Having a scroll on Vogue looking at the many fashion shows that have been on recently, I stumbled across Richard Malone. He is an Irish designer, and ensures his collections are as sustainable as can be in the very unsustainable fashion world. He is fully committed to sustainable and ethical fashion, being completely transparent in his show notes for his new collection, Autumn 2020 Ready-To-Wear.
He includes the hourly rates (£25 an hour minimum) for the local cutters and tailors he employs in his show notes. Things are definitely not done half-arsed on his side, Malone works exclusively with weavers or mills that have regenerative initiatives, using only organic, plant-derived, and azo-free dyes, as well as repurposing or recycling fabric that he uses.
I really, really like that he’s making such an effort to try and do what he can to make his position in the fashion industry as sustainable as possible, when the fashion industry produces 10% of all humanity's carbon emissions, is the second-largest consumer of the world's water supply, and pollutes the oceans with microplastics. In simpler terms, it’s awful for the planet. So, when someone is trying to change and improve that, I think it is really important, because hopefully other designers will see that they’re doing it and doing it so well. It goes to show that once the research and effort goes into making a collection as sustainable as possible, it can be done really well. There’s no excuses for the rest of the fashion world, then, is there?
His charm, ethical practices, and his ingenious ability to cut from ethically sourced fabrics and with fair pay, have made him what amounts to a wardrobe-realizer (sounds less pretentious than “couturier”) for a group of cool, socially aware women. Many people immediately assume non-ecologically damaging materials will look like a potato sack, but Malone proves in his runways the quite opposite. Producing interesting silhouettes with the use of different fabrics, he creates looks that are made to order, to ensure there is minimal waste. I think this is something more fashion houses should do because it would save them money, as well as helping to save the planet.
One thing I noticed was the models that he chooses to walk his runway. They are of different ethnicities and ages, something which I think should become a given in this day and age, but unfortunately is not. Designers are creating clothes that will suit a range of different people, so they should show their clothes on the runway on this range of people. Everyone doesn’t look the same, so the clothes won’t look the same. To me it seems like common sense to have a range of different looks amongst your models, but for some fashion houses they seem to only opt for slim, young, white girls, as if other ethnicities don’t exist. They need to fix up ASAP.
some looks from autumn 2020 ready-to-wear collection
Overall, I really like Richard Malone. His morals should be highly respected, working in such a sustainable manner and producing such interesting clothes, whilst holding ethical principles towards his cutters and tailors. What he does is what I believe should become the norm amongst the fashion industry, using sustainable materials and treating your workers right, whilst trying to minimise waste by having a made-to-order business. I think this increases his desirability, along with his experimental tailoring and fascination with corsetry, all down to his late grandmother Nellie, who he dedicated his Spring 2020 Ready-To-Wear show to.
A really lovely man with really good morals. I wish him only the best in the fashion world!
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