Interview with Morgan Mallett

Morgan Mallett
Owner & Creative designer
Design + Conquer

It's exciting to be part of the shift towards sustainability

Morgan Mallett, owner and creative designer at Design + Conquer, talks about the need or a future where you do not even have to use the term 'sustainability'.

Tell us about your experience from being a jewellery-maker to a designer of a sustainable clothing collection. How different was the journey?

There is much more planning required when you are designing clothing-especially when you are importing materials from another continent. I found myself making more than twice the number of prototypes than usual as more was at stake, which includes time and materials costs.

What is the source of inspiration for the sew-less collection? Do you intend to continue working on sustainability designs for the textiles?

A source of inspiration for the collection was the material itself. The black and white cork fabric I used was so stunningly unusual all on its own. I intend to continue to work with sustainable materials-it's what we need to be focusing on as designers.

Why did you opt for the sew-less technique? How does it promote the concept of sustainability?

As an industry, we tend to focus on making existing materials used in clothing more sustainable, rather than asking why we need to include them in the first place. There are so many other ways to join textiles together than with sewing-why not explore them? This is one of the reasons why I opted for using slits and scoring instead of traditional sewing techniques in the Design + Conquer's Sewless collection.

What is the lifespan of the sustainable creations made from the Portuguese cork fabric? Why did you choose this material for the sewless collection?

Microplastics are a huge concern for the planet, and I realised last year that all of my faux leather clothing in my closet contained plastics. Not only that, but much of it was either disintegrating or wearing out quickly. I did some research, and ordered some cork leather samples. I was amazed at how the fabric performed… and how tough and light it was. We are used to seeing cork being used for limited items in North America: wine corks, cork boards, and cork flooring. Cork textiles are quite a different entity-tough, tear-resistant and naturally waterproof. I was hooked!

What has been the response to the sustainable clothing line?

The response has been great! Like me, lots of people had never heard of cork fabric, and there has been a flurry of interest over its use in my new collection.

Your designs are a mix-and-match of themes. What's the theme of your sustainable collection?

Minimalism and retro-futurism are highlighted in Sewless. It's easy to envision an aesthetic future, but this needs to be coupled with materials research as well. We tend to forget that many aesthetic trends aren't solely based on 'look' or 'style,' but reflect the resources and political environment that surround us. This dynamic fascinates me.

What are the achievements for your sustainable collection in particular?

The collection has been enthusiastically received, and I'm currently developing a line for a company in Portugal. Exciting things to come!

What do you think of sustainable design in the fashion industry?

It is alive and growing, especially here in Vancouver.

What is the size of the market for sustainable fashion at a global level?

The market is enormous, and it is continuing to grow. Consumers are tired of buying clothes whose quality deteriorates only after few wears and washes. We are all becoming aware of the incredible damage our culture of consumption and planned obsolescence is having on our world. More and more people want to know how and where their clothing is made. Consumers have more power than we realise.

What sustainability trends are you seeing in the fashion industry?

I'm seeing more and more plant-based textiles used in designs as well as 3D-printing processes. I can see a future where there is less human labour in fashion, and more machine-driven manufacturing.

What are the challenges facing the sustainable fashion segment?

One of the main challenges is the already established fashion system. It has been with us for so long, and it has been a huge financial success. When a sector generates so much income, it's hard to create change and convince stakeholders to shift towards a new way of operating. I think the mental shift-not the mechanics of physical change-is the big hurdle for sustainability in our industry.

What are your aspirations for sustainability?

I look forward to a future where we don't even need to use the term!

Sustainable fashion is not necessarily pocket-friendly; are people willing to spend?

I'm noticing that consumers are more and more inclined to buy better quality pieces of clothing, even if this means buying less frequently. This flies in the face of our established system of planned obsolesce, and it's exciting to be a part of this shift!

Published on: 25/02/2017

DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.