Cheshire Fashion Week Unveils 2023 All-sustainable Brand Line-up
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Ahead of Cheshire Fashion Week's 2023 summer shows, organisers have announced a list of participating brands focused on sustainability, heritage, and Chester's fashion history.
The event, to be held on the 17th June 2023 at the heritage building, Chester Town Hall, will feature more than 80 models and 10 brands, including one of the UK's top sustainability champion clothing retailers, White Stuff, growing UK independent designer labels like Brian De Carvalho renowned for his theatrical pieces that explore contextually macabre themes, Shane Moore Designs a family run, British made bridal supplier who uses smart material choices in producing their unique pieces and Eden Keshia, a recognised UK bridal couture designer and artist who has proven zero-waste show productions through her designs, by utilising at least 50 percent certified deadstock materials in her collections.
Emerging brands Looks Chester, HFS Designs, and ‘Formerly Known As’ an inclusive, gender - neutral brand whose focus is to create classic modern basics in premium fabrics, featuring multiple wear-able pieces to encourage customers to shop less and wear more are scheduled to debut in the annual fashion week event's summer line-up.
Global Talent designers ATK Fashion House and Apparel By Mo (both from Nigeria) are also on the schedule. In an unprecedented move, the Chester Grosvenor Museum's costume department will also present during fashion week, along with Rachel Davies a textile educator, and freelance artist whose impactful 'Textiles Tell Stories' display will contribute to highlighting sustainability and Chester's fashion history through the lens of modernity in a contemporary exhibition of consumer engagement and products in an effort to combine history, sustainability, and clothing now and then in a way that illustrates Chester's Fashion History.
Cheshire Fashion Week CEO Claire Namukolo Raven said, "Summer 2023 marks the first season in which we take steps to promote sustainability where participating brands have to meet sustainability standards. Applicants were required to pass the sustainability test and screening to test their art direction, smart material choices, and consumer engagement to be shortlisted for showcasing in the launch of our 'Fashion Week Arts' summer season events in a first of its kind event where sustainability, artistic interpretation, and recycled, upcycled designs were a critical focus to make it through to showcase on the runway. It was a difficult selection process as a fashion week as we had to reject many applications while encouraging them to take a bit more time to take sustainable steps and hope that they will be able to present with us in the near future but also physically scout out brands that met or had the potential to meet the criteria".
As the first fashion week in the UK to apply this level of sustainability scrutiny to participating brands, Cheshire Fashion Week will be setting a new standard for fashion weeks in the future. The fashion week demonstrates a commitment to not only reducing the impact of fashion shows themselves, but also working with brands and designers to develop sustainable and ethical fashion businesses.