Arts
Ethical Isle’s first ever outing
Sustainable fashion is globally lauded as the future of the fashion industry, with innovative design combined with ecological practices to create fashion with a conscience.
Sri Lanka is no exception, and patrons recently got a taste for how vibrant sustainable fashion can be at Ethical Isle, as part of Colombo VIP Night’s third iteration of the Shop Till You Drop event at the Taj Samudra.
This was Ethical Isle’s first ever outing as a collective effort. Renowned local brands Selyn, Cane Couture, Kantala Brands, House of Lonali and Pedals footwear have joined together to present a curated store of ethically-produced products that support the traditional crafts industry.
Handwoven hemp and cane bags, upcycled apparel, shoes made of repurposed offcut material and more were showcased together for the first time, allowing customers to mix and match and to style themselves responsibly.
Collaboration and sharing resources and ideas is vital in reaching the full potential of truly sustainable practices, and a wonderful example is the range of ‘Lonali for Sthri’signature upcycled shoes from House of Lonali that are made with handloom discards from Selyn.
“Every brand that you see here empowers a marginalised community, empowers women, and protects the environment. We really believe that if you don’t get together as a collaboration, we can’t really grow an industry,” says Selyn’s Director of Business Development Selyna Peiris, highlighting the importance of giving prominence to the ethical fashion industry.
With so many creative brands working towards the same cause of ethical and sustainable fashion practices, it made sense that they should collaborate and gather their ideas and resources.
House of Lonali’sFounder and Lead Designer Lonali Rodrigo explains that the answer to introducing sustainable fashion to the market in Sri Lanka is to start slow. “We are trying to show people that you don’t have to go completely sustainable, but you can always have that statement piece that you carry. Your bag or shoes can be sustainable. You can’t just go 100% sustainable, because we don’t have a lot yet.”
The designers behind Ethical Isle hope to bring this collaborative retail space back in the form of pop up stores and other projects in the coming future, to collaborate with more like-minded ethical brands, and to further cement sustainable fashion as the smart and fashion-forward choice.