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Sustainable Sourcing

Sustainable Sourcing
Inspired by the natural roots and English country garden aesthetic of our Summer collection, we gave ourselves a challenge — to source every look for the shoot from small, sustainable, brands. Our goal was to work with British designers, or brands with pieces available in the U.K, meaning we had more control over things like air miles and wastage.
 
Our photoshoot stylist, Gemma Sort Chilvers (@gemma.sortchilvers), created an artistic midsummer-garden look and under her direction the campaign took on a narrative of its own. Becoming, not just as a moment for PC, but a moment for sustainable British design - celebrating the natural world and, via conscious and responsible styling, protecting it too.
 

Her approach was to try and find people doing things that were slightly off the beaten track. Hunting down independent, up-and-coming names whose looks fed into her overall aesthetic: ‘I scoured Instagram, looking for brands turning waste products into materials and working with local people. I also reached out to brands I’d admired in the past and encouraged the team and friends to pass on any names they’d discovered along the way, so I ended up with a really eclectic, organic, group of people and ideas to work with’

We uncovered some amazing stories. Pairing our PCs with designers like Doone London, whose female-led focus really struck a chord with Gemma: ‘All their pieces are handmade in London; by women for women, and crucially, every style is breastfeeding friendly too, something I feel is so often overlooked...’ ELV Denim was another great find. They take unwanted jeans destined for landfill and turn them back into denim. Adhering to an ethos of zero waste and zero impact from start to finish. Their stylish designs look and feel brand new, without requiring any of the intensive farming techniques needed to generate cotton.
 

To discover so many brands finding better routes to design felt inspiring. These companies are really paving the way for a more transparent future, which is something we as a team believe is possible. Fashion can often be painted as a competitive space, but we’re proud to work with brands who share our values and proud to be able to celebrate and credit them too.

We’ve put together a directory so you can check out the list of brands we featured and for customers that have the catalogue we’ve included a page reference, so you can see how Gemma styled each piece — making it easier for you to recreate the looks from home! Thank you to all the brands who collaborated with us and shared their stories. It was amazing to style so much talent and to bring so many British designers into our quintessential, summer campaign. Our directory is below and if you have any more questions about the looks or styles then just get in touch at customerservices@penelopechilvers.com.

@amlul (P.16)

@heidimiddletonartclub (P.26)

@beaumontorganic (P.22 & 30)

@calledelmar (P.12)

@chaosandcolour (P.13 &14)

@doonelondon (P.9 & 24)

@elvdenim (P.7,15 & 29)

@flaxlondon (P.29)

@marazul.clothing (P.5,20,22 & 30)

@o_pioneersuk (FP)

@solerlondon (P.3,17,18 &27)

@ssonecircle (P10)

@cosette_kp

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