Shona Moran
As we all know, consistently keeping up with ever-changing fashion trends often feels impossible. While we all love to look good, it’s about time we realise that following the crowd isn’t always necessarily the right path to take. Now more than ever, fashion lovers are becoming increasingly aware of ways the fashion industry must evolve to satisfy a generation demanding positive, inclusive and environmental change. In a sea of extremely accessible fast fashion brands, it can be challenging to know where to turn if you want to adjust your shopping habits.
Introducing Avail, the first Antwerp-based social e-commerce platform that connects fashion fanatics with up-and-coming brands they otherwise might have never discovered. Avail is more than just another shopping app, and instead, uniquely creates a community of fashion lovers who can express their passion for fashion by creating their own micro-store and curating collections, acting as a source of inspiration for others. With their brand new mobile app, which showcases over 150 independent fashion brands on the Avail platform, discovering a whole new world of fashion has never been easier.
With everything going on in the world over the past year, Avail importantly celebrates the significance of shopping local and supporting small, independent fashion brands during this period of turmoil and uncertainty within the industry. Not only is Avail a way to keep rising brands alive, but it also offers a stark alternative to high-end or commercial brands in the world of online shopping which we see almost everywhere. Beyond this, each brand on Avail offers strong core values, ultimately appealing to a generation wanting to do better. By providing a mixture of sustainable, seasonless, gender-neutral, body inclusive and made to order items, Avail is an active participant in the fight for an ethical and eco-friendly future by highlighting the work and purpose of these brands.
If you’re unsure of where to get your next fix of fabulous fashion, Avail has welcomed some newly discovered brands on their platform which need to be on your radar this FW20.
Valentine Witmeur Lab is a Belgium-based quality knitwear label, which designs for both functionality and style. While their knitwear is created with an effortless look in mind using simple cuts, their unique use of colours, fits and threads form distinctive, modern and fashionable knitwear to enter the season in style. With original colour-blocking, subtle, yet striking prints and characteristic qualities, Valentine Witmeur Lab creates cosy clothes for the season, which proves that this FW20 doesn’t have to be boring. Most importantly, each knitwear design is produced in reasonable quantities to avoid overconsumption and to maintain the exclusivity of all garments.
Masha with Maria is a brand on the rise in Amsterdam, known for outerwear designs boasting vivid colours and well-defined shapes. All items are one of a kind, handcrafted in Amsterdam, so you never have to worry about running into someone with the same taste. Masha with Maria places huge prominence on their brand philosophy of upcycling and transformation, by re-imaging previously loved garments such as vintage blankets and giving them an entirely new shape. The designs unusually combine elements of both menswear and womenswear, blurring gender boundaries by combining their signature boxy fits, with a compelling addition of colour, as a homage to the feminine side of the brand. The result is warm and colourful wool coats that you don’t begrudge covering your outfit.
Miista was founded in 2010 in London’s East End, launched to experiment with shapes and materials, all while prioritising quality, wearability and price. Miista elegantly unites nostalgia and modernity through the use of unique design, material and craft that combines timeless styles with unexpected materials. Miista aims to improve the state of the world by encouraging an environment of collaboration, creativity and locally crafted products within the fashion industry, with the hopes of creating beautiful designs made to last a lifetime.
Birrot is a womenswear studio based in Copenhagen, which gets its name from the Korean word birrot or therefore, to draw a process to its conclusion. The studio combines Scandinavian and Korean aesthetics and takes elements and inspiration from each to create the feel of contemporary culture and emotional curiosity that fuels their womenswear collection. The brand makes use of technical fabrics and rich colours, inspired by the Korean aesthetic, Japanese pattern cutting skills which have a focus on precision and comfort of body, and delicate, yet elegant minimalist shapes and designs, based on the Scandinavian aesthetic.
Betolaza is a Spanish womenswear brand that aims to provide women with elevated essentials. Made by women for women, Betolaza designs items that can be worn and loved by women during their day-to-day reality, for those who place importance on minimalism and functionality, but don’t want to compromise on style. Betolaza invites an element of luxury to daywear by combining a contemporary approach with traditional techniques of pattern making, modelling and dressmaking, all while placing great importance on the fabrics and colours used. The brand is characterised by numerous dualities which fuse masculine and feminine features, strength and delicacy, structure and fluidity, tradition and modernity, perfect for the women who want to incorporate the best of both worlds into their fashion choices.
Milkwhite. is a Greek fashion brand which locally produces its collections in Greece and designed in Athens. Their philosophy is at the forefront of their purpose, and they create each piece to last, prioritising timelessness over seasonal trendsetting while remaining expressive, stylish and unique. They aim to create garments with a ‘soul’ for the modern woman, encompassing the power to represent the essence of a woman from day to night through joyful wardrobe essentials which make use of various patterns, styles and materials. Milkwhite. promises to brighten up this FW20 with a collection that features colours and prints to make you stand out this season.