Zohra Shahana explores the upcoming brand Auria and their fresh, playful designs
January 20, 2016 by admin
Filed under Choosing Lingerie
Image: Julian Broad
Sustainable fashion is in. Fashion designers are now choosing to put ethics at the forefront of their creative innovations; sustainability is something designers these days care about. Quality, it appears, quashes quantity and comes up trumps in the creative field process.
But why should we care about this?
We should care because the windows of Selfridges in London’s Oxford Street are now a tribute to the yearly ‘Bright New Things’ because of an exciting collaboration with Diana Auria and Margot Bowman’s brand ‘Auria’. Selfridges chose the designers who are making a name for themselves by creating products in a clean, transparent way for Sustainable Fashion while additionally being mentored by them.
So who are some of these brightest, newest things and what have they got in store for us?
A crochet lover, Katie Jones, a 2013 graduate from Central Saint Martins spends hours creating original items, fusing together upcycled leather and denim. Jones makes her masterpieces in a studio in Stratford; her approach of tackling fashion design this way stems from her belief that the planet can no longer take much more overconsumption and waste. She also reckons things are much less likely to be wasted once you know who made it and the process behind the individual piece.
Image: Julian Broad
Diana Auria, a swimwear designer has collaborated with Bowman to create Auria, a swimwear collection that allowed the designers to be the first individuals to use the fabric Econyl. An exciting endeavour, the material is made of 100 per cent recycled polyamide from fabric from all over the world to create a look that is “really playful, contemporary and sexy”.
Auria and Bowman launched their swimwear brand after Auria completed a degree at the London College of Fashion in 2012 specialising in lingerie and swimwear design. The course consisted of an opportunity with Speedo to upcycle its LSZ swimsuits, which had been banned by the swimming governing body Fina in 2009. Auria recounts: “From swimming trunks I made a bikini with inflatable cups,” while her flatmate Bowman was working as a graphic designer promoting sustainable fashion designers showcasing their creations at London Fashion Week.
Joining forces, both women aspire to give women the opportunity to “feel great in their bodies”. Bowman describes how “the swimsuits have good karma because they are made from recycled thread” and that “many people don’t even know it’s ‘eco’. It needs to be colourful and playful and sexy if we want to get people to engage with climate change. Auria swimwear looks good enough to eat – it is really high on life.” Sustainable fashion is making waves across the UK – be sure to have a gander.
