Kate Nolanof ethical fashion company Re-dress
We set up Re-dress because . . .through our separate careers and studies in the fashion industry, Rosie, Kellie and I each came to realise the terrible consequences our seemingly innocuous actions and choices have on the world and what an enormous difference we could make by making some very small changes. After numerous glasses of wine and some very excited ranting about how somebody should do something about it. We did.
What I love most about our work . . .is that I am able to continue to work in an industry I absolutely love and to be part of a very exciting time in Irish fashion. At Re-dress we are determined to make the fashion industry better than ever before, to provide tools and infrastructure to enable sustainable practice to become the normal practice of the future and to arm everyone with the knowledge and skills to make that change. Through industry networks, public talks, student mentoring, classes, courses, workshops, exhibitions, collaborations and a lot of fun we are effecting change.
The best day of my life so far . . .Janey Mac! How do you pick just one . . . it's all about perspective, isn't it? Simple pleasures can have as big an impact as a proposal, a marriage, or a birth. Even your worst days, with enough perspective, could turn out to be the best thing that happened to you and if not, they'll give you the perspective to feel the great times even better.
Fashion and ethics . . .Mine or yours? Everyone has their own boundaries of acceptability but most important of all is that you make the conscious decision about where those boundaries lie having understood the full consequences of that decision and accepting the responsibility of your choice. As consumers we can feel so disconnected from the fashion industry that it can seem like we bear no responsibility for the ethical and environmental destruction that it causes and that there is nothing we can do to effect change. This is not true. Every purchase we make is a vote in favour or against better practice. In the end, we are the most important players in this game. We've got the one thing everybody wants – the money!
My guilty pleasure is . . .baths! I love them. I hang my head in wasteful shame as I type this but I have a bath daily and I love it.
I think the environment is . . .precious. I think it is so important that it should be honoured with capital letters. The environment is all we have. Without it we are nothing. Literally.
I got interested in fashion when . . .Oh, I'm sure the usual answer here is something about making clothes for dolls but I was never a dolls kind of girl and fashion was not a practical employment opportunity when I was a teenager. So I think my final decision to get involved in the industry came quite late and has always been from the business perspective (buying, supplying, retail). Having said that, I have always loved clothes and was constantly playing around, re-styling old hand-me-downs from cousins and was usually wearing something a bit bananas. The first tantrum I can clearly remember throwing was over a pair of T-strap brogues my ma made me wear out of the shoe shop when all I wanted was the black patent slip-ons.
My favourite way to relax is . . .my bath. Or a glass of red wine with some Classic FM. Or maybe a few glasses of red wine and a good laugh with my friends. Sometimes all I want is to watch some crap TV, I'm not too good with choosing favourites. Variety is the spice of life.
During the recession . . .you've got to get resourceful – re-skill, upskill but whatever you do don't stand still. Don't wait for something to come to you, you've got to get out and find your opportunities. Nobody's going to get us out of this, not the EU, not the government and certainly not the banks. It may be somebody else's mess but we're left with the clean-up, and while it's tough and going to get a lot tougher, we've got to use this watershed as an opportunity to change the status quo, change our attitudes to politics and governance and change ourselves, our country and the world for the better.
The most treasured item of clothing I own is . . .hmm. I own a few vintage silk tops I got in the Loft Market that I couldn't be without, and a number of beautiful knit pieces from Irish designers Lisa Shawgi and Heather Finn that I love. The most treasured item would have to be my daughter's christening gown and shawl. They are a family heirloom. My mother was christened in them and possibly her mother before. The gown is hand-stitched needle-point Kenmare lace and the shawl – which I think is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen – was a silk and wool hand-knit piece with a silk twist lace and tassel trim. It's not technically mine as it will be passed on to the next generation but it's certainly the most treasured.
My artistic heroes are . . .Manet, Warhol, Westwood, McQueen. I'm sure there are more. I tend to be inspired most by an artist's ability to communicate their disregard for the accepted norms through skilful mastery of their chosen medium. Everyone can bang a drum but can you bang out a beat that'll make us want to dance?
In conversation with Sinead Gleeson
Kate Nolan is a co-founder of Re-dress, an ethical fashion firm. They run various classes (including Fetac-accredited modules) in sustainable fashion practices. For more information, visit re-dress.ie or call 01-6618375
