So much more than just fabric.

With the pandemic sweeping across the world, it has thrown open the gates and exposed the ugly nature of the beast that is the fashion industry, particularly for fast fashion.

It has brought about movements such as @remakeourworld and @worldhopeforum two movements, in my opinion we should all be following or at the very least familiarise ourselves with. The exposer has painted a very ugly picture of the industry, while I am in 100 % agreement that this industry has to change, we cannot condemn and boycott all of fashion.

The fashion industry is a much bigger entity than you may realise. There are multiple facets and layers that are all connected and overlaid.

There is so much more to this clothing world, rich in contribution to history, present and future, still beautiful and worth supporting.

Sometimes, beauty and history can be found through something as simple as a length of fabric.

Fabric is the first stage of design before garments are designed, created and craft. A design within a design.

Fabric can be so much more than just fabric.

This fabric has been in my possession for almost 10 years, I felt it was just too beautiful to cut and I wanted to appreciate for what it was, a well-designed, beautiful piece of fabric.

I also felt incredibly lucky to poses a fabric such as this, as it could not be found in any of the local markets.

This fabric comes from a French textile mill that has been weaving and producing fabric for more than 200 years. A fabric mill that is an incredibly rich contributor not only in history, but also in today’s modern textiles. What is even more impressive is, while it has expanded and diversified growing it into Europe’s 3rd leading manufacturer of textiles, it has remained ethical and sustainable in its principles and most incredible of all, maintained family ownership.

Its origins can be traced back to the early 19th century, beginning its rich history in 1830 when a local French family purchased its first weaving looms and workshop, in the village of Montagny.

Setting up their first weaving mill, they began to produce a wide range of fabric types, among them the famous “vichy” check. “Vichy” is the French/ German word for gingham.

Today it manufactures a huge variety of fabric from plains to prints, checks to stripes to jacquards and knits, it even has a garment manufacturing division where they manufacture high end labels such as Givenchy Men and Yves Saint Laurent pour Homme.

It is a company where new designs and techniques are created and developed, it is a trend leader in the textile industry, showcasing collections at exclusive events like Premier Vision.

This is not to say that it has not experience hard times, there have been many along the road that have threatened its preservation, but continued diversification and strong leadership both in management and trend has been key to its success.

I consider myself fortunate to have been introduced to such an incredible company such as this one, I hope it will continue for another 200 years.

Something worth supporting?