Silk & Stitch.
At Aisle + Vow, we are big believers in doing our part to help the planet. We are constantly searching for people and brands who not only create beautiful work but also focus on having a positive impact on our environment. Recently, we were very excited to talk to Anna Thompson, founder and designer of high-end bridal label, Anna Campbell, based in Australia and sold worldwide. Anna described to us how wasteful and environmentally unsustainable the fashion industry can be and how incredible bridal fabrics routinely go unused and end up forgotten. Silk & Stitch is Anna’s answer to unlocking the unused potential of these never-released designer fabrics and is her effort to help make the industry less wasteful.
What inspired you to start Silk & Stitch?
I have been working deep within the bridal industry for over a decade as the founder and designer of “Anna Campbell”. I saw first-hand how wasteful and environmentally unsustainable the fashion industry could be. In creating each collection, each design season there would be rolls of the most incredible laces, embellishments, and silks left over that while beautiful weren’t the final product and therefore un-usable for our collection. In addition, when we discontinued a dress style, its unique laces and fabrics would also be discontinued and at that point there would be between 10 and a few hundred meters discarded. I also remembered how hard it was to source quality fabrics as a designer before Anna Campbell grew enough to employ someone specifically for this purpose. So, while these fabrics were no longer useable to Anna Campbell, these fabrics were of incredible quality, often one-off designs and high-end and it felt selfish and wasteful not to share them.
Do you find that many bridal designers are now considering their impact on the environment and taking action?
Absolutely! Not only are designers really caring about where their fabric is sourced and the environmental impact it has had, the customer is also starting to really care. Our designers love that they can tell their client that the high end fabric they are using has been sourced locally and sustainably with minimal environmental impact.
Could you tell us about the process?
Essentially, we come across high-end designer fabrics that are no longer in use, or are in vast overstock. This includes silks, sequins, plain fabrics, laces, embellishments, and trims. From there, we photograph the pieces, list them online, and sell them to both the retail market via our website or directly to our growing network of independent designers.
You have been in the bridal industry for over 10 years. When and how did you start to realize how wasteful the industry can be?
Right from the start! As a designer you want to create the most beautiful dress for your bride – and I have always been inspired by the fabrics and embellishments that are signature to our designs, using them as a starting point for inspiration for our collections. I have always worked closely with our embellishment and lace suppliers hand designing and customising the laces and embellishments to be unique for Anna Campbell and perfect for our brides. But this process is wasteful as it takes multiple rolls of lace, samples of silk, or hand beaded embellishments to perfect.
In addition, as your business grows you change focus time and time again, and something that was once key to your offering might fade away, leaving fabrics wasted. An example of this is our bridesmaids collections. For a few years, before we evolved into a bridal focused brand, bridesmaids were the key focus of what we did, and we made them from the most beautiful colour palate of silk satins, dupions, and chiffons. When we decided to focus more on bridal designs and discontinue the bridesmaids dresses, we were left with thousands of meters of silks in colours we can’t use for bridal. It thrills me that these incredible fabrics are now being made into bridesmaids dresses, silk satin slip dresses, hand dyed homewares, and high end lingerie having been resold to a range of incredible Australian designers via Silk & Stitch!
How has the industry reacted to your business so far?
Incredibly! The positive response from independent designers has been totally overwhelming and I have made some incredible connections with designers in my industry as a result. I am so passionate about supporting these designers, most of which are women and I see so many parallels as to the journeys they are on with my journey as a designer. Often, a client will call me to ask about a fabric and we end up having a good chat about how things are going in our designer worlds that week. The fashion, and bridal industry in particular, can be a really amazing but very challenging and often a lonely industry and it really makes a difference to feel supported! I really wish someone had of come up with this concept first and I could have been the customer! We are providing high-end, exclusive, luxury products at incredible pricing with caring service, from a team who understand the industry intimately and are doing it sustainably and I think it is hugely appreciated.
What are your goals for the future of Silk and Stitch?
What is important to me is that we continue to grow the collections that we offer, continue to offer incredible service, and continue to expand the list of designers that we work with. In the future we can also look to take on more fabrics from other designers too, further expanding our range and lessening environmental impacts across the industry even further.
