WHERE

June 24th, 2009

WHERE is offering its Twitter followers a special 25% discount off all the items in its online shop, to celebrate the fact that we are fast approaching having 1000 of you.

Barrel Bag

Dragoste Blue

If you are not a WHERE Twitter follower you can be. Just go here ( https://twitter.com/WHEREitisAT ).

We will Tweet a special promotional code this Friday. The promotion will apply to all products in the shop (that are not sold out of course).

Once you get to the check out page just add your promotional code and you will get a 25% discount on the items you have bought.

Thank you for following us!

WHERE

June 23rd, 2009

Ethical Fashion Forum logo

A few days ago we were notified that we were not shortlisted as finalists for the Innovation competition organized by the Ethical fashion forum. Which is a shame…

Some of you will remember we entered the competition with our design theme and a new concept in shoes and accessories called “Walk like and Egyptian”.

This is the rather nice email we received from the Ethical Fashion Forum, which we still decided to make public as we feel very proud about what we have achieved in a year as WHERE fashion.

Unfortunately you were not selected by the judges for the shortlist, however the judges were impressed by the overall standard and professionalism of your application.

The quality of all applications were extremely high and the judges are very pleased by the standard of emerging ethical labels out there.
The judges would like to encourage you to apply again next year and have provided some feedback to nurture and develop your ideas:

“I’m very impressed by what this brand has achieved in the last 14 months. They have some strong stockists, good price points and a very clear vision for their brand. They have managed to achieve an incredible amount in such a short time and their brand philosophy, use of innovative sustainable materials, working with IFAT partners and general strength of the design is a welcome surprise”.

June 15th, 2009

GFW bag 100 recycled

Even we are at the moment in India working in our SS2010 new designs and developments, in London at WHERE we had a GFW’ spy. Her name is Lucia Jaconelli (an University of West England’s second year student who has been doing a work placement in our London office and being of great help).

Here is how she describes the event on the 7th of June:

Sunday, 7th June kicked off the much anticipated Graduate Fashion Week (GFW) 2009 at Earls Court. The spectacular 4-day event showcases the very new and up and coming raw talent set to hit the fashion industry. ‘WHERE’ made a visit to the event on Tuesday and here’s what we thought……

Epsom triumphed with strong menswear and Georgina Kemp provided a refreshing break with her cute perspex belts and bows. Adorable!

EPSOM-GEORGINA KEMP

Ravensbourne’s Hayley Compton’s striking graphic style printed dresses made a bold statement. We know this graduate has a bright future ahead!

HAYLEY COMPTON

HAYLEY COMPTON

One of the highlights of the day (although I must admit I am slightly biased being a fellow second year student of UWE) was the University of West England show. They certainly know how to work the catwalk with UWE’s most legendary fan, 70 year old Dj Derek who graced the stage with his reggae mixes, a beer in one hand and a dec in the other!

More: this jewelled dress by Francesca Jennings (whose work experience at Matthew Williamson has clearly paid off with this number) was a clear winner of the collection.

FRANCESCA JENNINGS

FRANCESCA JENNINGS

The day certainly didn’t disappoint with a strong menswear collection from over sized knitwear pieces in De Monfort + Ravensbourne to cool accessories in Epsom’s show.

MENSWEAR EPSOM

RAVENSBOURNE MENSWEAR

June 8th, 2009

CINTA, LIEFDE, DRAGOSTE and MILESTIBA have been so far our most successful designs for SS2009. For some of them we are already running very short of sizes in our online shop. But if you still want to buy them or try them and we don’t have them you may be able to find them at Terra Plana shops in London, at Shoon shops in London, or at  the Natural Store online, where we also just started retailing.

June 5th, 2009

We just added these new WHERE products to our online shop. Please give us feedback. Hope you like them!

June 5th, 2009

WHERE is going to India tonight in preparation for the development of the Spring/Summer 2010 collection. So WHERE thought it would be interesting to re-visit the last trip to India. It focused on the development of our Spring/Summer 2009 collection.

The trip was hectic, packed with visiting the workshops in the cities of Jaipur and Delhi as well as working & developing with artisans in rural areas.

This is because every WHERE shoe consists of hand crafted elements or recycled parts.

We spent more than a month in India working on the project, and I wish we had taken more pictures, but at that time we were not (yet) into blogging as we are now. This time it wont be the same. Promise.

Thank goodness for Pooja, our Indian connection traveling with us from CFM (community friendly movement).  She has such a bubbly and easy-going approach, apart from being an excellent translator.

India is a whole new universe. Some of the things that we found very interesting, apart of shoe making, was visiting block printing and textile workshops (block print stamps and block printer master below).

Right across India you will find small companies, organizations and factories that are intensely involved in product development, whether it is fabrics, shoes, leather work or jewelry. And its not only in the cities but in rural areas as well.

When jobs are provided for those living in rural areas it helps to keep families together. Normally in rural areas there are not many jobs, so usually the men move to the cities to work in big factories and spent months away from the family to be able to send money. Very often this is what happens in developing countries.

We would like to contribute to keep this from happening in India where possible. And in conjunction with our IFAT partner, Community Friendly Movement, we ensure that workers received fair wages and received rational contributions.

We are not able to produce a whole shoe in the rural communities, because to make shoes some special machinery, skills are needed, but we can make some of the components in rural communities, specially for the summer ranges.

We then transfer the components to a small size organized workshop, where the shoe making and leather work is still done by hand, but with the correct tools and skills needed.

WHERE is looking forward to more sights and sounds and stories from India. And of more ridiculously hot temperatures (40 degrees to estimate), mad traveling plans and even more interesting product designs!

June 4th, 2009

Due to public demand, we decided to and add the following blogs to our favorite top 10 list (which is now no longer ten)

 Clutch 22
Apart from being an appealing fashion and shopping blog to read, it is also really organized.  Interesting links are easy to locate because it does not go OTT (Over The Top).  It really does focus on how to bag bargains, however it is based on Stateside retailers.  Nonetheless, it helps to know these things on a global basis.

Alix Rose
For a ‘girl next door’ to be blogging this way, this sight looks very professional.  The photography is appealing, the page is clean and clear, this blog looks editorial.  Yet she speaks from the heart, you can clearly pick up on the author’s fashion ‘obsession’.  It covers everything from photo shoots, to clothes she wears and trends she sees, to retailers such as Forever 21 .  Again another blog focusing on American retailers!  Tsk tsk, this compelling read needs to be brought over!

Dream Sequins
This is a very fun name - we like it!  It seems more like a lifestyle blog that incorporates fashion on a high level.  Her everyday musings, fashion statements and even any interesting meals she has eaten, making this very real.  However, she also shows her creative element through interviews with other top fashion bloggers, twitter topics of interest as well as designer profiles.  This one works!

La Petite Fashionista
This one is fun and frivolous, reflecting a college writer.  But even so, her writing is proficient, and she definitely knows how to make a page work for her.  We love the three small tabs at the end of each entry, because they are colourful, bright and concise, making the reader want more.  This blog is eclectic in terms of page styling, but completely fashion oriented in content.  This is one to keep on observing…

June 2nd, 2009

We at Where Fashions have been scouring the net for the most interesting and captivating blogs out there. Rummaging through different fashion magazines’ musings, we have collated our favourite top ten. Tell us what you think…

Style Bubble blog
Featured in Thursday’s Metro (28 May 2009), everyone now knows this one! So it was inevitable for Miss Susie’s blog to be on our top 10. This blog is extremely personal, an easy read, but not at all frivolous. It is inspiring to see the blogger herself style herself up in new designer gear while she writes about her musings. It is only set to get better and better.

The Cool Hunter
This one was a keeper! It focuses on fashion trends, as well as style within music, architecture, cultural movements, interior design and the like. And for a magazine that covers so much content, its page is surprisingly not ‘busy’ - it is bright and edgy, but very easy to navigate. This one with help you hunt out the cool factor!

Refinery29 blog
Refinery29 has a very individual, high fashion style. Its blog page is clear and elegant, set up quite similar to the New York Times and The Sartorialist. It features a list called ‘Tip Us Off’, their list of inspirational websites, which we also found very interesting. Do look at the rest of the magazine; they have a style section that breaks down a celeb’s look and shows you how you can get it. Definitely refined!

Hint Fashion magazine blog
How cool: “have an idea for the Hint blog - email us”. Talk about sticking to their name, and hinting at what you would like to read about. This magazine blog was less intimidating because of the way it was written and set up. Still covering high fashion, with edgy editorial photographs, this still felt quite personalised, making it an easy and informative read.

Fashion156 blog
This is a London based magazine featuring the latest goings-on in the fashion realm. Predominantly featuring extremely edgy photographs, we couldn’t help but stare at the pictures! They are awe-inspiring. This is definitely one to inspire avant-garde photo shoots!
V Magazine blog
V magazine has always been known for their underground stance in fashion and art. This is why their blog features less writing and more pictures - absolutely stunning; you actually feel like you are behind the scenes at these fashion shows. Very kooky and quirky! We like!

The Moment blog
As part of the New York Times Style magazine, this blog has a clean editorial feel. Just like The New York times itself. It covers men and women’s fashion, as well as design, food and travel. Its content is cultured and worldly - there are numerous interesting topics for everyone. This blog is a must!

Style Sightings
The best way to describe this is a picture blog. Run by some of the ladies at StyleSight, this blog illustrates trends happening at street level. Its striking pictures look like they were taken as part of a photo shoot, meaning the readers will then take these trends seriously. And the great thing is, StyleSightings reports from all the fashion hotspots around the globe: London, LA, New York. Great website for inspiration!

Shoewawa
A website dedicated to the coolest of shoes. The most recent blog post is ridiculously crazy - in a good way! A shoe with a 16cm heel and no middle? Wow. Large photos and a few brief writings make this website a breeze to read and check out the latest fashions (and where you can get them) within the footwear realm.

Street styles blog
Rather than a writing blog, this is a gallery blog. But the best part of it all…this one summarises a number of the best fashion blogs all on one page! And another nifty element, this blog lets the reader know when all these other fashion blogs were updated! So instead of trailing through a number of websites, go to this one first to find the photographs that inspire you the most! A photographic directory…nice one!

May 31st, 2009

On Friday we submitted our application for the EFF INNOVATION competition, an Ethical Fashion Forum initiative aimed at supporting emerging designers and businesses in the ethical fashion.

Designers and businesses will be selected for awards on the basis of outstanding design and product quality, as well as innovation in relation to social and environmental sustainability. Winners will receive business support from industry experts and win the opportunity to showcase their work in London.

We decided to use as our entry the concept that we are working with for out SS2010 collection.

One of the main materials that we will be working with will be 100% recycled glass from Eluna in London.

Eluna 100% recycled glass

This we will be applying this material to footwear and jewelry.

“Eluna is a lustrous, tactile, marble-like material produced in a variety of natural colours - greens, browns, blues and whites - ranging from translucent to opaque. Eluna is beautiful enough to rival granite, marble and onyx and tough enough to replace stone, cement and every ceramic material.

Eluna is extremely versatile and has been used in interiors, exteriors and landscape projects. Popular uses include urban landscape features, public art installations and architectural projects. eluna surfaces are being developed for use as table tops/ work surfaces and wall cladding.”

But Eluna has never before been used in jewelry and fashion. We are planing to use Eluna 100% recycled glass in our ranges. This will be the only material that WHERE has used thus far that wont be sourced locally (where our communities of artisans are). The glass will come from Eluna workshops in Hackney, London, and our artisans in India will make it into embellishments and accessories for our range of fashion products.

Supporting communities is important to us, and we are excited about starting a nice project with a company like Eluna with the same ethical beliefs that we have.

Where does out summer 2010 inspiration come from you may ask? It is inspired by Egyptian women.

We found a really amazing photographer Verhext on Flickr. She takes great pictures but she also has an amazing collection of  pictures of woman from around the world.

She describes them a:

“mostly early dance photos, especially highlighting folk / ethnic costume & some other sundry prettiness, including the inspiration / appropriation points for early 20th c. dance”.

Verhext’s pictures of Egyptian women has inspired to design our jewelry.

But the style is of our collection wont be purely Egyptian. We called the collection “walk like an Egyptian”. A mixture in between 80’s and Egyptian style.

This is only the beginning of the process for us. The design is now completed and this coming week we are are off to India to work with our artisans in developing the samples. We will keep you updated.

May 31st, 2009

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Green Dress

Style Will Save Us blog

We would not have known this was an eco-friendly online magazine had we not looked at the small print. Whoever said ethical was not high fashion will be proven wrong by this blog! Its website is bright and funky, featuring fashion trends and styles and the effect of ethical awareness. The best part: it has an eco dictionary to clarify all those words associated with today’s green trend.

Tree Hugger

Being the #4 out of the top5 blogs according to Time magazine, this one seemed very “Newsweek-like” but as you get into it, it has a very wide scope of “ethical-ness”. It covers today’s strongly emerging green trend within fashion as well as beauty, including new sustainable fabrics and organic mineral powders and blushers. Surprisingly, it also explains how one can recycle old items, such as old cutlery, into restored pieces of jewellery. Ethical and affordable; this is just what we need in a credit-crunched, deforested world!

Ecco*eco

Vogue-like images: crisp, bright and ultra modern, this green blog’s look is far from green. It is extremely personalized, all in first person, but very professional too. It definitely has a glossy magazine touch, and covers up-and-coming designers as well as street level trends. Abigail Doan has a photographer’s eye, transforming what is natural and ordinary into a high fashion photograph. Simple, interesting and true to its theme. Keep an eye on this one.

Ethical Style blog

Simple and elegant with a dark edge to it, this blog has ‘just the right amount’ of interesting information without overloading the viewer’s eyes: covering fashion gowns to American rap stars and celebrities to recycled Chritstian Louboutins, Ethical Style is an approachable and fashion-oriented read.

Green Lashes and Fashion blog

What a name? Catches your attention instantaneously. And we all know that over-sized fake eyelashes are all the range right now. So what does this blog have to offer? “Finding the best organic and natural beauty, ethical fashion and lifestyle products for you”. Bright, fresh and very European, this blog looks at fashion by category: the best eco-friendly sleeveless tops, the best organic maxi dresses, and Cri de Couer vegan shoes. Unlike other blogs, this is friendly, informative and makes readers aware of green products, as opposed to building hype around trendy topics!

The Gin Lady blog

The first thing that caught our eye here at Where was how this blog took Gucci’s S/S 09 turquoise eye make-up look, and proposed how to recreate it using organic mineral make-up. Wow. This is true merging of ethical with high fashion. Green Independent Natural (GIN) is a slick and fashionable blog, looking at all things ethical and eco-friendly including make-up, lingerie and even sunglasses! This one will always have something that will catch your eye, and easy to navigate too!

EcoStilleto blog

EcoStilleto features fashion, celebrity culture, heath and beauty as well as home and cooking; it is enterprising. However, it is more ‘wordy’ rather than having large photographic content, so if you are looking for inspiration do not look here. But, if you are serious about being eco-friendly towards the environment then this one is your match. Oh and its striking super-stylish black and white burlesque background will not let you leave the page.

In the Loop

This blog is so interactive, featuring funny videos: adverts for eco-friendly underwear and interviews. In the Loop is fashion oriented in a way that is less editorial and more arty; its photography captures being green from a very close-up view, meaning products in the studio or trends on the street. Another bonus: It advertises bargains! Unfortunately they are American brands! We think we need to get them to cross the pond to our shores…

Green with Glamour

So true to its name, this blog has a very polished look: glamourous! This, by far, is a favourite of ours here at Where. It features everything associated with design: interior décor, jewellery trends, and eco-dressing for both men an women. It also features recipes, how to be green at home and covers celebrities. This is an all-rounder, with a touch of class.

HAUTE*NATURE blog

“An eco guide blending high fashion with sustainability”, so right! This blog is more art based in terms of fashion as well as green building and eco furniture. It has short articles, making for a quick read, and unlike other ‘green’ blogs, without only having lists of various links to other blogs this one features a list of books that the author likes too! Books: How eco-friendly is that! Going back to our roots is the way to go!