Parachutes remade into Fashion?
Christopher Raeburn is one designer who does not source his fabrics from the garment factories of China, Bangladesh nor Vietnam, instead.. his suppliers are the militaries of the United Kingdom, Germany and even the Czech Republic!
Freshly graduated from the Royal College of Arts in 2006, winning the Ethical Fashion Forum’s INNOVATION competition in 2008 and now working on collaborations with the likes of Tim Soar (a collection that includes jackets stuffed with recycled duck feathers from used duvets) and even Virgin Airlines (transforming their uniforms into bags), Christopher is definitely an ethical designer to watch.
Christopher gladly admits that the ethical awareness of his designs was a ‘happy accident‘ coming out his desire to use these particular fabrics (which he stresses are well made and will last). Into the future, we are sure that Christopher is taking his designs in an ethical direction more ethically, a sign of this is the dropping of fur (which popped up in in his 2008 womenswear collection) in all his 2009 collections.
We will be keeping a close eye on Christopher and are incredibly excited to hear who wins this year’s INNOVATION prize (Press Release in July).
Interviews with Christopher Raeburn: The Guardian, GreenMyStyle
Other Articles: London Fashion Week, The Discerning Brute
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