CLIMATE NEWS GETTING YOU DOWN?
We have the solutions. “The striking thing is not the bad news, which is not really news for those who have followed the science closely. It’s the report’s insights on possibilities for cautious optimism…” Here’s the link to the Guardian piece by Rebecca Solnit.
The podcast Ep Clare mentions in the intro is this one - number 98 with Australian climate activist Anna Rose. “Often I don’t feel brave, but I have to do things that I know are important,” she says. "I see courage as a muscle we can build up over time."
EPISODE 148 FEATURES KENYAN FASHION DESIGNER ANYANGO MPINGA
Everyone's talking about climate action and social change - but Fashion is still carrying on like it's 1999. The velvet rope! Exclusivity! Snobbery and barriers to entry that lock many young designers with new ideas, out.
Fashion weeks alone are massive carbon emitters, before we've even considered production. Pre-pandemic, the combined carbon footprint of all the media, buyers, models and designers going to the big four fashion weeks (NY, London, Milan & Paris) over a 12-month period, was enough to light up Times Square in New York for 58 years! And you're no doubt familiar with fashion's unfairness, murky supply chains and lack of diversity. Change is due.
But the industry seems determined to get back to business as usual. This week's guest, London-based Kenyan fashion designer Anyango Mpinga has other ideas. Digital presentations could change the game, she says, but that's just one piece of the puzzle - Fashion must find it's heart again.
In this inspiring conversation, Anyango talks purpose, service and giving back - and how, in Anyango's case, coming from a family of strong African women shaped her. The designer shares her advice for independents trying to be as sustainable as possible, and the broader industry that needs to do better on diversity and inclusion. Big Fashion - take notes!
NOTES
FOOTPRINTS In 2019, Ordre and the Carbon Trust measured the carbon emissions from the travel undertaken by retail buyers and designers to attend major fashion weeks over a 12-month period. They came up wioth 241,000 tCO2e - enough to set Times Square aglow for more than half a century, as mentioned - or light the Eiffel Tower for more than 3000 years. Read the report here.
SHIRTDRESSES rule, okay? Here’s one of Anyango’s:
The GREEN CARPET AWARDS are run by Eco-Age and Milan Fashion Week to “celebrate the best in sustainable fashion.” More here.
FREE AS A HUMAN is a non profit organisation, founded by Anyango Mpinga and advocating the end of human trafficking and modern slavery. They work with charity partner HAART Kenya to support young women and girls who have been rescued from human trafficking.
PURPOSE Anyango spoke to Clare for a Vogue story in 2020 about Free As A Human: “It was maybe social first, fashion second, but the two are deeply entwined for me,” she said. “I’m on a mission to make beautiful, ethically made clothes. If my work can speak for justice, equality and preserving tradition, that’s fulfilling my purpose.”
BAHAI FAITH “The principal Bahāʾī tenets are the essential unity of all religions and the unity of humanity. Bahāʾīs believe that all the founders of the world’s great religions have been manifestations of God and agents of a progressive divine plan for the education of the human race. Despite their apparent differences, the world’s great religions, according to the Bahāʾīs, teach an identical truth. Bahāʾ Allāh’s peculiar function was to overcome the disunity of religions and establish a universal faith. Bahāʾīs believe in the oneness of humanity and devote themselves to the abolition of racial, class, and religious prejudices. The great bulk of Bahāʾī teachings is concerned with social ethics. The faith has no priesthood and does not observe ritual forms in its worship.” Via Encyclopædia Britannica.
Here’s the interview with Nasir Sobhani A.K.A The Streets Barber.
CULTURE Anyango grew up on Nairobi and has both Luo and Sukuma heritage. Asked by Czech Vogue how her this inspires her work, Anyango explained: “These two cultures are so different and also very similar. I was brought up in Kenya and I am more familiar with Luo culture. I have referenced cultural elements such as the Kondo Udo, a regal traditional feather hat worn by warriors and dancers from my Dholuo tribe which undulates in the wind with every movement. The Luo people are lakeside Nilotes. We take pride in our culture, food and music and are a vibrant community found around Lake Victoria. I have referenced the Kondo Udo twice when designing textile prints for my collections.
“The Sukuma are a Bantu ethnic group from the south-eastern African Great Lakes region inhabiting the area of Tanzania south of Lake Victoria between Mwanza Gulf and Serengeti Plain. The Sukuma have a holistic view of the world and see it as being interconnected with all living things, natural and supernatural. There is a lot of spiritual symbolism around traditional crafts from the Sukuma tribe. The most symbolic are the carvings, associated with large, rough-looking standing figures. The figures carved with articulated limbs, known as Amaleba, are used by dancers during ceremonies in the dry season. The idea of dance and movement in particular when reflecting on my multicultural heritage is something that inspires my work. While drawing inspiration from cultural elements, I am also conscious of the symbolism of the spiritual element of my background, which would require a deeper understanding of these symbolic figures before attempting to translate or depict them in contemporary fashion.” Via Vogue Czechoslovakia
HELSINKI FASHION WEEK began focusing on young sustainable designers in 2017. Its 2020 iteration was entirely digital, and designers were paired with digital artists to create “a cyberspace embracing connection culture where all fashion, buying, showing, and networking are interlinked.” Listen to Episode 52 with the event’s founder Evelyn Mora here.
Aja Barber wears Anyango Mpinga’s 2021 digital collection
PRINTS Anyango’s prints for her 2021 collection, above, were inspired by “Zidaka” niches - wall carvings traditionally used to display lamps and ornamental objects in Swahili Architecture. Presented digitally, in collaboration with artist Yifan Pu, and modelled by nine inspirational women of colour, including the UK-based American sustainable fashion activist Aja Barber (above) and Kenyan fashion editor Nyawira Mumenya (below).
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Love, Clare & the team.