IFD is excited to share the story of Alter- not only is Alter the namesake brand, but they represent makers all over North America. Read on to learn about this amazing collection of ethical makers and the values behind this collective. We welcome Alter to our EFF Virtual Marketplace; RSVP here to receive a special discount code for shopping online What is Alter? Located inside the eclectic and vibrant Cargo in Portland, Oregon, Altar is a gorgeous collection of handmade artists. Altar celebrates independent manufacturers and artists from across North America. But the vendors at Altar are chosen not just for their production location. The founders of Altar have a strong sense of narrative, purpose, and creativity. They use the phrase “objects with meaning” when describing their ideal products. Another line of ethical approach in their business model revolves around their clothing brand, Altar Houseline. Not only is this inspiring line (think desert colors, modern art, florals and filigrees) made in America, it’s also made from deadstock materials. If that’s not enough, let’s add in another important layer of cultural accessibility- their sizes range from small up to 6XL. Cassie Ridgway, the founder and designer of the Altar Houseline, is also developing curriculum for at-risk students in apparel design and brand development. We thank Alter for sharing in-depth, inside information about your company- setting a great example of fashion for good! Join Alter virtually at our Ethical Fashion Festival by following along on IG: insidefashiondesign RSVP to receive special shopping discount codes!

Spend one minute with Eden Dawn, and you know you’re in the presence of an actual human sun. She’s bold, brilliant, and provides warmth to anyone in her radius. Her passion has served her well as an award-winning writer, wardrobe stylist, teacher, and entrepreneur. It’s no surprise that her nail polish company Claws Out (which she founded alongside her husband, Ashod Simonian) is steeped in passion and community ethics as well. Ashod and Eden have found a channel to support their most important causes: intersectional feminism, racial justice, immigration rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and animal compassion. Another one of our vendors who takes the idea of ethical fashion to the next level, Claws Out chooses their ingredients carefully and sources colors that will work well on all skin tones. They embody inclusivity, thoughtfulness and accessibility in their production process. But as we said, Eden is an endless fountain of light, and her support for the community doesn’t stop there. Each color that Claws Out produces has a cause and 20% of the profits go directly to campaigns supporting and impacting those communities in need. They donate across other channels as well, consistently keeping their eye on giving back in a real way. Join Eden Dawn and our local designers at Kat & Maouche. December 14th-18th, 12-7pm December 19th 12-5 Meet & Greet Designer reception, Saturday December 18th from 4-7 Free and open to the public. Masks required. RSVP to receive special shopping discount codes!

Bebe Ravi is so much more than an ethical brand. Founder and CEO, Siamanda Chege, returned to her homeland of Kenya and immediately felt compelled to give back. She founded Bebe Ravi, whose mission is to provide jobs and job training within the apparel and home industries. Currently, Bebe Ravi employs 50-100 women in Nakuru, Kenya – an area with unemployment rates as high as 40%. Many of the women have been widowed by the AIDS epidemic Not only does Bebe Ravi provide significant impact to their community by providing jobs for women, but increases chances of success for their children and generations to come. Siamanda’s drive, generosity and brilliance has provided a sustainable strategy to elevate talent inside these deeply impoverished and disadvantaged communities. Siamanda personally designs the Bebe Ravi collection, and upholds high levels of standards for with whom she works. Her meticulously hand-crafted collection also benefits the Patrick Chege Memorial Orphanage, which provides food, shelter, and an incredibly long list of other services to over 25 Kenyan children. Siamanda’s approach, process, endless heart and focus are the essence of what we consider to be ethical fashion. The impact of her work is thoughtful, impactful, and admirable. Shop Bebe Ravi in person at the Ethical Fashion Festival taking place December 14-19th at Kat + Maouche in old historic Chinatown Portland. Open 12-7 T-S, 12-5 Sunday. Shop for Bebei Ravi online at: http://www.beberavi.com

Fashion inspiration and definition-of-fabulous British mum Lou is a force of nature. “Dedicated to growing old disgracefully,” her website Luinluland greets you with neon colors, fabulous maximalist fashion moments, and encouraging, powerful language. As our ambassador, she’s helped us reach an audience of women looking for a space to be included, a space to be confident, and a space to celebrate themselves. She challenged herself to give up shopping for an entire year, and met the challenge head on. Achieving this seemingly insurmountable task left her feeling bold and powerful- if she could vanquish the beast of her consumerism, what else could she do? The answer, as it turns out, was right inside her own home- in her closet, to be precise. She had gathered a deeply colorful, unique yet accessible, sustainable OASIS of clothing- one that she decided to share with others. People immediately realized the gift of Luinluland’s Closet of Dreams, and flocked to her side to take measured fashion risks as she fearlessly styled them from her collection. When the virus took its toll on the world, Lu pivoted, starting a video series encouraging folks to look in their closets for gems that might be overlooked- and to fight the urge to lean into fast fashion. She hasn’t stopped there- she’s started her own line of sweatshirts, is rolling out limited edition fashion and reworked vintage, and is doubling down on just how fabulous one can be after a reinvention. Join us and our local designers at Kat & Maouch December 14th-18th, 12-7pm December 19th 12-5 Meet & Greet Designer reception, Saturday December 18th from 4-7 Free and open to the public. Masks required. Can’t make it in person? Join us virtually! Follow us on IG: insidefashiondesign RSVP to receive special shopping discount codes!

As soon as you hit her Instagram page, you know you’re in the right spot. The vibes are immaculate, the tones both retro and fresh, and the vintage pieces sing. Sourcing gently used and still-fabulous wares is an art form- and Ash Knotts is an artist, no question. From embroidered aprons to funky oxfords, the collection feels both diverse and cohesive. When we think of ethical fashion, fighting against fast fashion immediately comes to mind. The ubiquitous and magnetic nature of poorly made, cheaply sold garments poses a distinct and measurable danger to sustainable fashion. When Ash talks about her passion for repurposing and reworking old products, it’s all in the “hopes of keeping things out of landfills”- and it’s not just garments. She thoughtfully curates housewares as well, keeping an eye on what’s current in interior design but honoring what’s come before. Not everything finds its way to her in perfect form- she spends a good deal of time repairing, refinishing, and revitalizing before she puts items up for sale in her shop. Haunted Doll Vintage is one of our Ethical Fashion vendors showing at our highly curated pop-up shop in old Chinatown Portland- come by to support small businesses and ethical fashion makers. For information, click the link below Find Haunted Doll Vintage on Instagram @haunteddollvintage

Our Mission O’ Field Apparel is an emerging Portland-based fashion brand, notable for its focus on western styling, plaid mixing, and luxurious wool fabrics, delivering sustainable and accessible, made-in-America luxury. Our Story As a fifth generation sheep rancher and Oregon native, designer and wool ambassador Maddie Iverson draws inspiration from her family’s rich heritage in sheep ranching and the wild west and her time spent working in London. With a love of agriculture and expert knowledge of textiles and design – Maddie is an unusual fashion creative with a bright and fresh perspective on sophisticated western style and strives to build a bridge between American agriculture and the fashion industry. Combining expert craftsmanship with exciting use of color, pattern, and texture, each piece tells a story of heritage and history. Using the finest quality materials, each O' Field piece is designed and made by Maddie Iverson in her studio in Portland, Oregon. Her focus is on producing sustainable and luxurious heirloom pieces that will last lifetimes, build memories, and bring people together. She loves collaborating with other designers and makers as well as sourcing locally and using overrun, vintage or recycled textiles when possible. Meet the Designer Maddie Iverson is a graduate of Oregon State University with a Bachelors of Science in Apparel Design and Minors in Business and Entrepreneurship. She has worked in the fashion industry around the world including London and her hometown of Portland, Oregon. With over eight years of freelance graphic design, floral design, and event planning behind her, she approaches fashion design fabric first with an analytical mind and an artists’ spirit. Maddie’s design philosophy focuses on exploring clean lines, artistic and lush details, and statement making pattern play. Integral to her collections is blending her entertainer’s heart and northwest sensibilities while balancing the wild west with urban sophistication. AWARDS 2018 UpNXT Emerging Designer | FashioNXT 2017 FashioNXT Fashion Incubator winner | FashioNXT 2017 Best Constructed Collection | SDHE Spring Fashion Show 2017 Design Student of the Year | Oregon State University Thank you Maddie for joining us in our Ethical Fashion Festival 2021! We love your work! To see the full collection, visit: https://ofieldapparel.com Link to assets available: https://ofieldapparel.com

1. Overdressed: Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion Author Elizabeth L. Cline writes in this book about the dangers of fast fashion, discount stores. She hopes to explore with and enlighten the reader about how these stores are affecting our society, environment, and the fashion economy today. 2. Why French Women Wear Vintage Alois Guinut is a Paris-based former fashion trend forecaster and present style coach who hopes to teach readers about the important of sustainable fashion and how they can combat fast fashion retailers without losing their sense of style. 3. Global Perspectives on Sustainable Fashion This book, authored by Alison Gwilt, Evelise Ruthschilling, and Alice Payne, informs readers on how the global fashion industry is fixing the negative impacts of fashion production and consumption on the environment and economy. This book consists of eighteen essays about six different regions and studies the sustainable fashion movement started within them. 4. The Conscious Closet Also authored by Elizabeth L. Cline, The Conscious Closet shows readers how to combat fast fashion retailers. This book is a style guide for the modern sustainable closet as well as a call to action for readers to help combat fashion negative impact upon the environment and the economy. 5. Practical Guide to Sustainable Fashion Alison Gwilt is an advisor for two non-profit organizations: Redress and the Ethical Fashion Forum. Gwilt lays out a guide on how to keep up with current trends emerging in fashion design and productions. She also explains how the reader can look at the design process to decide if their garment is truly sustainable and ecofriendly. 6. Sustainable Fashion and Textiles Kate Fletcher is a fashion sustainability guru who has worked with everyone from fashion businesses, non-profit organizations, and governments. Currently she is the Professor of Sustainability, Design, Fashion at the University of the Arts in London. This second edition sustainability book lays out the field of design in fashion and textiles in our current society as well as, the sustainable, innovative ways companies are producing new designs and styles. 7. Sustainable Fashion What’s Next? Professors and authors Janet Hethorn and Connie Ulasewicz updated this collection of essays from fashion industry professionals including professors and practitioners speaking on the exploration of sustainable opportunities and challenge of recyclable clothing. 8. Circular Fashion: A Supply Chain for Sustainability in the Textile and Apparel Industry Creating sustainable fashion has never been more important. Circular Fashion provides an accessible, practical, and holistic approach to this key topic for anyone studying fashion or who just loves clothes and wants to make better choices. This introductory text to sustainability in fashion includes best practice case studies and profiles of companies such as Patagonia, Veja, Christopher Raeburn, and Stella McCartney. It begins with an overview of the fashion business, tackling the issues of the linear production model of make, use, dispose, before exploring the idea of the circular supply chain across all areas of the industry. 9. Fashionopolis: Why What We Wear Matters What should I wear? It’s one of the fundamental questions we ask ourselves every day. More than ever, we are told it should be something new. Today, the clothing industry churns out 80 billion garments a year and employs every sixth person on Earth. Historically, the apparel trade has exploited labor, the environment, and intellectual property—and in the last three decades, with the simultaneous unfurling of fast fashion, globalization, and the tech revolution, those abuses have multiplied exponentially, primarily out of view. We are in dire need of an entirely new human-scale model. Bestselling journalist Dana Thomas has traveled the globe to discover the visionary designers and companies who are propelling the industry toward that more positive future by reclaiming traditional craft and launching cutting-edge sustainable technologies to produce better fashion. 10. DIY Sustainable Home Projects Author Sam Fury is a Australian native who found a passion for sustainable, eco-friendly living as he pursued careers in escape and military training, Survival fitness, nutrition, bouldering, and so much more. In this book, Fury gives us a guide to 80+ DIY projects to help the environment, you be healthier, save money, and even the possibility of you finding a passion to make an extra income. A fun option for other ways to help towards more sustainable living! Happy Reading and may 2022 be filled with new earthy friendly, happy & healthy habits!

Looptworks does a whole lot more than make beautiful, hardy bags. They’ve created a zero waste process that takes deadstock and excess materials and transforms them into useful, stylish pieces. Since 2009, they’ve been partnering with companies who have materials to give- and companies who are just plain tired of the wastefulness in the world. Partners can work with Looptworks to design and produce limited edition products, work to close their manufacturing loop, or to simply tell their story for maximum impact. access upcycled good In a world of fast fashion and climate change, Looptworks is changing the system. By using what already exists, they not only preserve that material, but they reserve resources from being used to create new. Want to read more about the difference between upcycling, downcycling, and recycling? Good news, they’ve written a blog post all about it. Upcycling saves water, air, and space resources. They’re not stopping here. Their goal is to work towards truly closed-loop solutions in manufacturing. In the meantime, they’ll continue to work with global networks to find and utilize materials to create products.

To outsiders, Oregon and Minnesota might not scream “fashion capital,” but if you’re starting your fashion education and passionate about a niche design market, put them on your list! Below are schools that excel in one of three targeted emphases: Sports and performance apparel, fashiontech and menswear. If you’ve got a specific focus, hone in on these great schools for a leg up in your target industry. Sports and Performance Apparel If you want to be a future player in the world of sports and performance gear, the Pacific Northwest is the place to be. Between them, Oregon and Washington are home to the headquarters of Nike, Adidas North America, Columbia Sportswear, REI, Eddie Bauer and many, many more. Regional school curriculum is designed to funnel students into this large potential workforce and internship opportunities abound. The University of Oregon in Eugene, OR offers a Master of Science degree in Sports Product Design that focuses on design for the athlete, innovation, and sustainability. Couple that with the school’s dedicated sports marketing center and you’ve got a foot in the door of the performance apparel world. Nearby Oregon State University in Corvallis rolled out a new Design and Innovation Management major, with an Apparel Design option that emphasizes athletic and performance soft goods. Notable mention: The Outdoor Product Design & Development program at Utah State University focuses on training the next designers and developers for the outdoor and active industries. Students intern for companies like Patagonia, Browning, Helly Hansen, and Cotopaxi, and program partners from the outdoor industry include Polartec, 3M, YKK, Gore and more. Fashiontech For those interested in the smart apparel and fashion technology, The University of Minnesota (Twin Cities, MN) is home to the Wearable Technology Lab, an interdisciplinary research laboratory equipped with a running mannequin, an optical motion capture system, tensile testing and biomechanical testing equipment and more. The lab focuses on technology in tandem with apparel, and current projects include keeping astronauts’ hands dry, “persuasive clothing” that offers a wearable “nudge” to encourage desired behavior, and personal microclimate control (apparel that warms the body, not the environment around it). Notable mention: Kent State University (Kent, OH) boasts a well-equipped TechStyleLAB and hosts an annual Fashion/Tech Hackathon that gathers students and mentors from across the nation for 36 hours of fashiontech design and product creation. Menswear If your true design love is menswear, you’re in luck: Two of the top design schools in the US, Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) and the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM), offer a menswear emphasis. FIT’s Menswear program offers study abroad programs in Paris and Milan,internship opportunities at companies like Calvin Klein, DKNY, Marc Jacobs, and Helmut Lang, and students have a chance to create a collection, possibly for display in The Museum at FITfor exposure to reps from every major designer menswear label. FIDM offers a 9-month Menswear Advanced Study intensive. Sample courses include Textiles for Menswear, Men’s Tailoring, Fit Analysis, and Marketing Communications for Menswear. Students learn design, sourcing, production, and marketing, and create a lifestyle menswear fashion collection. from cutandtailor.com Did we miss a school or focus you love? Let us know! Recieve a free copy of Inside Fashion Design’s guide to fashion schools in the US (add link to subscribe to get the guide)

From SCAD student to Desiging at Target! With fall now upon us, fashion schools are firing up their plans and students are looking for what comes next. We wanted to know more about one of the most unique design schools out there — Savannah College Art and Design (SCAD). We spoke with designer Jojo Boling, a SCAD graduate who now designs activewear for a brand new line by Target. Find out why Boling chose SCAD, what makes the school special, and her path to designing what she loves for a big brand! Jojo in white tee, middle front IFD: You attended SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design. Why SCAD? JB: I was looking at a lot of other art and design schools, then I visited [SCAD] and fell in love with the campus and the beautiful buildings. It just felt like the place for me. I had also visited some schools in New York City and felt really intimidated and not ready to live in such a big city. Savannah felt perfectly small but still far away and exciting. IFD: What majors do they have and why did you chose yours? Majors they offer range from Photography, Architecture, Interior Design, Fashion Merchandising, Industrial Design, Animation, Film, Performing Arts, Sequential Design, Accessory Design, Design for Sustainability…so many! I chose Fashion Design because that’s what I had always wanted to do. SCAD has so many different majors, and I kind of wish I had done more research, but my heart was set on fashion design. Looking back, I would’ve loved to be a Fibers major—apparently that major has the most variety of jobs. Their building is also so beautiful. During my senior year I took a screen printing class there and all of the work the students created was incredible! Students focused in areas like print and pattern design, dying, weaving, beading and embroidery. IFD: What were some class requirements? JB: Classes required for fashion design really range. We had a lot of art history. Our major had to do life drawing, which was different than some of the other design majors. I really enjoyed fashion sketching and computer–aided design. We also  took more traditional classes for fashion, like pattern making and draping. We had a history of fashion class and the business of fashion class. Senior year was all classes for our senior collection. You start with concepting and maybe initial muslins, the second quarter class is creating all your muslins and starting to create your garments, and the last quarter class is finishing your garments and having a lot of really intense critiques with professors and the chair of the department. SCAD is great for nontraditional learning because a lot of the lecture and foundational classes don’t require papers or tests. They let you create projects any way you want, just to show you absorbed the knowledge. This was really great because it encouraged collaboration. My senior year I created a fashion film to show my collection instead of a traditional look book. It was fun to collab with filmmakers  and tell the story of what I designed in a different way. IFD: What were some of the event highlights? JB: Two really fun events they do every year are the Sidewalk Arts Festival held in the middle of the city and the Sand Arts Festival at Tybee Island. While I was there they did an Oscar de la Renta exhibit in the SCAD museum that was student assisted/curated. André Leon Talley came to that show and sat on the board of fashion at SCAD. They created a beautiful wall of flowers and had anamazing open night that we all went to and dressed up so fancy. I think Anna Wintour came to that too! We also had a Vivian Westwood exhibit my senior year. SCAD does a great film festival and brings in speakers for fashion every year too—my senior year it was Fransisco Costa interviewing Alexander Wang. IFD: What skills did you gain at school that helped prepare you for a career? JB: I gained the skill of being able to generate a lot of ideas and not just settling on your first idea. I realized I loved concepting and researching trends. I also loved how they showed me there wasn’t just one way or one role into the fashion industry. They teach you from the moment you start that you need to be able to speak confidently to and about your work. Every student is required to take a speech  class. IFD: What did you like best about that SCAD? JB: So many things! I loved living in Savannah. The city has a personality and SCAD really embraces that. SCAD renovated a lot of old buildings in such a beautiful way to keep the integrity of the original building but also put a ton of amazing art, furniture and top of the line equipment  in them. The fashion building was an old elementary school and the architecture building was an old train station. I really did enjoy my education there too, I felt encouraged and safe to try a bunch of different things and ways to create. IFD: Were you required to do an internship? JB: We were not required to do internships, but I did do one in New York City with a brand that made activewear for a lot of different retailers. IFD: What advice do you have for incoming design school students? JB: Don’t hesitate to reach out to current or past SCAD students and ask about their experiences. Go visit, the tour is amazing and the city is beautiful! If you do have an area of focus you feel really passionate about, work on it as much as you can, show your process and keep a sketch book. IFD: Tell us about your time since graduation. JB: Right after I graduated I didn’t find a job right away. I worked in retail and freelanced and hustled just to get my foot in the door anywhere. I moved to Portland because I knew I wanted to work for one of the activewear companies out there and I felt like it was helpful to be in the area. After a year of living in Portland I got a contractor role with Nike as a color designer that ended up getting extended for a year and a half. Then I got offered a role at Target for their new activewear line as an apparel designer. IFD: What are some of your main responsibilities at Target? JB: My job is as apparel designer for All In Motion for Target. It’s really exciting because it’s brand new to Target this year. Every day is different, but there will be a time where I am designing and then reviewing samples, reviewing color and print execution on garments, and then concepting and researching for the next season,then getting into sketching and starting over again. IFD: What are your hopes for your future? JB: I’d really like to be a well rounded designer! Success for me is always being challenged and having growth. In the distant future I’d love to open my own bakery and build a brand around it that sells friends artwork and could be a great fun space in the community. Thank you to Jojo for sharing her education at SCAD- For more information about SCAD, visit: https://www.scad.edu

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IFD Insiders receive 25% off. Sign up today to become and Insider and take advantage of this special offer Are you a social impact entrepreneur or want to become one? In session 1 Join Sonica Sarna in this intensive session that helps you connect deeply with your sense of purpose to drive lasting change in the fashion industry. As fashion industry professionals, we will evaluate the impact our daily business decisions we are having on people and the planet. We will learn how to make socially and ecologically responsible decisions within our immediate sphere of influence at work. We will then share tools to leverage these responsible decisions to overcome financial and systemic constraints created by the old ways of doing business. In session 2 learn from real-world success stories. Meet and receive direct feedback from other guest social entrepreneurs in fashion as they share the highlights of their journey and the ground reality of being a fashion activist.