Profession / role:

Ethical couture Accessories Designer/Sole Trsder

Company / organisation:

Get Clobbered

Website (if you have one):

www.getclobbered.co.uk

My primary role in relation to fashion is:

Entrepreneur

I am looking to discover or buy

advice/ support

About me / About business or organisation:

Born and bred in Sheffield into a fairly modest family, self-sufficiency and dislike of waste have always been a big part of my character. We live in a throwaway society, clothing has become cheaper and cheaper as High St retailers and consumer demand, have pushed margins and suppliers so hard that we now see T-shirts that cost less than a loaf of bread. Magazines show us how to copy styles and where to get the outfit on the High St at a budget price, encouraging us to constantly buy new and make our old clothes and unique identity obsolete. Rigidly sticking to each Seasons "new uniform", so, what happens to individuality? What will be our legacy? Each day, we put on clothes that do more than just cover up our bodies, clothes represent our personalities, our moods, the times we live in, our ambitions and our desires in essence YOU. Get Clobbered promotes a nostalgic return to parts of the pre-industrial society, valuing craftsmanship, giving pieces an emotional/sentimental value, pieces with a rich story/ provenance, to be treasured and handed down through generations.

Career history / Company history:

I hand-make a range of Ladies and Gents Couture Accessory pieces, created using only recycled/reclaimed materials, each piece is entirely unique. The pieces are all entirely constructed from vintage or reclaimed fabrics, combining a "make-do-and-mend" attitude with an Avant Garde style, transforming waste into something unique and irreplaceable with new purpose and value. As an "ethical" label, I am essentially perceived to be an Artist creating Wearable Sculptures rather than Fashion, and therefore, have an Open Studio and Exhibitions, as opposed to Retail. I am attempting to change that perception. I have recently appeared on the ethical fashion panel alongside Safia Minney at Pure London. I was also shortlisted to the final 3 Best Dressed category for The OBSERVER ETHICAL AWARDS