Eco Religion - Practice what you preach..... By Natalie Worgs

“Can fashion be fun?” is the question asked by designers Vin+Omi who debuted their largest eco collection on the opening night of London Fashion Week. In thinking about what we wear, what we throw away, and buy, Vin + Omi want us to think more responsibly by declaring a new wave of thought. It’s about a new eco religion that pushes the importance of saving our planet and introduces new eco textiles–all attached to social impact projects around the UK and Malaysia. The night opened with the models arriving on a traditional London red bus with the bright vibrancy of summer. The first look of the Vin + Omi Spring/Summer 2019 collection was a bright yellow smock-styled dress with added ruffles in green and pink on the hem, and sleeves worn with a pair of recycled blue-block heels kindly given a second chance at life. Other looks of interest included the new vest for the club girl–18c Bottle Girl–designed in organic latex, displaying her drinking preference; there was a black evening dress abundantly blessed with ruffles; there was also an orange, organic, latex, slouchy trouser produced in Malaysia. The collection was also styled with wigs in various colours which made me feel like I was watching Fred and Wilma Flinstone. The SS19 collection was designed mainly from new textile rPET produced from ocean and river clean up schemes and plant-based fabrics from nettle, rosebay willow, flax and herb grown in the fields surrounding the Vin + Omi studio. Fashion can be fun as presented with a play on eco bags designed in a collaborative project titled “BIN 2 BODY” with the London College of Fashion using collected waste bottles that are recycled and processed into durable eco textile. Vin + Omi continue to think about how we can save our planet by thinking more about what we wear even down to what’s on our feet. They cleverly used a mash up of previous seasons’ shoes and trainers heading for the landfill and with an added twist of recycling, they created a new shoe collection.