What happens when you mix a passion for sustainable clothing, a talented young designer by the name of Lottie Bertello, Peruvian savoir-faire, and a collection of recycled men’s shirts?
The stunning designs of Loti: a new fashion label launching this spring. Above all, it’s a label about upcyling quality fabrics, creating flowy designs, and rethinking how we shop and dress.
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This past year has been quite the year.
A time of tremendous change, turbulence, and a year to reflect on our own truth, priorities and values. I’ve been reading, painting, writing….oh, and completed another massive closet purge and clean-out. Ahhhh, it felt sooooo good.
I’ve written about this before on this blog, but it bears repeating again: I’ve given up the fashionista and shopaholic life for a more reasonable and conscious existence. They say that we come here to teach what we had to learn and what we had to heal…For me, it was to become more concious, because for a long time, I wasn’t. I bought all kinds of stuff and junk to prove I was somebody and to show my self-worth.
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If you’ve ever been a former shopper like me, Black Friday or Cyber Monday deals coming through your in-box may have your adrenaline pumping, may trigger you or may have you feverishly pulling out some plastic, thinking (or not!) : Oh, it’s been such a tough year, I need to treat myself, today is the perfect day…. right?
The answer is yes, it’s been a challenging year. A very challenging one at that: filled with anxiety, chaos, and much uncertainty. It still is. And if you live alone, you may see shopping online as a way to beat the blues and chase away a feeling of loneliness.
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Last summer, I made a happy discovery: Vision: Simons’ eco-conscious platform which highlights the company’s sustainable practices, initiatives and where it shares its eco-conscious fashion collections.
L’été dernier, j’ai fait une heureuse découverte: Vision: la plateforme de mode consciente de chez Simons, plateforme qui met en lumière les pratiques et initiatives durables de l’entreprise où elle partage ses collections de mode éco-responsable & consciente.
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Okay, it’s official, I’m in LOVE…With a pair sunglasses.. But not just any pair…This pair of sunglasses is on a mission: to clean up the oceans, no small feat, that’s for sure.
Early last year, I came across an article about the Ocean Clean Up and it piqued my curiosity. It’s a non-profit organization developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. It is designing very clever technologies to accopmplish this.
And so this week, it has launched an amazing new product: a super cool looking par of sunglasses made entirely from recycled pastic. They’re sooo attractive and well thought out. I’m loving everything detail about them.
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I had the privilege of being offered a private visit of the Christian Dior exhibit at the Montreal McCord Museum last week before its official opening, as a close childhood friend was featured as a model in one of the iconic Dior dresses, the Bella gown. For the record, my friend Pascale looks stunning in that dress, just like one of the original Dior models.
During the first few minutes of my visit, I did feel a tad conflicted about the exhibit. Does displaying this kind of rarified luxury and opulence make sense in these current times? After capturing a glimpse of the beautiful dresses, the exquisite fabrics and the seeing the vintage video footing and witnessing all the research that went into it, the answer came as a resounding yes. Right now, we all need to escape reality and to dream. And this is precisely what beauty allows us to do.
Continue readingLast week, I attended an online Summit hosted by Fashinnovation with some of the fashion industry’s heavy hitters: including Rebacca Minkoff, Rachel Zoe, Arizona Muse and Nigel Barker.
I wasn’t sure what to expect but it was super inspiring in many ways.
While listening to the sessions, I discovered that Rebecca Minkoff has a line of cool T-Shirts that encourage people to vote and run for office. For every Limited Edition T-shirt sold, Rebecca Minkoff will make a donation to Vote Run Lead, a non-profit organization that empowers and trains women to run for office.
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I recently had the pleasure of speaking with UK artist Molly Labourn about her line of quirky jewelry made with recycled plastic. Speaking with her made my heart sing: Molly isn’t only into recycled materials, but she’s also into vintage shopping, second hand finds and promoting women’s rights and businesses too. This one of my passions and life missions: to promote brands and labels making a difference on the planet and Molly definitely does just that!
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Last September, I had the great pleasure and honour of attending the WEAR conference in Toronto, a conference about fashion sustainability, ecology, and ethics, amongst many other topics. It was an exceptional conference, with amazing panelists and speakers. One of the presenters, Canadian businessman Steven Bethell, founder of the Bank & Vogue Group of companies, caught my attention with his fascinating business and inspiring collaborations. He also has great stories to share ( and wears interesting hats.)
Based in Ottawa, Bank & Vogue is a global leader in the facilitation, logistics, purchase and reselling of wholesale used goods and most notably, used clothing. According to the Ottawa Business Journal, the firm buys and sells about three million garments a week – enough to fill more than five dozen 40-foot shipping containers – from an operation based here in Canada.
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I’m a major fan. I have been for years. Charlotte is not only talented, she’s smart as a whip.
I had the opportunity to meet Charlotte several years ago when she worked out of her first atelier, during an interview her for my former blog. I’ve always been fond of her gorgeous designs and ability to incorporate vintage pieces, with history and cachet, such as passed down heirlooms, into her work. “I love to make things that have a story.” She says. She also uses materials from India and Africa too, to add to the story theme and to add more uniqueness.
