Colèchi

DOWNLOAD: The Weaving Toolkit A guide to how the industry can work collaboratively with weavers across the UK and Philippines. Last summer, we worked with Panublix, a collaborative sourcing platform based in Philippines, bringing visibility to local natural fibres and weavers. We spent 6 months on an exchange project, understanding the weaving industry landscape between the two countries. The report shares what we found, as a guide for how we can connect with the weaving community, and why they are credible partners within the wider, global, and more ethical fashion and textile ecosystem. Developed in partnership with UAL Fashion, Textiles and Technology Institute and the British Council. Featured works include Lara Pain WEFFAN Ltd NOWSHIN PRENON Contemporary Hempery https://lnkd.in/e6uMvbtG

🧶 🦙 As part of the YKWU EAST project, the cohort has teamed up with WEEKFIELD FARMS LIMITED to create four unique knitted pieces using EKOALPAKA yarn: a convertible blanket, a convertible vest, a cardigan with an attached scarf, and a scarf featuring innovative structural designs. Each garment is accompanied by a digital product passport, the EKOPASSPORT, which provides a detailed account of the product's entire journey from creation to completion. The EKOPASSPORT offers full traceability of the fibre’s path, the product lifecycle, and its impact on both wellness and the environment, including the names of the designer and producer. Take a look at these knits at our Clean Fashion Summit which is taking place this Thursday 14th November at Somerset House, London. We will have limited print copies of The Weaving Toolkit, as well as talks around this years' theme: (G)Local. The exhibition will be open all day; and we will end the evening with a weaving workshop led by Lara López Ayuso and NOWSHIN PRENON https://lnkd.in/ehUvexw7

Join us for the third edition of our Clean Fashion Summit as we explore GLOBAL / LOCAL methods of working and discuss sustainable, ethical overseas practices. We’ll be dissecting the complexities of imperial capitalism—from raw material sourcing to the hidden impacts of waste colonialism—and outlining actionable strategies for better business that benefit both people and the planet. CLEAN FASHION SUMMIT 2024: (G)Local Date: November 14th Location: Somerset House, London Our summit continues Colèchi’s AGREENCULTURE vision. We will examine international agricultural practices in depth and present The Weaving Toolkit, our latest research, in partnership with Panublix, University of the Arts London, and the British Council. Featured speakers include: Renuka Ramanujam Phoebe English Frederica Brooksworth Madhu Verma Simon Ferrigno Rajan Bhopal We will also present works from the YKWU EAST project and Lara Pain WEFFAN Ltd Contemporary Hempery Nowshin Rahman from The Weaving Toolkit. Grab your ticket here: https://lnkd.in/e99h8iAV

It has been an exciting five weeks on the YKWU EAST programme. 🌱 Deborah Barker FRSA and Emma Hague from Alpaca Fibreshed Corp shared the principles of regenerative agriculture and sustainable fibre farming. ♻️ Vickie Hayward and Seetal Solanki gave a talk on how to integrate circular economy principles into design practices. 🧶 Alice Holloway at the REMAKERY BRIXTON LIMITED hosted a spinning workshop, demonstrating how to turn wool fibre into yarn for garment making. She emphasised the therapeutic and social benefits of hand spinning. 🌍 Renée Materials provided a comprehensive overview of economic systems and infrastructures, and how to create businesses within these guidelines. ✨ Alicia Robinson from AGR Knit discussed the challenges and successes she has experienced in the fashion industry, offering invaluable tips on brand building, creating unique products, and navigating the complexities of producing with ethics and community at the forefront. Last week, the cohort got to explore WEEKFIELD FARMS LIMITED in Somerset, witnessing the journey of alpaca wool from raw material to finished product. Alongside all of these sessions, the groups have been working with WEEKFIELD FARMS LIMITED to produce knitted pieces collaboratively. Come see the finished knits at the (G)LOCAL Fashion Summit on Thursday, November 14th. Learn more about the summit here: https://lnkd.in/ehUvexw7 #YKWUEAST A huge thank you to our partners, Foundation for Future London, and Westfield, for their support in making this possible.

We've kicked off YKWU EAST! Last night we held our first cohort meeting with 15 emerging knitwear designers with connections to East London. The first session featured Deborah Barker FRSA and Emma Hague from Alpaca Fibreshed Corp. An initiative which aims to develop regional fibre systems to enhance ecosystems and community health. This is just one of the many exciting sessions we will be running as part of the YKWU EAST programme. Upcoming highlights include a session with Alicia Robinson founder of AGR Knit; a day trip to WEEKFIELD FARMS LIMITED, exploring the journey of alpaca wool from raw material to finished product; and a hands-on workshop with KNIT WORKS LONDON LIMITED creating finishings, trims and edges. The cohort will also learn from FRASER BRUCE MILLER about his journey into up-cycling second-hand clothing within the high-end design community as well as talks from Frieda Bischoff from Renée Materials, Seetal Solanki, and Vickie Hayward. A huge thank you to our partners, Foundation for Future London, and Westfield, for their support in making this possible. Read more about the Colèchi YKWU programme here: https://ykwu.substack.com/ #YKWUEAST

The Vogue Business 100 Innovators Class of 2024 list came out this morning and we are honoured to be recognised as sustainability thought leaders! Our mission to humanising fashion and highlight the people behind the scenes can be tiring - especially because we are a small team in an industry that is super fast paced - but we love the work that we get to do and can see that being ethical is gaining the attention it deserves. We are open to connect with anyone that shares this vision. Our co-founders Tina Wetshi and Piarvé Wetshié are humbled to share this acknowledgment with other incredible people pushing change in this space including: Dr. Lewis Akenji, Brontie Maria Ansell, Crispin Argento 🌍🕊✌🏽, Abhishek Bansal, Beto Bina, Dr. Christina Dean, Anna Foster, Dr Yuly Fuentes-Medel Ph.D., Scott Fulbright and Stevan Albers, Rosario Hevia, Mara Hoffmann, SEBASTIEN KOPP and François-Ghislain Morillion, Dio Kurazawa, Lindsay Rose Medoff Jinali Mody, Hannah Phang and Laura Hunter Caroline Priebe, Joey 🌱 Pringle, Xiao Wei and Hongliang Yu, Faith Robinson, Brittany Sierra, Shruti Singh 🌏, Saqib Sohail, Chloe Marie Songer, Stuart Ahlum and Phong Nguyen, Yusuke Takahashi CFCL, Cecilie Thorsmark and uyen tran View the full list across all categories here: https://lnkd.in/gBtqa5eM #Fashion #sustainability

If you know any knitters/crocheters/designers that would be interested in learning more about the knitwear industry and local production, Colèchi is launching YKWU East. A 6 week programme in collaboration with Westfield and Foundation for Future London, inviting emerging knitwear designers connected to East London, to learn about the knitwear ecosystem and respond to a brief to produce a localised and traceable product in the UK. Feel free to share. Learn more about it here: https://lnkd.in/dw_vcXqz

We are launching YKWU East! Applications Now Open For Emerging Knitwear Designers. The design collective and 6 week programme open to 15 young emerging knitwear designers with connections to East London. We are creating an educational programme that offers participants knowledge on the knitwear ecosystem and the opportunity to be part in pioneering a localised and traceable product chain within the UK. The first cohort will develop their practice through curated workshops, talks and seminars by industry professionals, including Alicia Robinson, founder of AGR Knit and Alice Holloway, designer and researcher exploring sustainable fashion through bootstrap entrepreneurship, embedding the values of Colèchi’s AGREENCULTURE. APPLY YKWU.COLECHI.COM/JOIN Application Deadline: 13/09/24

I recently exhibited some of my natural dye samples using algae at Copenhagen Fashion Week. 🌱 The AGREENCULTURE Reading Room hosted by Colèchi. In the space there were conversations exploring the themes and issues around fashion, farming and regenerative practices. @CPHFW x Creator Hub: . (5th -8th of august 2024)

We’re super excited to be bringing the first issue of Colèchi Journal AGREENCULTURE to Copenhagen Fashion Week On Tuesday 6th at 2pm August our co-founder Tina Wetshi will be joining the Vogue Business small talks discussion on ‘What is a Magazine Today’ alonside Olya Kuryshchuk Navi Ahluwalia and Steff Yotka Chaired by Lucy Maguire At 2.30pm we’ll be taking over the TikTok Creator Hub to host an AGREENCULTURE reading room, a chance for people to take a breath and read whilst engaging in an open discussion on the themes of the journal, discussion led by Malvika Venkatesh. If you’re in Copenhagen please drop by!