Ophelia Dos Santos, a Welsh textile designer currently based in Cardiff, shares how your fashion choices can be sustainable without compromising style or restricting what you can wear.
Specialising in hand embroidery for fashion, Ophelia has been proactive in building her brand since graduating university in 2019. Through her work, she hopes to inspire environmental and social change – by encouraging people to think about how they buy, re-use and throw away fashion.
“I believe fashion can be sustainable without compromising style or restricting what you can wear.“
She states “My work aims to highlight the permanent environmental impacts of the fashion industry, such as the damaging use of water and chemical waste. I use my work to advocate for secondhand and vintage, presenting benefits of swapping, borrowing or renting clothes as opposed to purchasing newly produced clothes. In doing so, bringing forward a cycle of repair, re-work and recycle; by demonstrating how preloved denim can be reinvented with simple embroidery techniques, inspiring people to alter their wardrobe or a look at home. All pieces are created using scrap and recycled denim, incorporating contemporary hand embroidery style. Through embroidery, I illustrate portrait motifs in denim, building on patchwork and appliqué techniques.“Her collection will be available to buy through her site www.opheliadossantos.com from the beginning of April 2020.
Follow her on Instagram @opheliadossantos
