Nobody can possibly be as excited as we are to finally be releasing our collection, can they? Well, apparently, they are!
We will be doing a full event report on our first ever brand teaparty someday soon to tell all our readers what went on on that glorious day! However, today is not that day. We will, however, say how incredibly humbled we were by the overwhelming interest at the event we have had in both the Royal Crown Valerie and the Heirloom Rose collections, which we exhibited in a catwalk show on that day! We spoke a lot about the garments on that day…but we wanted to post something to coincide with the pre-orders opening to reiterate some of the most notable points surrounding this collection!
Our designer Katherine has worked tirelessly to bring you these size-inclusive oldschool revival collections, which are as sustainably and ethically made as they can possibly be.
“But WHAT,” I hear you bellow, waving your arms in the air in frustration, “does that actually MEAN?! What does it all MEAN?!”
Well...let's talk about it, then! Answer some of those questions...get to the root of your queries, shall we? Come join us as we explore: WHO MAKES OUR CLOTHES? WHY DO THEY COST SO MUCH? WHY SHOULD YOU BUY THEM?
How are our fabrics sustainable?
True enough, you get lots of brands these days claiming sustainability. It seems to be a buzzword that floats around in the ether, getting diluted and slowly losing meaning as it is mixed with greenwashing. This is not particularly helpful to customers in any line of consumption…
However, when we at R.R.Memorandum say our clothing is as sustainably made as possible – we mean it! We use cotton from a small company based in Wales – The Organic Cotton Company. The raw material is organic cotton grown and woven in India, and is dyed with low-impact dye. The company have much more information on their webpage FAQ’s regarding their fabric sourcing and production.
In terms of our print-on-demand items, we use a third-party company which uses certified organic cotton and recycled bases: however, we cannot be 100% sure of the supply chains this company uses! In the future, we hope to be able to secure fully assured ethical production of these through producing and printing on our own bases.
And what about all the trimmings?
Admittedly, sourcing lace is becoming increasingly difficult from sources in the United Kingdom. Lace-making, and textiles trades in general, are things which the outsourcing of manufacturing have driven out of the UK. Although at the moment we do source our trimmings from China (where it is difficult to regulate how these are produced, and what the conditions are like for those who make them), we are aiming to endeavouring to do more digging to find lace made closer to home, or to produce more designs that do not include lace.
Where are the garments being made?
After they are designed by our talented head designer, our patterns are independently cut to specification by a London-based pattern cutter, who previously worked for Vivienne Westwood! After, the garments are constructed by a small team working in a studio in London. The studio specialises in ethical fashion production, all workers earning a fair wage and producing really high quality work. We visit the factory often, and are always amazed!!!
Why are these the prices of these clothes?
Anyone who has been in lolita fashion for a while will know that frilly clothes are a bit spendy! However, with the commitment to keeping sourcing and production as local as possible, our overheads tend to be a bit higher than your average EGL brand who outsource work to places where it costs less to manufacture. Additionally, offering our size range S-XL and garment adaptability means accounting for more supplies, which all cost money!
Okay, but WHY should I buy from R.R.Memorandum's collections?
When you buy from R.R.Memorandum, you are not just buying a standard EGL piece - you are buying a promise of quality, of striving for sustainability and ethical manufacturing. These garments are designed to be adaptable and fill many different roles within your wardrobe and be worn with many substyles! What's more, the high level of attention to detail in the quality of manufacture of these garments means you won't have to rebuy any time soon, or ever! For us, it is more important that our customers are buying garments they can rely on!
