One of the main questions I’m asked is can ethical fashion be fashion forward? Of course the answer is yes! If we think to just a few years back it was hard to find organic food and now it’s just part of ones normal grocery shopping experience- we might even be buying organic milk without even thinking twice about – so why not fashion? Ada Zanditon has always been designing fashionable clothes – they just happen to be ethical.

Q- Were you always interested in ethical fashion?
AZ – In some ways yes but not consciously at first. I started making things by taking the clothes I was bored with and re working them so I would like them again which is actually a very green thing to do. My great grand father wrote an ethical will as well as a legal one and this legacy inspired me that no matter what I ended up doing in life I wanted to combine my ethics with it which are benefiting people and planet and creating a good business.
It was two things that really made me want to do ethical fashion, the first was my friend’s thesis about Eco fashion that she wrote for her final year paper and the second was the event organized by anti apathy called RE: fashion at which Katharine Hamnett spoke about the issues around organic cotton.

Q – You’re also an illustrator?
AD – Indeed! I have shown my illustrations as posters on the underground in Embankment, Knightsbridge and Holland Park stations as well as various London Galleries such as Nog Gallery on Brick Lane. Recently, I was commissioned by "Artist Gallery" in Moscow to create 4 new works which were exhibited there in Moscow alongside the photographer Mark LeBon. I use my illustrations to create artwork for my own designs (digital prints in my graduate collection and for the Jacquard in AW09) and I design prints for other labels.

Q – Is it difficult to source fabrics?
AD – From someone else’s perspective they would consider that my choices are more limited however for me personally I never feel limited by my choice of fabrics because I really don’t enjoy working with a fabric that is not sustainable and it pushes me to be more creative and inventive with what is available.

Q – What inspired your collection?
AD – The incantation of Amergin is inspired by the verse of the aforementioned bard who was the first poet of the Irish people and the book Soil and Soul by Alastair McIntosh. The book follows Alistair’s journey to help the residents of the Isle of Eigg to prevent their Laird from developing their mountain “Roineabhal” into a superquarry. The spirit and philosophy that the book presents is one that highlights the importance of ecology not just from a scientific point of view but from that of a community and human spirit. Ada also drew inspiration from Celtic mythology and much of the Megalithic architecture from across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Through creating strict silhouettes with modern and elegant fashionable shapes Ada is exploring how modern man can have the same desire for beauty and luxury whilst also engaging with eco consciousness.

Q – Where are you based?
AZ – I’m based in the East End of London! my studio is in Whitechapel.

Q – Will you be doing a show in September at London Fashion Week?
AZ – We’ll see…………….

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Ada Zandition is part of London Fashion Week’s Estethica – a showcase for eco-sustainable designers now in its sixth season. I can’t wait to see it. There’s so much discussion about ethical design – people wanting something more fashion forward – well this is it!

These images our from the look book shoot. We did two shoots as Ada has a ready to wear collection and a couture collection.

AUTUMN WINTER O9/10 THE INCANTATION OF AMERGIN
Photographer Paul Morgan
Stylist Rebekah Roy
Hair by Christian
Make-Up by Anita Brulee

Related Posts An Interview with Ethical Designer Ada Zanditon One of the main questions I'm asked is can ethical fashion be fashion forward? Of course the answer is yes! If we think to just a few years back... Ada Zanditon Lookbook Shoot The Incantation of Amergin A/W 09 by Ada Zanditon Ada Zanditon exhibited in Paris last week at Pret a Porter and it was a success! In previous... Haunted Spaces – The Ghosts of St Pancreas This story was Inspired by Queen Boudicca haunting Kings Cross St Pancreas. I styled this story a while back but couldn't show you the images... 123 Bethnal Green Road 123 Bethnal Green Road is one of my favourite shops. Its supports many young designers, including designers that I've worked with like Alice... Backstage at Prophetik Vauxhall Fashion Scout AW11 Backstage at Prophetik was so wonderful. It's our third season at Vauxhall Fashion Scout - which is quite nice. Everyone was so helpful and... H&M – The Conscious Collection H&M is launching an ethical collection called 'The Conscious Collection' for spring. Eco-fashion is more than a trend. In the UK events like... Amelia’s Compendium of Fashion Illustration – Tea Party! It was quite fun to go to the 123 Bethnal Green Road ethical clothing shop and celebrate the launch of Amelia's Compendium of Fashion... Recycle Your Christmas Tree! I always feel so sad when I see an abandoned Christmas tree on the street. However, there is a bit of comfort knowing it will be recycled and... Environmental Justice Foundation Over the years I have had the pleasure of working with the lovely model Max Rogers (you may recognise him from the recent Tommy Hilfiger... Speedo LZR Racer Elite – Redesigns I have always been a huge fan of sportswear. Sportswear is more exciting than most people realize as it's really all about innovation of fabrics...

The Incantation of Amergin A/W 09 by Ada Zanditon

Ada Zanditon exhibited in Paris last week at Pret a Porter and it was a success! In previous seasons Ada has done amazing sculptural pieces that are ethically made. I love her dresses and wore one to the Nokia Tube Party. Ada also does illustrations and has designed her very own fabrics for her new collections.

This season she has designed two collections – a ready to wear and a couture collection. She’ll be exhibiting at Estethica at London Fashion Week and her work is amazing!!!

Ada won an award for creativity for her first collection, Emergence, at the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris in October 2008, and has shown the collection at Fashioning the Future Event at London College of Fashion. She’s also showcased in Hangzhou in China.

Ada graduated from the London College of Fashion in 2007 with a first class degree in Womenswear design. Her graduate collection was selected for the Royal Academy press show.

We shot the lookbook for her ready-to-wear collection just a few days ago – it was a great shoot!

Photographer Paul Morgan
Stylist Rebekah Roy
Hair by Christian
Make-Up by Anita Brulee

Me -wearing a Ada Zandition dress with Mikey and the fab VV Brown!

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I met with the super petite designer Ada Zanditon in her super sized jacket! Ada graduated from London Collage of Fashion in 2007. She spent four season interning with Alexander McQueen and in 2007/8 she worked with Gareth Pugh as a pattern maker. These images are from Ada’s graduate collection. I love the oversized shapes and how everything feels bit like a super hero. Lisa Snowden and Joan Collins have both been photographed wearing her clothes! For her next collection Ada is using ethical/organic fabrics and she presently has a new eco collection available in Oxfam 245 Westbourne Grove, London W11. You might have see some of her illustrations featured in the London Underground. This autumn Ada will be exhibiting in The Ethical Fashion Show in Paris.

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