The UK-based fashion label continues to be the frontrunner for environmentally conscious clothing
Text and photography by Isaac Hodgson
Holiday shopping is not as fun as it once was. There’s an overwhelming amount of choice, and prices are hiking for the same low-quality high-street fashion. But Phoebe English’s new slowly designed capsule collection is here to help.
The collection is the perfect blend of festive yet wearable all year round boasting tasteful bright colours. This is because an estimated 7.8 million Brits will buy new outfits for the party season, many to be worn once. “Once you know the scale of how much we’re producing and how much we’re wasting, it’s really hard to design without that in mind”, says Phoebe. It features eight items created using upcycled clothing “such as t-shirts, dead stock plaid, occasional party wear, and dead stock wools”.
Inside the pop-up shop on Shoreditch High St, free clothing repairs are being offered to encourage a more circular fashion environment. A small, friendly team of tailors are churning away on a sewing machine with a large assortment of scrap fabric and thread, ready to take on anything thrown at them. “Really the whole point of this was getting people enjoying wearing the clothes again” says Stephanie. “People come in and say I don’t like wearing it because my phone falls into the lining. It’s a quick fix, and then people enjoy it again without buying more”.
It seems all sorts has come through the shop. As I walked in, someone was working on an intricate lace red dress, by hand. “I’m surprised at how many people have been wearing stuff that’s really broken”.
I’ve inherited my mum’s old jumper, which had a few battle scars after a few rough nights out (both mine and my mum’s!) and after just a few hours, they had it looking good as new.
Unfortunately, the repair stand can’t be around forever, and the wonderful tailors passed down some wisdom into how we can start repairing our own clothes at home: “there’s lots of YouTube videos, just buy yourself a needle and thread, start having a go, and then you kind of just learn out curiosity and trial and error”. Buttons seem to be a good place to begin!
“The whole idea of slow fashion is that they’re fitted to your dimensions. It makes things like these trousers more enjoyable for you to wear”. These trousers are not cheap – a pair will set you back £210. But with their timeless design, “traceable fabric” and knowledge that the makers “are being paid properly in right working conditions”, the investment becomes more and more appealing. And I can testify, they feel incredible.
So, I’ll have to live without my lovely bag until Christmas (I couldn’t help myself!) and I won’t get the instant gratification that high street shopping brings. But this is the way forward for a truly sustainable fashion industry and isn’t just a greenwashed slogan; I know that I will enjoy it for years to come, and I know it was made with a love for fashion hard to find elsewhere.
The Phoebe English x Maker’s Mark collection is available to purchase from the 16th to the 18th of November and arrives in time for a perfect Christmas present.