GOLD THAT SHINES BRIGHTER...

On Friday night we attended a special evening hosted by the Fairtrade Foundation to celebrate the launch of Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold in conjunction with London Jewellery Week. From traditional fine jewellery to contemporary sculptural pieces, the event showcased a range of ethical designers including CRED, Linnie McLarty, Ute Decker and Ingle & Rhode.

We were lucky enough to speak to one of the miners who at the forefront of the Fairtrade Gold revolution has inspired many a designer to take part in the movement by sourcing their metal and stones in an ethical and fair way without sacrificing innovative design and creativity.

Read up more about Fairtrade mining and see the latest pieces from our favourite ethical jewellery designers in Recognise, issue 9.

Fairtrade gold Arm Sculpture by Ute Decker

Ethically sourced ruby and fairtrade gold ring by Linnie McLarty

FASHION FOR ALL WALKS...

Yesterday we caught up with previous BBC’s The Clothes Show presenter and fashion expert Caryn Franklin at Graduate Fashion Week. Together with Erin O’Connor and Debra Bourne she’s been campaigning to stop the fashion industry’s obsession with 'size zero' and youthful perfection. Their campaign All Walks Beyond the Catwalk aims to encourage the industry to showcase models of all different ages, shapes, size and race. And where better to encourage this by starting with the designers of the future!

We took a leaf out of Caryn’s book this month with our own high fashion editorial shoot featuring a gorgeous and curvaceous 'plus size' model proving you don’t have to be super skinny to pull off wearing amazing clothes and look fabulous.

Check out the shoot and our interview with Caryn in our next issue! 

TOPMAN LAUNCHES NEW PERSONAL SHOPPING SERVICE

Last night the RECOGNISE team made their way down to men’s fashion brand, Topman, for the launch of their new personal shopping service in Oxford Circus.

Topman have appointed critically acclaimed interior and product designer Lee Broom to create a fresh and exciting shopping suite that resembles a modern gentlemen’s club. Men visiting this section of the store will be able to choose from three consultation areas, as well as take advantage of a Microsoft Innovation & Xbox gaming area and an Asahi ‘Honesty Bar’ - best of all the service is completely free of charge!

Customers will be able to book either a 30-minute, one-hour or two-hour session to discuss the latest trends and their own personal style with one of ten industry experts who Topman have scouted from all over the sartorial sphere. Stylists previously from Vivienne Westwood, Yves Saint Laurent and Matches, to name a few, will be on hand to provide practical fashion advice to savvy city slickers with the added option of a beer and a game on the Xbox.

Giles Farnham, Personal Shopping Assistant Manager at Topman Oxford Circus, said that changes to shopping patterns over recent years means there is now a demand for this consultative process on the high street - not just in designer boutique stores.  We couldn’t agree more, so get down there and check it out!

Images courtesy of Topman

by Jacob Kamara

FAIRER FASHION FOOTPRINT!

Last Friday evening the RECOGNISE team attended Fairer Fashion Footprint; an event hosted by The LSE fashion Society and the Soho based vintage boutique, Beyond Retro to discuss matters of ethical and sustainable fashion. After indulging ourselves with the copious amounts of wine and sweet snacks that were on offer we were introduced to industry experts and the evening’s special guest speakers; Livia Firth and Lucy Siegle. All of us listened on attentively as both women talked passionately about subjects including ethical production, fair trade mining, their ‘Green Carpet Challenge’ and other important topics (all of which are discussed in depth in Lucy’s book ‘To Die For.’) However the focal point of the evening was the message stating that it’s us, the fashion consumer, who needs to act now to make a change for the better: “No one is 100% perfect “ said Livia, “but we should all do what we can.” We couldn’t agree more!

It was great to see that both Livia and Lucy put into practice what they preach: Livia wore clogs by eco friendly footwear brand, Swedish Hasbeens, a recycled vintage dress and her own design necklace by Made. Whilst Lucy wore a necklace by Joanna Cave, which was made using recycled silver. (Pictured above)

ECOVELOCITY

RECOGNISE is getting keyed up about the low-carbon motor festival taking place this September. Suitable for all the family the Ecovelocity is an enjoyable, eco-friendly car show showcasing that environmentally friendly doesn’t have to mean slow and boring.

Test-drive the cars or head to the supercar paddock to see a huge display of the latest eco-cars. This is a four day festival running from Thursday 8th – Sunday 11th September and it’s hosted in Battersea power station which means a brilliant outdoor venue that’s promoting an eco friendly lifestyle! 


With the likes of Honda, Kia, Ford, Fiat, Peugeot, Renault and many more, you do not want to miss out... To purchase tickets to the event or for more information please visit: http://www.ecovelocity.co.uk/

Words: Jenny Reeder

Now Serving... Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson is no stranger to giving back to society so when we heard he'll be dressing up as an air stewardess on an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumper to London after losing a bet with Lotus Formula 1 boss Tony Fernandes. We had to let you all know about it.

Ralph Lauren Pushes The Envelope Further

This week Ralph Lauren showcased a special 4D Live Fashion show to commemorate 10 years of their US e-commerce website and the recent launch of the UK site, which we've all been waiting for so long down here. The show lasted approximately ten minutes with a rather large visual projected onto the Ralph Lauren flagship store in both New York and London, with the scent of their recent fragrance around the area.

Watch the shows in both New York and London after the cut.

Crisis Hidden Gigs

If Dorothy learned one thing from her time in Oz it's this: There's no place like home.

But this Christmas hundreds of homeless people will be sleeping rough on the freezing streets and tens of thousands more will be hidden out of sight on friends' and families' sofas and floors, stuck in temporary accommodation or cramped into cold miserable squats without even heat, light or running water. Many don't know where they will end up each night and are often forced to move from place to place, hoping that somewhere, sometime they will find somewhere safe and secure. The general public aren't even aware they are there - they are hidden from view, hidden from help.

Mencap's Little Noise Sessions

If you're down London throughout next week, why not head on over to Islington and enjoy 'Little Noise Sessions' down at the Islington Union Chapel. This is a week-long indoor live acoustic festival which hosts the some of the biggest names in music with acts such as U2, Snow Patrol, Kasabian, Noel Gallagher, Florence & The Machine and Amy Winehouse.

On the UK's first ever Kindness Day, a special 'Pause for Kindness' will take place at 1pm on November 13th to inaugurate this annual day that starts this year.

March For Honour

On the 4 November 2010 four teams of serving and ex-serving individuals from each of Her Majesty's Armed Forces will begin an epic 'March For Honour'.Starting in four separate locations across the UK, the teams will dedicate and speed-march a mile for every British military life lost on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Wearing military uniform, each team will march an average of around 30 miles a day and a total distance of up to 250 miles, carrying forty pounds of equipment.

The teams will unite along the route before marching into London on 11 November to deliver the Book of Remembrance to the Royal Albert Hall for The Royal British Legion's National Festival of Remembrance. Their target is to raise £1 million for The Royal British Legion who work so hard to support the welfare, interests and memories of serving and ex-serving forces, and their families.

You can aid The Royal British Legion in reaching their £1million aim by donating online !

Eco Fashion Week Makes It's Debut

Green was the new black when Vancouver hit the runway at the first ever Eco Fashion Week presented by Aveda. This week showcased a new generation of designers that are trying to change the way we think about clothing by reinventing eco-friendly fashion.

Watch the video after the jump

Steve O Talks Breast Cancer

Who said Steve O is just about playing really crazy panks on his fellow Jackass-men ? The Jackass star recently sat down with Vanity Fair for their latest issue and opened up about his real issue with Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Ever Walked On Seeds ?

Yesterday I took a trip to the Tate Modern Museum to check out some Material Gesture art and I happened to also check out the latest Turbine Hall project, where Chinese artist Ai Weiwei had placed millions of sunflower seeds on the ground like a carpet where you could walk on and touch.

Happy Hallowgreen...Oh Sorry We Meant Halloween

It's that time of the year again ! With Halloween slowly creeping up on us, we thought we'd recommend a few of our spooky faves for staying green this Halloween.

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Here at Recognise, we support noble causes and with the month of Breast Cancer Awarenes upon us, we will be highlghting different charities and events surrounding this cause.

My Wardrobe And Katia Lombardo Is All I Need

Katia Lombardo and My-wardrobe.com paired up to show their support of Breakthrough Breast Cancer to design limited edtion stilletos in which 20% of the proceeds will go to the charity .

Fancy working at London Fashion Weekend for charity?

Friday 24th September - Sunday 26th September, Somerset House, London WC2R 1LA.

One of the busiest and trendiest fashion shopping events of the year, the Environmental Justice Foundation, EJF, are the official charity partner of London Fashion Weekend and have been donated two stands to fundraise and campaign for our ethical fashion campaign.

We are looking for a top team of brilliant volunteers to help to make the most of this fantastic opportunity. 

Volunteers at the show we will be raising the profile of ethical fashion and funds for EJF's international campaigns. 

In particular you'll communicate importance of organic sustainable cotton production that is free from forced child labour and environmental abuses - by:

• Selling EJF's gorgeous, organic and fairly traded designer campaign t-shirts
• Promoting EJF's first ever Fashion Raffle - We're going back to the old school in fundraising - if it's not broken don't fix it, right? We've rustled up nearly 100 amazing prizes and are hoping to raise critical funds through the sale of raffle tickets.

You will have a chance to learn key marketing, communication, fundraising and organisational skills while explaining the principles behind EJF's work.

Tickets for the event cost usually about £30 so it's a great chance to be part of the event for free while helping EJF's work.

Key skills needed include communication (in person), confidence and approachability, as well as enthusiasm and energy for the cause are vital. 

We are looking for a big team of volunteers and ask for a minimum of two shifts from each volunteer - each shift will last an average of 6 hours. 

• Friday 24th September: 11am - 5pm / 4pm - 10pm
• Saturday 25th September: 9.30am - 3pm / 1pm - 7pm
• Sunday 26th September: 9.30am - 3pm / 1pm - 7pm

Please contact us by email with the days and times you are able to help with and any relevant experience.

This is a voluntary role and food expenses of £3.50 can be provided.

Please email larissa.clark@ejfoundation.org with the days and shift time you can help with – a minimum of 2 shifts is needed.

Paris Just Being A Tease

Paris Hilton was out recently launching her newest fragrance 'Tease', and you're probably wondering what's so blog-worthy about this. Well, if you look at the picture then you'll notice she is wearing what seems to be a fur jacket and being the self-proclaimed animal lover she is, you'd think she would never wear such an item and you're right ! Stylist has confirmed that Paris was merely wearing “Chopard diamonds and outfitted in a white Herve Leger bandage dress, Louis Vuitton cream colored heels and jewel-encrusted clutch and a faux fur jacket.”

Portobello Rocks !

Savoretti and Jones are due to perform and Ifans is among those attending the Notting Hill arts event aiming to raise funds to support Portobello Road street market. Which takes the form of a free public event for local traders and residents during the day (officially opened by Big Issue founder John Bird) followed by the evening's entertainment. Also features The Rotten Hill Gang, The Walkers and Val Jobara.

See You There...