Spin me a Yarn

Lou & Ash

I have recently come across a new concept-'Slow Fashion'-preserving and promoting traditional methods and creating one-off and limited edition, hand-made pieces. I admire the philosophy and the beauty of such pieces. It's a philosophy we clean, green Kiwis can get on board with.

Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue, says a lot of clothes now have all the "disposability of fast food" and a trip to a chain-store can be "as instantly fulfilling as a Big Mac and the thrill will last about as long".

Godfrey Deeney for Fashion Wire Daily, wrote after the last lot of menswear shows: "Just as slow-food fanatics enthuse about sustainable seafood, as the Paris season drew to a close last week designers were waxing lyrical about time-consuming production processes. The emphasis was on clothes made to last, which meant clothes that cost a lot and had a timeless yet quirky style: exceptional pieces where the craftsmanship, finish and quality are what counts, not the flashy first impression."

Check out local designers 'Lou and Ash' who adhere to the Slow Fashion movement. "Lou and Ash is a new knitwear label based in New Zealand, creating extraordinary one-off pieces made by hand over months. It's been said that wearing one is like bathing in a rainbow." Their Facebook Page is here.
Crochet seems to be having a resurgence and appearing all over the catwalk - check out Chanel, Paul Smith and Romance is Born,Top Shop and Helmut Lang.
The gorgeous Julia Restoin-Roitfeld (daughter of Vogue's uber-cool Editor in Chief Carine Roitfeld) wore this spectacular crochet Mark Fast dress to the ELLE Style Awards in London.
Crocheted quirkiness at Odd Molly.
Loving Madge's Dolce & Gabbana crochet bag here too.
I also found this wonderful exhibition, by a fellow Cook Islander, Ani O'Neill .
I'm drawn to dots and circles, a la Damian Hirst or Yayoi Kusama. Peter Alexander has jumped on the bandwagon with crocheted socks and scarves, and this tongue in cheek 'Faux-chet' (I just made that up, haha) 'Nana Blanket' nighty - very cute!
If this crochet lark piques your fancy, then do check out this website. My friend belongs to crochet club and they create the most amazing things: www.crochetclub.co.nz. The beautiful images below are from this fabulous site.