Break it down into manageable chunks

“It’s important not to get overwhelmed, because it can be really daunting to look at this wall of so many different topics and interlocking, overlapping things. Nominate two or three topics you can develop in the short- and long-term, so you’re breaking things down into manageable chunks. There is so much information available now and designers are sharing resources too. We’re part of a WhatsApp group Phoebe English made which is a fantastic support network for sharing knowledge. As an industry, we need to do a better job of provoking curiosity and getting people to ask questions about the provenance of everything. Fashion has a very long, sprawling supply chain. It touches on every single one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations. It’s a very complex issue, but that means there’s plenty of room for creativity and lots of different solutions.”

Give back to the community

“We work with charity on three levels. Globally, we support WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). Every season has a mascot animal and people can sign up to our fortnightly mascot-making workshops, where we use studio offcuts. It costs £80 per person, all of which goes to WWF. We currently have a small resource online to explain different materials and principles, but we’re hoping to grow this to include downloadable patents for our offcut animals. That way, we can have a global community of people participating. A giant neon orangutan is a crazy thing to look at, but it means that people then come into the studio and ask questions. That sense of playfulness sparks people’s interest.”

“Nationally, we work with Cancer Research UK. For example, a percentage of the profits from our Umbro collaboration for Spring/Summer 2018 went to the Bobby Moore Fund, which is part of Cancer Research UK. Then on a local level, the proceeds from our studio tours go to Off Centre, which works with families and young people on our doorstep in Hackney. We were offering free studio tours, but people would book and then not turn up because it was free. So we had to put in a £5 charge, which was a happy accident because it allowed us to make a charitable donation. Commitment to the tours is now much higher because of that financial commitment.”