very hard and very easy at the same time. Very hard because our western society is built on the opposite structure, and no one (or very few) will applaud you. But it is also very easy, since this is the most natural way to create, and the earnings you receive is so rich- a more joyful, vivid, loving and fruitful life!Suddenly it is hard to know whether it is job or rest you are performing. I believe sometimes resting is the greatest work you can perform. Is”work” to be defined after effort made or after results made?
Was that work or rest in my neighbor’s kitchen yesterday?
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