LFW Feb 2019: VIN + OMI Present Planet Rewind

Fashion is finally waking up to the detrimental damage it is causing to the planet whereby practically every brand will insert words such as ‘sustainable’, ‘eco-friendly’, and ‘environmentally aware’ in their press release. While some of us wonder why it took so long VIN + OMI have been promoting their brand of eco fashion from the get-go. To date VIN + OMI has produced 16 new eco – textiles all with social impact projects as its origin.

This season VIN + OMI has worked with 22 clean up projects who have collected plastic from around the UK. The projects have resulted in small to medium collections from a variety of organisations and small groups such as the National Trust, Clare Talks Rubbish, British Canoeing and Surfers Against Sewage, with collections from the River Ouse, Thames, Severn. Oxford Brookes University Students collected plastic from around Oxford’s parks. The salvaged plastic have then been converted into VIN + OMI’s rPET fabric which has been used in the majority of the collection.

The design duo also introduced more ways of working with UK produced plant based fabrics. On the catwalk there were hybrids of linen, nettle and cow parsley, fabrics grown in the English countryside. The plant fibres are woven into textiles by participants in two back to work schemes as part of a project to reintroduce the art of hand weaving.

As previously announced VIN + OMI have also collaborated with Ocean Outdoor, pioneers and drivers of Digital Out Of Home advertising. Although the majority of their platforms are super – premium digital and iconic screen locations, a small percentage incorporates vinyl based adverting posters. The collaboration launched during the ‘Planet Rewind’ show revealed a limited-edition eco fashion line made exclusively from vinyl panels from its advertising displays. The collaboration is the beginning of a long-term project that will develop into a retail line to benefit the Marine Conservation Society.

VIN + OMI not only understand the importance of environmental impact and collaborations for good but they know how to court the press with a high profile model or two. This season opening the show after a 10-year break was the British supermodel Jodie Kidd, she was joined by celebrity faces Jo and Leah Wood.

Jo Price from the FTA/FashionCapital attended the show she said: “VIN + OMI’s AW19 collection did not disappoint. The show opened with Jodie Kidd and she looked as beautiful as she did a decade ago. This season’s collection combined a mix of urban and futuristic, with heavy quilting, latex, oversized silhouettes and lots of applied glossy florals. Print was also dominant and there were imitation leather-look jackets created from the brands eco-textiles. Throughout the show the brand played around with gender, with male and female models merging outfits and throwing conformity out of the window. All in all the collection was artistic, fun and creative with a touch of activism thrown in.”

Images by Chris Daw

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