Gosia being Gosia
WELCOME BACK! WE'RE OVER THE MOON TO BE BRINGING YOU SERIES 2.
If you've listened to this Episode on iTunes already (don't forget to subscribe - it's free), welcome to the SHOW NOTES. If you haven't heard it yet, scroll down to LISTEN.
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How great is our MUSIC? It's by our friend Montaigne, who sang a special acoustic version of "Because I love You" just for us. It's from her album Glorious Heights.
KOWTOW Building Blocks
EPISODE 28 FEATURES GOSIA PIATEK
Founded in 2007 by Gosia Piatek, KOWTOW is a conscious label with a strong design philosophy and innate sense of comfort. Described as minimalist and effortless, the Kowtow aesthetic is inspired by Gosia’s interests in art, architecture, culture, craftsmanship, landscapes and her own travels.
GOSIA SAYS, "Kowtow is for women who live an effortless and conscious lifestyle. Inspired by the simplicity of daily rituals, with hints of modernist architecture, contemporary art and minimalism, Kowtow collections have a distinctive aesthetic blending utilitarian and subtle feminine details."
Kowtow fabrics are all exclusive and designed in-house. The label is committed to using fair trade certified organic cotton, Global Organic Textile Standard approved dyes, mindful manufacturing with fair working conditions, ethically sourced trims and sustainable packaging.
The brand is internationally established with showrooms in New York, Copenhagen, Tokyo, Sydney and Auckland.
In praise of pockets. Gosia talks about her inherent practicality which informs everything she does as designer. One of her favourite practical fashion things is pockets. You almost ALWAYS find a perfect pocket in a Kowtow garment...
KOWTOW loves pockets
Kowtow means to bow. which is borrowed from kau tau in Cantonese (koutou in Mandarin Chinese), is the act of deep respect shown by prostration, that is, kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground.
WHAT WE TALK ABOUT...
THE POLISH DIASPORA. Gosia moved from Poland to New Zealand via Italy in 1987. She spoke no English.
JACINDA ARDERN is is New Zealand's 37-year-old prime minister. And she's pregnant!
Last year Forbes ranked her as number 38 of the 'world's most powerful women.' Oh, yeah, SHE'S also A DJ. Who wants to move to New Zealand?
Is New Zealand as clean and green as it markets itself to be?
Gosia mentions the furore surrounding Taika Waititi, New Zealander of the Year for 2017, daring to say perhaps the country has a way to go when it comes to waterways in particular. "I'm not very proud of coming from a place which everyone overseas thinks is this clean, green country," he said. Still, we're crushing on NZ anyway.
HEADSPACE is the app that both Gosia and Clare loved when they downloaded it. But they both forgot to do it again. They should try harder - it's rad.
Snowboarding. Gosia loves it. The white snow, the space, the poetry of of nature...
EILEEN FISHER is a brilliant American designer taking the lead on all things sustainable. Read all about her here. Eileen Fisher RENEW is the name of her innovative upcycled brand.
The secret to being a good boss: "Not micro-managing!" says Gosia. "I highly recommend it to everyone!"
The Kowtow flagship store in Wellington is a study in sustainability. Designed by architect Rufus Knight. They sourced their lights are from Twenty Twenty One in London. Furniture is by Simon James Design.
Monsanto and Indian cotton seed. According to activist Vandana Shiva, "Seed is the basis of agriculture; the means of production and the basis of farmers’ livelihoods. In less than two decades, cotton seed has been snatched from the hands of Indian farmers by Monsanto, displacing local varieties, introducing GMO Bt cotton seeds and coercing extravagant royalties from farmers." Read the full article from 2016, here.
Also, WARDROBE CRISIS, HOW WE WENT FROM SUNDAY BEST TO FAST FASHION has a whole chapter on this featuring Clare's interview with Katharine Hamnett.
Kowtow uses only 100% certified fair trade ORGANIC COTTON. Read about it here.
Introducing Kowtow's ORGANIC DENIM...
Kowtow recently introduced ethical organic denim in four styles: a pair of jeans, a dress, a jacket and overalls. “Denim is such a universal fabric, that it made sense for us to design our own while remaining true to our philosophy," says Gosia. "We spent more than a year developing the perfect 12.5oz mid-weight ethical organic cotton denim with a classic indigo
wash approved by the Global Organic Textile Standard."
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Until next time,
Clare x