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<strong>BLUSH</strong> | STYLE<br />
Sustainable<br />
HATS<br />
I’m Dawn-Marie, a fashion and<br />
beauty photographer based<br />
in London, and I cannot deny,<br />
I love my job: The excitement<br />
of working with teams of<br />
incredibly creative people;<br />
being behind the scenes and<br />
meeting those at the cutting<br />
edge of the industry and the<br />
creative process of producing<br />
beautiful images – There’s<br />
really nothing quite like it and<br />
I think It’s something of a true<br />
calling for me personally... I am<br />
however torn by the darker<br />
side I know to exist within<br />
the industry, and the very<br />
real environmental and social<br />
impact it has globally...<br />
I’ve been able to work with brands<br />
who have a real commitment to<br />
making the world a better place:<br />
Who are the trail blazers and<br />
the movers and shakers, putting<br />
environmental impact, sustainability<br />
and social wellbeing and fairness at the<br />
forefront, not the afterthought of their<br />
business practices.<br />
I had the pleasure of shooting for<br />
Pachacuti Panama hats out in Ibiza, whilst<br />
visiting the island for an event with Fashion<br />
for Conservation last summer. I began<br />
I’ve felt a whole new<br />
world opening up<br />
before me; a world<br />
I am proud to be a<br />
part of!<br />
working with the charity since 2018 and<br />
learning more about the impacts of the<br />
industry in the process. Since making a<br />
decision to focus my efforts on working with<br />
sustainable and ethical brands as much as<br />
possible and actively connecting with more<br />
people and brands within this realm, I’ve felt<br />
a whole new world opening up before me; a<br />
world I am proud to be a part of!<br />
Whilst ‘sustainability’ is a real buzz word<br />
at the moment, Pachacuti was founded on<br />
the principals that underpin the phrase and<br />
was in fact one of the first companies in the<br />
world to receive an official certificate in Fair<br />
Trade.<br />
Pachacuti has been a truly inspirational<br />
company from the outset; Their story begins<br />
within a small community in Equador, where<br />
for over two decades, they have worked with<br />
local artisans to create hats, which subtly<br />
combine tradition, luxury and sustainability.<br />
The craft of the weaver stretches back<br />
generations and is a highly specialist art,<br />
which needs to be protected.<br />
Having seen the hats and photographed<br />
them personally, I can confidently say that<br />
the quality is something to be admired.<br />
Each design is unique and combines<br />
handmade luxury with a timeless sense of<br />
style. Whether you’re simply<br />
looking for<br />
a beautiful hat, with distinguished style or<br />
you’re looking to spend your money in a<br />
more conscious way, you can be sure that<br />
your Pachacuti Panama hat will make you<br />
look and feel incredible!<br />
Founded by Fashion Revolution’s Carry<br />
Somers, there has always been a strong<br />
focus on sustainability, ethical practices and<br />
the minimisation of environmental impact<br />
within the Pachacuti company framework.<br />
Carry’s husband Mark has deep artistic<br />
roots and takes pride in the craft and skill<br />
of their artisans. He now runs the company<br />
fulltime, expressing equal passion in<br />
maintaining the principals on which it was<br />
founded.<br />
Working within strict guidelines,<br />
Pachacuti ensures that the communities<br />
are always receiving fair and sustainable<br />
wages and are encouraged to protect<br />
their environment. The organically-grown<br />
Carludovica Palmata plant used to create the<br />
hats, is cultivated on a community-owned<br />
plantation, encouraging biodiversity of plants<br />
and animals within a 5600hectare protected<br />
area. With their hard work and protection<br />
of their land, the community has seen a big<br />
improvement in biodiversity in recent years.<br />
Another way in which Pachacuti is striving<br />
to be at the forefront of sustainability<br />
in fashion, is by adapting a no-seasons<br />
approach. In 2014, they made a major<br />
decision to stop creating seasonal<br />
collections and focus purely on<br />
designing beautiful, enduring<br />
pieces. In doing so, they hope<br />
to encourage customers to<br />
cherish and love their Pachacuti<br />
hat, rather than encouraging<br />
more ‘mindless consumerism’<br />
within the industry.<br />
I sense the mood is finally<br />
changing across the length and<br />
breadth of the planet... many of us<br />
are becoming aware of the direct<br />
impact our spending choices make<br />
on the world at large and on families<br />
and people just like us, in not so distant<br />
places. And that, is a really good feeling.<br />
www.panamas.co.uk<br />
www.stoyanovandjones.com<br />
sevenstarmedia.co.uk<br />
<strong>BLUSH</strong> | WINTER <strong>2019</strong> 73
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