Studio Visit: Goodone discuss the ethics behind their designs.
Fashionistas have always argued that it is difficult to make ethical fashion choices without falling victim to the ‘mother earth’ look. But since the British Fashion Council launched Estethica, a showcase of the most innovative ethical labels, at London Fashion Week five years ago conscious fashion has been on the rise. One of the hand-selected rising stars of this trend is Nin Castle, Creative Director of Goodone. The Skinny Eye met her in her Hackney studio to discuss the importance of sustainability and design.
Castle founded Goodone in 2006 as a clothing venture that was entirely recycled and sustainable. However, she soon found that this concept had its limitations and felt restricted in what she could design. During the six years since it’s inception Castle admits that her vision for the brand has had to change and what started as an innovative, albeit naïve, dream of revolutionizing the fashion industry has turned into a flexible and successful business. These days the Goodone ethos emphasizes the importance of design above all else, with sustainability as a key factor, ‘Design has to be the most fundamental thing – it’s better for us to make something that is largely sustainable, and to sell it, than to make something that is 100% sustainable and not sell it. I hate waste,’ says Castle.
The majority of Goodone collections are comprised of reclaimed fabrics, factory wastage and even offbeat donations, ‘One year a lady contacted us because she had loads of tents left over from festivals so we designed a collection based on that.’ The past few seasons have incorporated some upcycled fabrics combined with new, British wools and materials to allow for the products to be more standardized for bulk orders, ‘We are much more design led now so we don’t have any hard and fast rules. We think about what we want to design, what we want to make, and then look at how to make it as sustainable as possible, using the most amount of reclaimed fabric as possible.’
Around the studio there are shelves stacked with wools, silks and knitwear all ready to be recycled. Whilst being shown around Castle points out that everything in the collection is made to order. Orders from stockists at London Fashion Week are manufactured in Bulgaria and only the amount ordered is made. Astonishingly, all direct orders from their website are also custom-made in the studio in London and tailored for each customer according to their measurements and preferences, ‘It’s impossible to make a garment that fits everybody, but if you do have a problem finding clothes because your legs are short or your bum is big it’s very easy to tweak a garment before it’s been sewn. It’s just a nice service to offer.’
The Goodone basics range, which launched last season, is also all custom-made in the studio and sold exclusively through the brand’s website. Consisting largely of jersey separates, which are all reclaimed or end of roll fabric, the collection has been a valuable means of accessing a wider audience as it allows customers to support the brand at a much lower price point than the mainline seasonal collections.
Speaking of other designers and brands that she admires Castle immediately references Katherine Hamnett. Hamnett spent the 90s trying to revolutionize the fashion industry after her research into cotton production revealed pesticide poisoning in cotton-growing regions. She tried to convince other designers to use organic cotton to reduce the harm caused by the chemical treatment of the material, but there was no demand for organic fibres so Hamnett decided to create her own line, at her own expense in the hope that she could sell it to a retailer, her dream was realised when Tesco picked up her range of organic cotton designs, ‘She’s just got such scruples and she sticks to them come hell or high water,’ says Castle, ‘She had a multimillion-pound business but didn’t like what she saw and stopped everything…I really respect her for that. Massively. I don’t think there are many people that would do that.’
The similarity between Castle and the designer she reveres doesn’t end with ethical fashion as Goodone has also collaborated with Tesco on a diffusion line of upcycled clothing. In the past the brand has also worked with Puma, ASOS, Fashion Targets Breast Cancer, Amnesty, Liberty, WWF, Shelter and No Sweat, ‘I believe very strongly in sharing intellectual property,’ Castle says of the brand’s collaborative ventures, ‘especially when you’re trying to navigate new ideas. It’s a massive task to solve these issues, and it’s complicated, but it’s moving forward through collaborations.’ And it seems that there are future collaborations on the cards for Goodone, but Castle is keeping these top-secret.
This year, The Spring/Summer 2012 collection will be showcased at Estethica at London Fashion Week in September. The line will still carry the Goodone feminine aesthetic with powdered silk shirts and draped jersey but will move away from the bodycon silhouettes that have dominated the previous collections. Castle confesses that the Spring/Summer season is more of a challenge as most of the reclaimed fabrics they source are knitwear and cashmere, but they were able to overcome this difficulty by sourcing a great silk supply, ‘We are not artists. We are designers. We are problem solvers.’ When asked who the Goodone ‘girl’ is Castle says, ‘It’s more about attitude than demographics. It’s someone who is aware of the issues but not ruled by them – someone who wants to maintain their lifestyle more responsibly.’
Castle’s passion for sustainability is apparent but she is adamant that this not the only motivation behind the brand, ‘We don’t just want to be a sustainable company. It’s our driving force, it’s why we come in every day, but we want to be thought of as good designers,’ she insists. And further evidence of this is seen in the frame above the staircase showcasing the brand’s original philosophy, ‘Recycled, but not obvious; honest, but not nicey nicey; familiar, but not been done before…” The vision and direction of Goodone may have changed but the ideology and attitude towards fashion and design appears to have remained the same.
Contributing Writer: Sara Galvez
