Through my university course, I've learnt so much about the business of retail and fashion through my lectures, peers and personal research. But honestly, I've never gained as much insight into emerging products, issues and trends like I have since doing my current module.
The pathway which I've chosen focuses a lot on fast fashion, sustainable production and our effect on the world. Shamefully, previous to starting my research for this module I didn't actually feel a lot of personal responsibility for my consumerism. Consequently, I know have a better understanding of what issues we're creating with mass-consumerism, and even better, I can see how that can be resolved - but its getting everyone else on board.
Whilst having this understanding can shed a negative light onto the world, its really great when you discover upcoming brands that are really making a difference in the world of fashion (one of the biggest industry contributers to worldwide pollution, only second to the oil industry, might I add).
Mission: "The future of fashion lies in a reconcilliation between nature and industry; OAT Shoes strives to lead the way to that future"
OAT Shoes originated in the Netherland and was founded by designers Christiaan Maats and Dirk-Jan Oudshoorn. Their footwear is design-led with sustainability in mind; each OAT Shoes product comes with a wildflower seeds hidden in the 'seedsheet' within the tongue of the shoe!
All of their footwear is completely biodegradable, with the idea that at the end of their life, you can bury your worn OAT Shoes in your garden where a gorgeous bouquet of flowers will bloom! Even their window displays are innovative and refreshing, here are some examples of their first window installation at Tom's Skate Shop, Denmark:
I think what's great about OAT Shoes is that you can really see that the designers really care about sustainability, and that they really want to combine design with ethical processes. That's whats really lacking with "green" schemes in retail today, the passion and enthusiasm to be sustainable, to really be innovative and make it work. If more businesses had the attitude of OAT Shoes, I think fashion would be so much more exciting and refreshing.
I really can't wait to get my hands on some of these trainers, they really are something aren't they? With that said, I'll leave you with a picture of OAT's baby shoes ('Oaties' - CUTE!) that, when they grow out of them, you can plant in the ground for them to grow into a 'tree of life' that will grow alongside your child, isn't that the most beautiful thing?
All images sourced here
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