Style & Sustain

What does it look like to build a fashion brand completely outside fashion's chaotic timeline of expectations? Beatrice Korlekie Newman, founder of Korlekie, a luxury handcrafted womenswear brand centered on slow fashion exemplifies this. She moves at her own pace, deliberate about every step, keeping a tight-knit team, and every piece created holds culture and heritage. I met Beatrice at a sustainability event in London and was struck by her creative confidence, rare in an industry built on urgency. In this episode, we talk about her journey, how she approaches her brand's growing visibility among celebrities, and what has kept her going over the years.

In the first episode of season 4, we kick off a conversation around Fashion Revolution because it is fashion revolution week. This year we will be focusing on Fashion Revolution Sudan with Hadeel Osman, a multi-disciplinary artist and visionary pulling her various cultural influences into her activism. Nominated in Forbes Africa’s 30 under 30 in 2020 for her multi-disciplinary studio: DAVU Studio, a consultancy that fuses design, art, education and sustainability. We dive into the crisis in Sudan, the beauty and resilience of the country, how fashion preserves culture and how Cairo, Egypt has been a safe haven since her displacement from Sudan. Her work with Fashion Revolution Sudan is key. Don’t just listen and go, there are ways we will be highlighting Sudan during this FashRev week through a series of content that highlight how to support and learn. Find Hadeel here:https://www.instagram.com/mshadeel/https://davustudio.com/?https://www.instagram.com/fashrevsudan/Support Sudan through these London-based initiatives: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/sudanese-legal-network-madaniya-fundraiser?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnZe3PbHfjho-6m22Yd0bk13TwUPv5PJ-QeAyb1qURQ1dMWKOwbK-DtFWD2GQ_aem_l_FajCIcIcqkSyyFEu12HAhttps://linktr.ee/londonforsudan?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnIQjoyTueolZ09Pr8uAGJJbSPEbDW0PPBdnqE72WUAsZThoEOCt9BzGxXiQs_aem_ywBBPSh_dCSOSI5Ve8f9kghttps://www.instagram.com/sudaneselegalnetwork

Today's guest, Giovanna Vieira, founded a sustainable fashion tech company: The Fashion Blueprint. It is a space and community of fashion entrepreneurs, brands and supply chain partners working together to change the fashion industry from the inside out, with the main goal being to build solutions to reduce waste colonialism. Giovanna is a citizen of the world with a multicultural background whose ambition to take the fashion industry by storm started at a young age. With grit and perseverance, she built her experience and eventually her own business to drive change in an industry that often shuns inclusivity or fair practices. The Fashion Blueprint holds a special place on the London sustainability scene, bringi. It bringsse community into the heart of the solus that will improve the industry. Website: https://www.thefashionblueprint.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefashionblueprint.co.uk/

In this episode, I talk to Ria Ana Sejpal, founder and brilliant creative behind Kenyan brand LilaBare. We dive into the creative process of a designer who creates at the heart of community. She recounts how it took almost three years to find the right banana farmer to develop a unique banana fibre and how she works with nuns who crochet love and light into the brand's pieces. Ria brings her village into the creation of her collections. We also talk about her experience at  Lagos Fashion Week, what makes African fashion incomparable to any other and what to get excited about in her next collection.  Shop Lilabare on Moda Operandi: https://www.modaoperandi.com/women/designer/lila-bare?srsltid=AfmBOor48qTJCOAZfaxIqKjyGDq0wKBpJSeME8SsMp8X35ugsJPtU0mZ See more about Lilabare and the new collection here: https://linktr.ee/LilaBare?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZupznSqf5VCagR7fSznD3H1Cmg3xFZG2vDz_zENT7sSHr7M7_bmPNU8Xw_aem_ouJ0pDrvpBac1qZHsQZGMQ 

We collaborated with the amazing team at Bed Stuy Clothes swap, a community-based safety net for NYC residents. We helped them create an educational platform weaving circular fashion principles from Ghana into conversations and games about the fashion industry for their clothes swap event at the Brooklyn Museum. This resulted in the creation of this video, which was showcased within the space. It highlights the Oye Adie Yies of Accra, who are a testament to Ghana’s deeply entrenched cultural sustainability. Bed Stuy Clothes Swap collectively moves against the grain of New York’s hyper-capitalist systems that encourage over-consumption and the destruction of our environment, displace long-term community members, and exploit and subjugate Black and Brown communities.

In this episode, we talk to Mande Mory, an entrepreneur based in Senegal and one of the founders of Africa’s first secondhand shopping app: Donkafale. But beyond a simple Depop or Vinted (no shade to those apps we love them!) this app aims to create jobs for young creatives struggling to find employment after university and allow them to connect to a community of creatives in multiple industries, online and in real life. We loved talking to Mandé because it was never just about fashion for his team. He saw a problem and created a solution which is what all great entrepreneurs do, but what was most inspiring was his heart for creating opportunities that make a difference in the everyday life of African youths while digitising and preserving cultural sustainability. Let's dig into his story. Find out more about Donkafele here: https://donkafele.com/en/ Follow here: https://www.instagram.com/donkafele/

Slow Fashion is a key part of the sustainable and fair fashion movement. It has claimed its space as a more realistic and wholesome approach to changing the fashion industry for the better. In this episode, I dive into the definition of Slow Fashion, and its importance for local communities around the world, while highlighting five slow fashion brands that celebrate and support Palestinian craftsmanship and textile heritage.  The five brands:  Nol Collective - ⁠https://nolcollective.com/⁠  Anat International - ⁠https://anat-international.com/⁠  Meera Adnan - ⁠https://meeraadnan.com/⁠ SEP Jordan - ⁠https://septhebrand.com/en-gb?scr=yes⁠  Paliroots - ⁠https://www.paliroots.com/⁠

 This time around we talk to Alyssa Erin Kardos Loera and Tiffany Bopha, a fantastic duo. Alyssa is the Executive Director of Re-Made in Cambodia while Tiffany is the Designer and Global Ambassador of the organisation. We met at the GFA this year and immediately connected. They were both so authentic and truthful in the work that they do so I wanted to have them here to talk about the solution they have developed around the textile waste issue in Cambodia through their sustainable fashion enterprise. Remade In Cambodia is a fashion enterprise that transforms recovered textile waste into wearable products, empowering local designers and raising awareness about the environmental impact of the fashion industry. Elevate the next generation of Cambodian designers to become trailblazers in the global fashion industry, while championing Cambodian arts and fostering innovation.

Featured in Magazines like Grazia UK, Sooki Sooki Vintage oozes power, joy and irreplicable style. Founder Lapoze McTribouy beautifully embodies all these qualities that reflect through her craftsmanship. From her talent in hunting down unique vintage pieces to mending and upcycling to create unique one-offs and her sheer joy, she’s definitely one to watch and support in the sustainable fashion space. In this episode, we talk about her beginnings, inspirations and her courage to pursue her talents and dreams, and how sustainability has always been embedded in her Congolese culture. Get ready to be inspired! 

A brief insight into the future of Style & Sustain as an online magazine. In this episode, I highlight the new Style & Sustain Magazine, explain our core values, our new consultation offering and the expansive ways we are working with authentic sustainable and ethical brands we've always loved. S&S Mag is a modern-day welcoming of the future of fashion and beyond, come explore the future of fair fashion with us!