Looks from Maggie Marilyn’s Season 7 collection. Images supplied.
Maggie Marilyn recently released the brand’s Season 7 collection with designer Maggie Hewitt wanting the range to reinvigorate the pleasure of fashion. She has championed sustainability from the debut of her label and this season it’s all about celebrating the newness, luxury and beauty of clothing in a conscious and meaningful way.
Along with the gorgeous new collection, Maggie Marilyn also has a wonderfully updated website which has a focus on comprehensive transparency around the brand’s sustainability journey. The designer and her team have taken the time to cover off a number of subjects in detail with information on their makers, factories, fabrics, suppliers, eco packaging, community work, how to care for your clothes, challenges and 2020 sustainability strategy, as well as a sustainable language guide to help customers understand what the brand is doing and why.
“It is incredibly important to me to be completely transparent about our supply chain,” says Maggie Hewitt. “I want to not only talk about everything we are proud of but also talk about the many challenges we face as a sustainable business trying to influence systemic change. My hope is that our website can be a platform for information and education. A place where our customers can come to learn where, how and by whom their clothes were made, what we stand for as a business; our achievements, goals and challenges and how to love and care for their clothes.”
There is a comprehensive new section on the site called ‘Progress not perfection’ which outlines all the challenges Maggie Marilyn faces in producing ethical and sustainable garments within an intrinsically flawed, make-take-dispose fashion system and the ways the brand aims to tackle this. It’s a refreshing take on the matter and shows the true character and values at the heart of Maggie Marilyn.
The brand’s latest Season 7 collection is a perfect example of the heightened focus on innovation in textiles. This enables Maggie Marilyn to produce a luxurious range of garments that seeks to challenge people’s expectations of ecologically conscious and sustainable yet ultimately beautiful clothing. With this is mind this season sees a unique fabric introduced to the brand with designer Maggie Hewitt utilising a highly technical organic plant-based cellulosic rose petal fibre that has a silk-like feel.
The exciting new-to-market cellulose fibre is made from rose bushes, with the resulting fabric looking lustrous and smooth. It’s also eco-friendly and fully biodegradable which makes it a brilliant option for a sustainable brand. Maggie has chosen the fabric for the new ‘Stop to Smell the Roses‘ long sleeved top which is a pertinent name for sure. The suitably pretty top features a delicate shoulder knot detail and is available in nature inspired hues of Sky Blue and Meadow Green.
“Our renewed focus at Maggie Marilyn, is not to alienate a customer, not to shame them in to not buying beautiful clothes because we are told to not consume; the idea is to reinvigorate the spirit of choosing a wardrobe based on being informed and having such choices at hand,” adds Maggie. “Not only are we developing clothes for a woman today, but by seeking to adapt and innovate we are paving the way to develop clothes for the women of tomorrow”
The designer goes on to clarify her position on how the fashion industry’s choices impact on the environment and on customers; “I have realised one of the fundamental problems in the fashion industry is how incredibly disconnected consumers are from where the garment has come from, and how unaware they are of the effects these products have on nature and the culture of our society. This is governed by two forces; first, a lack of real education and choice from the brands they buy, the media they read and the stores they buy from. Secondly, a disconnection born from not personally asking questions, choosing convenience over curiosity, and indifference over discernment.”
It’s clear to see that Maggie Hewitt cares just as much about the ethics of producing clothing as she does about making beautiful collections. Maggie Marilyn’s concept of liveable luxury is a great example of how to do business sustainably while making covetable pieces that are made to last, and who wouldn’t want to wear these winsome garments forever?
Images supplied.