Timed perfectly to coincide with Sustainable Fashion Week 2024, Cherwell Collective launched their Carbon Cost of Fashion exhibition (running at Blenheim Palace from 23-27 September at the Stables Cafe) on Tuesday 24th September in a memorable way: a fashion show with a twist. Featuring a diverse showcase of local, up-and-coming designers, stylists and stockists, alongside more established brands, the evening was dedicated to all things sustainable fashion, brought to life by a no less diverse range of models. The result was a surprising, eye-opening yet ultimately uplifting affair.
BBC Oxford’s Sophie Law held the evening together with affable aplomb, interspersing her introductions of the designers with facts and stats about the impact of fast fashion on biodiversity, pollution, water scarcity and human rights. For example, according to Cherwell Collective’s website, an average UK outfit has a carbon cost equivalent to driving a standard car 70 miles. Ultra-fast fashion is unambiguously a disaster for the planet, but rather than trying to shame, lecture or scare people into changing their ways, this evening demonstrated how small, responsible designers provide a genuinely positive alternative.
The power positivity was woven through the show, from the opulent setting of Blenheim Palace’s Orangery to the smiles on the models’ faces, and the delicious treats served to the audience in the form of climatarian canapes (who knew vegan feta was so delicious?). High production values were ensured through dramatic lighting and the presence of a DJ from Oxfordshire’s Young Women’s Music Project, providing a sense of celebrating more than just clothing, but creativity at large. This impression was augmented by the involvement of art students as makeup artists and crew members, as well as the collections from art collectives such as Iraqi Women Art and War and Multaka Oxford.
One of the most potent messages of the show was the importance not just of reducing how much clothing we buy (and the consumption of resources and destruction of nature that that often entails) but of cherishing what we already have and diverting would-be waste away from landfill. Dresses made from trainers, an ingenious use of plastic bottles in couture wear and tailoring fabric that had been rescued from bins all demonstrated the central role of creativity in sustainable fashion - never has the phrase ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ been so apt.
Every designer in the show has a compelling story, such as self-taught Nell Rose (who was shockingly told by a schoolteacher that she couldn’t sew, and whose eyecatching corsets conclusively proved them wrong) and Krishma Sabbarwal, whose innovative collection was dedicated to her father’s memory. Some, such as Izabel Hessian, showcased just one or two pieces, emphasising the ‘quality over quantity’ argument through incorporating breathtaking attention to detail in their wearable art. This show proved how, regardless of your ethics, sustainable fashion is simply much more fun and personal than identikit high street outfits: ‘thanks, it’s thrifted’ inevitably leads to more follow-up questions than ‘thanks it’s from Primark’ might…
Fittingly, the sense of the show as a collaborative effort came from the appreciation of the models, who were refreshingly diverse. As someone with an invisible illness, it was particularly heartening to see so many disabled models, including Siobhan Cousins who used a bedazzled cane on the catwalk, and Molly Palmer whose smile was infectious. Every one of these tireless muses brought energy and character to their performance, bringing together an evening that was, overall, a treasure trove of talent.