Fold and Unfold

24th April will mark the one year anniversary since 1,133 people died in the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh.  It will now henceforth be known as Fashion Revolution Day, as Carry Somers, founder of ethical fashion label Pachacuti and Orsola de Castro, will be encouraging everyone and anyone to use fashion as a power to do good.  We’re asked to be curious about the origin of what we wear and so everyone can get involved by Tweeting, Facebooking or emailing the brand of your favourite piece of clothing, worn #InsideOut to ask them “Who Made Your Clothes?”  My interview with de Castro earlier in the year wasn’t just a one-off gesture.  I’ll be getting involved by asking a whole series of #InsideOut questions.  We shall see what answers come back in this united bid to seek out transparency from fashion brands.

Photograph by Koo for The Cut

One designer that doesn’t need to be turned inside out is Flavia la Rocca.  Originally from Rome, but now based in Milan, Flavia comes from a PR background but since 2011 has started her own label with a difference.  Flavia approaches sustainability in a number of ways.  The foundation core of her clothing is based on the idea of interchageable modules.  “The Folded Looks” series developed for SS14 comprises of a number of components with specially concealed zippers – a top that can be elongated, a pencil skirt that can then be adapted into a mini skirt or a mid-length skirt with a flounce, and the two can be connected to create a dress.  It’s eight outfits in one, handily folded up into a pouch, that saves energy and resources on the part of manufacturer and for the wearer, encourages a less-is-more approach.  Flavia doesn’t ignore the origin of her materials either as she a) makes everything entirely in Italy and b) uses a material called Newlife, made from plastic bottles to convert into a high performance thread.  It ticks the right  boxes without sacrificing or scrimping on design.  I’ve already had firsthand experience of Flavia’s concealed zipper action as she very kindly sent me a pair of red striped dungarees from one of her earlier capsule collections that a number of people have been asking me about, regardless of Flavia’s green credentials.  Yoox.com have just introduced the S/S 14 collection featuring a few of these combi-pieces as part of their Master & Muse project, selected by Amber Valetta.

Flavia’s A/W 14 collection was the breakout hit of the Esthetica showcase at London Fashion Week.  It carries on that combi-zippered structure with the major change-up being the core fabric – an ultra soft regenerated and recycled wool, made out of surplus fabric.  Shirts can be cropped, sweatshirt sleeves can be elongated and coats can be shortened into a jacket.  Wool check tunics can be worn in a myriad of ways.  And the zippers are still subtly concealed to provide a smooth transition from one form to another.  Flavia’s forward thinking extends to the way she sells her clothes as most of her A/W 14 collection is currently available to pre-order at a discounted (and might I add, very reasonable) pricing on crowd-funded fashion site Wowcracy.  You can take immediate action by supporting her Wowcracy project, and that would be a fine starting point when looking at fashion #InsideOut.