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 and technology. Speedo’s revolutionary LZR Racer swimsuit was so effective that it was able to reduce race times by around 2%. During the The Beijing Olympics 94% of all swimming races were won while wearing a Speedo LZR! The Federation Internationale de Natation deemed it unfit to use the Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit and it was banned from competion – many considered the suit "technological doping."

This caused a surplus of the suits. Instead of sending the products to a landfill Speedo had a more responsible solution. They chose to work with London College of Fashion, University College Falmouth and University of Huddersfield’s students to create new designs. 

Here are a couple of the re-designs that I saw at Fashion Press Week!

Speedo have created a new range of the LZR Racer Elite that are fully approved by FINA. Here’s a bit of info from Speedo’s press release about why the Speedo LZR Racer Elite is so special:

LZR Pulse Fabric:
The Speedo LZR Racer Elite is constructed from Speedo’s unique LZR Pulse fabric. Ultra Lightweight, powerful and water repellent, LZR Pulse reduces muscle oscillation and skin vibration through compression. This fast drying fabric is water repellent and also offers low skin friction drag.

Hydro Form Fit System:
The Speedo LZR Racer Elite is engineered (with the LZR Pulse fabric) to provide a streamlined shape across the whole body. This provides flexibility with optimum economy

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This is the second season that I’ve styled Prophetik and I loved the hair and make up for the SS11 look. Tim Furssedonn, International Creative Director for Toni & Guy created the hair look and Lan Nguyen created the makeup look. The theme was midnight garden and we wanted the models to have a very otherworldly look that was youthful and fairy like.

Toni & Guy were kind enough to send these instructions – here’s how to get the look:

• Prep hair with label.m Volume Mousse and roughly dry to build texture

• Divide hair in two uneven sections and plait both from the back of the head forwards, close to the scalp and secure

• Distress the plait with the fingers and place in hair pieces to build a 3D effect

• Finish with a light coating of label.m Hairspray and Shine Spray Must-have Products label.m Volume Mousse, label.m Hairspray, label.m Shine Spray. Session Kit – Label.m, Pintail Comb, elastic, grips

…and here is a guide sent by Lan Nguyen for the makeup:

Make up Inspiration: Ethereal mermaids with sparkling and magical eyes.

The skin was prepped with Perfeckt skin gel primer to even out the skin. We then used a pale concealer around the eyes and around the cheekbones to pale out the skin. Soft peach and pink eye shadow was brushed passed softly pass the eyebrows. Dark pink eye shadow was used to contour the sockets and blended outwards to make the eye look more doll like and wider.

Using mixing medium to help the glitter stick on the eyebrows and sparsely around the inner corners and above brow bone pressing gently with the fingers. Eyelashes were then attached with crystal beads customized a few days before the show. Final touch was adding the crystals randomly using duo glue to stick them to the skin. Lips were nude with a peach gloss.

Tim Furssedonn doing final touch-ups backstage just before the show.

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FBC board member and Editor of Vogue.co.uk Dolly Jones talks with model Laura Bailey at Fashion Business Club. The discussion focused on Laura’s career as a model, a mother and her eco work. Laura’s been the face of Jaeger, done campaigns for Ray-Ban, L’Oreal, Temperley, Jaguar and Marks & Spencer and this year she’s been designing for the accessory brand Made. Laura is also a freelance journalist – she’s written for Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Glamour, GQ, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times Style and she also write regularly for Vogue.co.uk’s The Green Style Blog and Laura Baily’s Blog.

Without intending to, Laura has become the voice (and face) of ethical fashion. On a dare Bailey climbed Kilimanjaro mountain in aid of the charity Kids Company, and she’s been a Barnardo’s ambassador for over six years. She’s traveled to Kenya and Nepal as an ambassador for The Fairtrade Foundation. Laura’s done so many extraordinary things and yet she’s very down to earth – the girl next door. She makes you realize that sustainability isn’t just something that  the middle class or the rich can buy into but it’s everyone’s responsibility and everyone can contribute. We can purchase our clothes in charity shops, we can recycle, we can buy clothes that last several generations, we can use eco taxis and we can ride our bike. We can all make small significant changes.

One of the most important topics of the discussion was the importance of design. This London Fashion Week there were many ethical designers showing on the catwalk including the Sustainable Fashion Show, which is part of Prince Charles’s START initiative, and there were other presentations as well. Sustainability automatically gives a product a great story and a story helps sell products. The one issue that both Dolly and Laura talked about was the importance of design. People will not buy fashion solely because it’s sustainable or eco friendly, they will buy it because of the design and because it’s eco friendly.

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Angel Jackson was set up in 2005 by sisters Katie and Millie Smith. They have been short listed for BFC’s Vogue Fashion Fund and won Topshop’s New Designer of the Year Award!

All Angel Jackson products are produced in their own fairtrade workshops and made from ethically sourced material. Katie is the designer, based in Bristol, with two children and Millie has 3 children, she had her third in Bali and she calls her Ruby Star!  Millie oversees the production in Bali, where they set up their fairtrade workshops. They have a Bali fund that helps 2 charities: street kids and the mother baby fund. Angel Jackson promotes fair pay and contribute to the health care and education of their workers, all of whom have specific creative skills.

I love this snakeskin bag! Every season, Angel Jackson creates a few bags using the by-products of the food industry. (I never realized that snake skin was a by-product, or that snake could be food!) This bag is very tactile and soft. It’s all hand made and the studs are hand done too!

The ethical luxury bags are stocked in Selfridges, Harrods, Henri Bendel, Villa Moda, Galeries Lafayette as well as in a selection of lovely boutiques.

French Vogue recently requested quite a few items including the Seric! naturally many celebrities has been spotted with an Angel Jackson bag including Rachel Bilson, Gaga, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Sienna and Rihanna. I’m sure we’re going to spot a few more bags at  Brits and Elle style awards!

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What does having a fashion conscience mean to you – organic, fair trade sustainable, recycled and vegan? Well Fashion-Conscience.com seems to have it all.

They stock pieces that are organic, sustainable, recycled, vintage, vegan, fair trade and aid small local communities – and they have some exclusive and edgy designers from around the world.

The question is – can you have a sustainable fashion-forward wardrobe? Yes, you just have to think a bit more about what you really want. An investment piece doesn’t have to be boring – you just have to love it and wear it!

I love anything made from Bamboo. Check out this knit by Viridis Lux.

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I have a weakness for coloured shoes – loving this Vegan Mary Jane Wedge from Melissa for £50!

They even have a list of symbols so you know what each product is really about!

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