The power of ethics and luxury

THE story of the Ethical Fashion Initiative changed my stubborn antipathy to such subjects.

Steve Waterson enjoys the thrill of driving the Lotus Exige S Roadster

IN this job I get pitched a lot of stories. On any given week, there would be at least 150 genuine story ideas that find their way into my inbox (and that’s just the ones that are addressed to me personally).

I won’t pretend I read all of them, let alone respond to them, but I do scan them for key words just to see if they might be of enough interest to pursue further. Naturally, in looking for words to pique my curiosity, I’m also looking for buzzwords that are, to me at least, so eye-glaringly dull that I can delete them and move on. That list of mind-numbing words includes, but is not exclusive to, sustainable, ethical, fair trade ... you get the picture.

It’s not that I’m not interested in such concepts; it’s just that, in my experience, when these words are applied to the luxury industry, they almost always mean a story so worthy no one would bother to take the time to read it. Our aim is to excite our readers, not put them to sleep. Now, I realise that might sound harsh, but this instalment of my editor’s letter is about demonstrating that even someone as stubborn as I am can have their mind changed sometimes.

In March, I hosted the Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival Business Seminar and I have to confess that when I was briefed on the line-up of speakers and saw two of them had the word “ethical” in their company description I groaned inwardly.

It can be hard work keeping a room full of people excited all day; and moderating an audience question- and-answer session with a speaker who, let’s just say isn’t all that stimulating, can be like performing a tap dance. I approached this year’s Business Seminar armed with pages of questions for our presenters, thinking I might need to rehearse a Busby Berkeley number rather than a mere tap dance.

As it happens, on the day of the seminar my presence was almost unnecessary. The two speakers I’m referring to — Simone Cipriani from the International Trade Centre’s Ethical Fashion Initiative and Paul Van Zyl, from the ethical fashion brand Maiyet — were two of the most inspiring presenters I’ve ever heard at a fashion industry conference. And the audience agreed with me. The reaction they elicited was so overwhelming that you couldn’t help

feeling sorry for the presenters who came after them.

In fact, here at WISH we were so moved by the work of Cipriani that we’ve included a story on the Ethical Fashion Initiative (EFI) in our annual accessories issue. If, like me, you sometimes find the subject of ethical fashion a little dull, then the story by Carli Philips is essential reading. The EFI works with luxury brands including Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney and Karen Walker to create products — primarily accessories — in Africa as a way out of poverty for the poorest of the poor.

As Cipriani says in the story, it’s not about charity; it’s about work. And in case you’re thinking the products produced look predictably “ethnic”, think again. “We always try to make products that are a bit detached from the traditional image of Africa,” says Cipriani. “We want to bring Africa’s skills to the mainstream. We do not do ethnic and we won’t work with anyone who wants to.”

The story of the EFI is one that proves ethics and luxury can go hand in hand. I hope you enjoy the issue.