Fashion for everyone

Vivienne Westwood Crochet Yasmine Bag

As eco-friendly design becomes a greater imperative, it's been incredible to see how many designers are becoming more green, in whatever ways they can. It is not surprising then that Dame Vivienne Westwood, well known for her political activism, has taken on the green cause within her work. This week she launches a capsule collection, Ethical Fashion Africa, with Yoox.com's eco-friendly initiative, YOOXYGEN, of handbags and accessories crafted from recycled materials. The collection takes several classic Vivienne Westwood bags, and refashions them out of recycled electric wiring, plastic bags, roadside advertisement banners, safari tents, and aluminum cans. In addition to taking these waste products out of our landfills, the initiative went one step further, partnering with the International Trade Commission to base production in Nairobi, employing and empowering local craftspeople and manufacturers in impoverished communities. Even though the bags are crafted with compassion, they are still designed in Westwood's tongue-in-cheek, clearly subversive style, coming in spectacular colors and graffiti prints. I got a peek of the Fall collection during the Starworks press day, and as you can see, they fit in perfectly with the entire collection which, to my knowledge, isn't eco-conscious, but is still great.



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