Best sustainable fashion I’ve found on Instagram

For the last month I’ve been busy watching my favourite designers’ Fashion Week shows live on Instagram. For the record: I was in bed, in my PJs, nursing a cold and feeling sorry for myself that yet again I didn’t even make it to Milan. 

But then I had an idea. As much as I love and follow global fashion trends and famous designer names, most of the time I’m not able to buy all these beautiful clothes, let alone wear them! Instead, I choose to invest my money in clothes, shoes, and bags from small designers and brands. Not that there is anything small about their design and aesthetic, but let’s say they haven’t yet made it to the Fashion Week runway. 

Today I want to share with you some of my favourite fashion brands I’ve discovered via Instagram; brands that I love and buy from with great enthusiasm! Somehow it feels so right to support brands and designers whose eternal brilliance is waiting to burst any minute. And their enormous amount of energy and drive is almost palpable in their pieces. 

Without further ado, here are my 5 Instagram fashion favourites… 

Envelope 1976 

I found out about Envelope 1976 last year after seeing some of my favourite street-style icons wearing their super chic and sustainable pieces during Oslo Fashion Week. I later discovered the line was designed by Norwegian influencer Celine Aagaard, who has been working in fashion and media for 20 years. Her life as a social media sensation actually began when she was stopped in the street in Paris while on assignment to interview Justin Timberlake. (source of info Vogue). 

Celine’s designs are inspired by nature, travel, art, and family photos. She grew up enchanted by her father’s stories of going to Studio 54 with Andy Warhol and meeting Salvador Dalí. The latter remains an unexpected but constant source of inspiration to Aagaard, who is partial to a tomboy twist. This is exactly why I love Envelope 1976, with its loose-fitting, tailored “grandpa” jackets and minimal, high-end aesthetic. Plus, most pieces are rather attainable and can be worn and styled in different ways. They are comfortable, elegant, reasonless, and sustainable. What more could you wish for? 

This is Artclub

Unless you follow Heidi Middleton on Instagram, you probably haven’t heard of This is Artclub. I started following her because she was posting a lot about family and slow living, some art and interior design, and here and there what she wears.

Everything about Heidi felt like she could easily become my friend. And then I found out she is the former Sass&Bide owner and is starting a new concept in fashion design: a mixture of original art, limited-edition prints, vintage and slow fashion. To call Artclub an online store undersells the extent of Middleton’s vision. It will be more of a creative space, extending an invitation to step inside the designer’s world.

Like many new Australia labels, the Artclub model does not adhere to traditional fashion seasons or produce collections. There are no fashion shows and no paid PR or marketing. Everything is produced locally and made with 80 per cent fabric remnants. Or, as Middleton puts it, “waste”. I know it sounds ridiculous, but you can check her Instagram and see how beautiful the fabrics are!

However, what I love most, besides that the clothes are beautiful, is this: “There is meaning and purpose behind each piece,” Middleton says. “There is a sense that this is a precious item.”

Sézane 

There are two things I adore about Sézane: their biz model and their style. 

Okay, let me start with the style: it’s a French girl style (you know the Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin type). It’s chic and frivolous, but it has an unexpected element. Among the broderie anglaise blouses, crochet minidresses and rope-soled espadrilles, you can find red sequined party dresses, mustard-hued trousers and very well-cut bikinis. 

And then the business: it’s fair and transparent. By fair, I mean fair in prices and fair in trade. The founder, Morgane Selazory, who used to sell vintage flea market finds on eBay to supplement her income from her day job in Paris, says: “My main concern is that everyone is respected. We work with factories that we have audited regularly. We pay a fair price and we charge, I believe, a fair price. We don’t pretend to be perfect but we are certain we do our best.” 

She founded the brand in 2013 with a promise that tomorrow will be better than today and a commitment to offer the finest creations at the fairest prices, made to last and to be passed on. 

Sézane also takes a very considered approach to production, claiming that their direct-to-consumer formula with no intermediaries allows them to invest in quality, while maintaining accessible prices. The brand is based on responsible stock volumes, in keeping with a lean production model. No overproduction, no sales, scrupulously considered pricing, nothing left unsold. 

What are you waiting for? Go and check what they have for you! 

Seaside Tones 

Considering how cluttered our minds and lives have become lately, I often find myself craving ultimate simplicity and ease in my life. Are you with me on that one? This may explain my fascination with the Seaside Tones collection of natural, minimalist, handmade, and often oversized pieces. The brand is Polish and the garments are made from locally grown and produced linen. Each garment is also ethically and consciously made in Poland. 

YUUL YIE

YUUL YIE is a shoe brand (of course I would choose at least one shoe brand; why would we be called Mums in Heels otherwise?!) for women with savvy style. The shoes are made by the Seoul-based shoe designer Sunyuul Yie, who gathers inspiration from modern art, architecture, and sculpture. 

I love the wry, humorous aesthetic and the “mature glamorousness” of the shoes. Most of them have a classic silhouette, but with an unconventional twist (pearl-heeled boots, eccentric strapping and peculiar details that meld masculine and feminine touches together). Source Another Magazine

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