by Cherie Birkner

featuring Kim Gerlach

“Is it spring? Is it summer yet? Since Covid-19 has locked me down in Berlin, time has become an incredibly unreliable metric. The past two months felt like the longest in a while but have also passed incredibly quickly. And while Berlin was still hibernating, Cherie and I had enough time to plan an editorial.” - Kim Gerlach

Kim is a multi-faceted generalist of the European sustainable fashion scene. We met in the earliest days of Sustainable Fashion Matterz, in fact she was the first sustainable fashion blogger I had EVER spoken with (in person). She introduced me to the whole PrePeek blogger gang and invited me to all the right events during that fashion week in early 2017. Since then, she not only continued her work as business developer in Sweden, but has also started her consultancy sun and rise, to further develop a conscious fashion narrative. There, she works with fashion weeks (like Neonyt, Helsinki and Madrid) and other EU-funded projects in the field of sustainability.

Today Kim no longer runs her blog - boohoo, it was one of my favorites - but she’s got a fun bi-weekly newsletter where you can enjoy reading on her approach to mindfulness, yoga meditation, fashion of course and, well, pleasures of all kinds to help your well-being.

LET’S ASK KIM

What does sustainable fashion mean to you?

“Systematically speaking it’s the antidote of fast fashion. So I do support all of those solutions that combat the fashion giants of today. That can be innovative (like all those material innovations that do less ecological harm), but that can also be pretty old school (like repairing your items). 

When I think of my personal meaning, it’s the beginning of being able to combine my altruistic soul with doing something good for our collective. Through sustainable fashion, I am able to do meaningful work and feel good about it :) “

When selecting items and brands for the shoot what was important to you?

“Social sustainability such as fair wages are critical factors in my curation. Labels also need to be transparent and ideally I know the faces and names behind the brand. I admit to fall for social impacts more than ecological impacts, such as supporting marginalized females, providing living wages or child care, working with people with disabilities or other factors. 

Inspired by my recently found love for natural fabrics and comfortable shapes, here is a curation of spring and summer items with a lot of pastels and soft tones. A fresh perspective on a novel time to all of us!”

DISCOVER SUSTAINABLE
BRANDS WITH KIM

Valle ō Valle is a genderless Austrian label that wants to speak loudly. The kimonorahs are fairly made in the EU and statement pieces with the motto ‘no size no drama’. Sustainable fashion can be bold.

Greetings from Down Under. The Australian label Shapes in the Sand follows a zero waste approach and uses recycled and upcycled materials. The newest swimwear prints are inspired by the nature we protect.

You will be able to spot SHIO many more times in this editorial. The label includes an online shop and a physical space in Berlin, Neukölln which is run by owner Kate. She uses natural materials like linen to create timeless pieces. If you’re Berlin-based, Kate is willing to tailor make the items based on your body shape!

DAWN Denim (also Kim’s and Cherie’s jeans from the duo photo) is a Berlin-based denim company that owns its own factory in Vietnam. DAWN Denim not only convinces with it’s amazing fits and stylish models, but even further with its high score (100 from 100 points) in FairWear certification as well as many other social criteria.

Spot the bucket hat and shoes from 8bft. The Hamburg based label is a great upcycling example, using sails and re-purposing them into hats and mostly footwear. Each item is produced fairly in Portugal.

Shash (also Kim’s jacket and Cherie’s blazer from the duo photo) is a tender and delicate brand based in Madrid, Spain. The label is using soft lyocell for most of the items which represents the graceful and feminine cuts.

The barefoot shoes are from Wildling, who take their social and ecological footprint quite seriously. Careful material selection as well as long-lasting relationships with suppliers underline their willingness to one day be a cradle-to-cradle certified label. Look forward to an upcoming full brand feature in June with an in depth review of the brand.

The linen jacket is made on-demand in Lithuania. OFFON is a family-run business that is making each order individually for you, in your selected style, size and color. The natural materials are sourced as regional as possible and the production uses a zero-waste approach.

Despite its establishment in 1976, hessnatur is one of the rare labels that can hold up with the Zeitgeist of our time and surprise with timeless styles each season. The German label is working on various sustainability frontiers which you can read more about in our interview with their CEO Vivek Batra. This denim duo is made from a hemp mix.

GNANA: The label impresses with its conceptual and elegant suits, fairly made in Romania. Founder Floriana helps the bold woman to find a classic outfit at low environmental costs. 

Below, as seen on the header photo, Kim is wearing a Neumühle bathing suit. The Swiss label moved from their famous backpacks to swimwear and use recycled fishing nets. The surprising selling point? 5 year free repairs!

#upcycling #reuse #keepitintheloop #trashtotreasure #upcyclingsails #reuse #recycle #remake #relove

Lana Organic is another great example of how an established label can be trendy. After over 30 years, LANA is using GOTS-certified materials and produces fairly in selected European cities.

AYANI produces dresses you can wear on any occasion: a stylish fix, with functional big pockets, a bike-friendly length and flattering shapes for all sizes. Ayani uses OEKO-Tex certified materials and produces fairly in Armenia. If you have been to any fair fashion focused demos in Berlin chances are high you’ve seen Ani Bagdasaryan, AYANI’s passionate founder.

Vivas Project actually really known to be specialized in high quality, handcrafted leather bags: totes, bucket bags, cross bags etc. These are made in Slovenia using vegitable-tanned leather. We got especially excited to see that they work towards being zerowaste by using offcuts to make these zero-waste pouches. The designs are simple but meaningful, as the pieces can last a lifetime.

Who would have thought your next handbag could be made out of apples? The vegan brand nuuwai combines 50% apple waste (turned into apple powder) with 50 % PU (polyurethane) to create fully vegan bags and purses. Their latest collection das been designed with the vegan fashion blogger Noa / Style with a Smile where they donate 5% of all sales to Freedom Farm Sanctuary where survivors of the animal agriculture industry are cared for.

So Kim, do you have a favorite piece from the editorial and why?

“It’s been a race between two pieces! The flowy dress made of linen by OFFON (see above) is not only very feminine, but also provides a lot of comfort due to its wide cut and the hidden pockets. What I also like about OFFON is that you can choose your preferred style and colors and they make it according to your request. On-demand clothing. The other items is the beige YOKO dress by Shash (price175€, here). It’s a little more elegant than the OFFON dress and it’s versatile lyocell material made me feel super luxurious. But as you can tell, I like to drape items in my skin that leave an impression and feel comfy. And I demand all dresses to have pockets for more functionality!”

THANKS FOR TUNING IN ON OUR
SUSTAINABLE FASHION EDITORIAL!

Thanks for tuning in on our sustainable fashion collaboration! While we are here, somehow between spring and summer, leave us a comment and let us know what your favorite pieces from this editorial are <3

All photos are copyright protected ©️CherieBirkner