Eight years, and over 165,000lbs of post-consumer textiles diverted from landfill later, Magpies & Peacocks rocked the LFW AW19 runway with two zero waste up-cycled luxury collections ‘René Garza for Magpies & Peacocks’ and ‘Jerri Moore + Clarence Lee for Magpies & Peacocks’. Bringing sustainability to old school glamour and west end cool.
Magpies & Peacocks is a Houston based non-profit design house dedicated to the collection, curation, and sustainable reuse of post consumer/industrial textiles, to disrupt the cycle of waste in the fashion industry. The organisation collaborates with designers and artists to create unique up-cycled, zero-waste collections and small batch re-manufactured products directed at creating conscious consumers; provides a resource library of reusable material for the creative community; offers skill building and sustainability education; and incubates circular fashion innovation.
“A change in the fashion industry is vital – it is our responsibility to ensure emerging designers focus on circular innovation and creative material sourcing, just as it is the responsibility of the consumer to do so with conscious understanding of how they too can effect change. Measuring our impact in reducing landfill has little value if we cannot show beauty and opportunity in waste material reuse as an essential resource in the emerging sustainable design landscape. Our journey as an environmental arts non-profit has not been easy, but change seldom is – we understand the size of the undertaking and just keep pushing!”
Re:ne(w) by René for Magpies & Peacocks – A concept collection that highlights resource sustainability as the responsibility of the individual. Through the use of upcycled post-consumer textiles, the collection focuses on reusing fashion, textile, and accessory waste. This season René Garza for Magpies & Peacocks deconstructs the ultimate in luxury apparel, the tuxedo – taking a symbol this synonymous with opulence and excess, and birthing it a second life. A life of sustainable consciousness.
#Undone by Jerri Moore + Clarence Lee for Magpies & Peacocks – A nod to past Hollywood glamour recreated with unexpected upholstery jacquards and waxed linens – juxtaposing tailored preciseness with the comforting ease of unstructured layers, designed to challenge societal expectations of luxury. Moore and Lee have undressed vintage couture to create an unravelling journey of self-awareness and self-expression, presenting raw materials as a canvas for one’s self. The #Undone collection is highlighted by hand-painted custom textiles by acclaimed international artists Nicola Parenté and Robert Hodge.
http://magpiesandpeacocks.org
Instagram – @magpiespeacocks
Facebook – @MagpiesAndPeacocks
Twitter – @magpiespeacocks
Author – Karine Laudort
