Paper Entry No.2 — Welcome to the Coreprêt World
Our hope is to create a space online and in-person where the gathering of knowledge and sharing of experiences can foster a platform for the things we care about. As we grow, we want to share tools and information we’ve gained along the way, it could be about new textile innovation, regenerative agriculture, thought pieces on different aspects of the industry or stories of the local leaders we’re inspired by. We do not see ourselves as simply fashion designers, nothing is singular in its existence, everything around us informs how we behave and interact in a much larger, collective network. We’ve gained great personal insight through the engagement of other people’s experiences and expertise, and it only makes sense for us to invite you into our world if we’re going to work together to make a difference.
On that note, I've been grappling with this idea for a while, mulling it over in my head since the beginning of Coreprêt - how can we work as designers in a world facing some of the biggest challenges we've ever faced? Can pushing product over other product really make a difference? We can't deny purchasing power, and if we're going to sustain our business and those that work for us, how do we find a balance between our values whilst participating in a capitalist-driven world? The ongoing conflict between sustainability, growth and product.
I believe the solution lies in a system change and so does most of the literature I've been reading. Ezio Manzini explains as designers we now need to re-design lifestyles towards sustainable values 'fostering a new quality criteria that separates the demand for well-being from the consumption of resources'. An exciting prospect, but how do we do that? We rely so heavily on consumption to provide us with comfort, safety, social inclusion, stability - all of which fashion plays a large role in.
I think it is up to us - all of us - to visualise the future we want to see and as designers, we can help build that. For now, as a business we can provide you with quality products that create as little impact as possible on the earth and with any luck have a ripple effect in our communities and industry as a whole. As we grow, we want the business to create more value through connection, facilitation and education, and that’s where our engagement with you is so important. This is certainly a mammoth thought, and one that is not going to be solved anytime soon but I'd love to hear from you, how do you balance your footprint on the world? Can we create a ripple effect that inspires others to be connected and transition our values away from endless economic growth? What's your quality criteria….