Snap In and Out of Green Fashion

The organic cotton t-shirt, the quintessential ethical garment, may have been outgreened. The new contender is the organic dress that can be worn as the dress itself, or, after a few pops, as a top, or a belt, or a high-waisted or low-waisted skirt.

Why settle for eco-friendliness in production, when one can also have eco-friendliness in function?

DePloy, a London-based fashion studio, made that question its motto. The team has created multitasking clothing by using a system of hidden poppers throughout the pieces. Since the brand’s birth in 2006, its motivation has been to minimize waste in the fashion process. “DePloy is a response to the fast food of fashion, if you will,” said Bernice Pan, the studio’s lead designer.

Pan, who rides a folding bike to her studio in Thayer Street, is an architect with a PhD in fashion design, manufacturing and supply chain. As a freelance designer for several fashion houses, she noticed how the manufacturing process constantly repeated the same functions for every collection, leaving a trail of material waste in its wake.

“The fashion industry is the epitome of that [waste], because the whole process repeats itself every six months. If you’re using organic fabrics but you’re still throwing away fashion, what’s the point?” said Pan, 35. While the industry does survive on its ability to cyclically change the interests and wardrobes of its end users, the eigh members of the DePloy team think that a little innovation in garment assembly would benefit the environment and even the customer.

“Creative design shouldn’t just come from the designers, but everything is proscribed that the customer doesn’t have a choice on how to wear things,” said Pan. “Our idea is to give them a bit of freedom.”

DePloy’s average shopper, the professional woman in her mid-30s, does appreciate the latitude. “My boyfriend is so proud to demonstrate how my business suit jacket detaches into a chic little bolero at cocktail parties,” said Cherise Williams, an online media developer from London. Kelly Sant, a product designer from Brighton, sees the items as a secret weapon in her luggage. “It’s just perfect how I can have different length skirts, trousers and sleeves when I travel, particularly when I go to the Middle East,” she said.

But how exactly does a business suit jacket turn into a chic little bolero?

That’s where Seamsystemic comes in. After being limited by the lack of innovation in garment assembly, Pan took matters in her own hands. Pan experimented with her “crazy” vision of versatility and longevity in fashion, and came up with the Seamsystemic popper process. Translated from DePloyese, it means that a the lower part of a jacket is snapped off, and the upper part can be worn as a bolero. Or that a dress hides a near-invisible line of poppers near the waistline of its skirt and two extra lines on the inside of its belt. Or that a long-sleeved shirt with a pleated Imperial collar can become a sleeveless vest with a round collar after the poppers do their thing.

When I see an item of clothing, I ask myself ‘Can it only do that?’” asks Pan.

Yes, it can do more: Any part from the Autumn-Winter 2009 collection - where that shirt comes from - can be snapped onto many other pieces from previous seven collections. The loyal DePloy shopper is thus rewarded with a larger wardrobe for less and with the means to use her creativity to express herself further.

And DePloy is developing that loyal following. Judging by the foot traffic in the brand’s boutique, located in London’s hip Marylebone neighborhood, recession still hasn’t deterred locals from indulging in semi-couture. In the basement workshop, Pan and two other auxiliary designers are usually booked for custom fittings. Off-the-rack pieces retail for £100 to £500, and bespoke creations start at £600.

But for the most common DePloy audience, the seasoned shopper who looks beyond the usual designers, the added benefits of mix-and-matching come second. Yes, most spend with longevity in mind, and some are interested in the origins of the textiles – environmentally certified wool, silk, bamboo jersey and cotton from Europe and Asia - but according to Ms. Pan, it’s the beauty of the clothes that pulls them in first. The current collection, which occupies the store’s windows, is inspired in war-time fashion and has a delicate Hitchcock heroine vibe.

As Pan puts it, “They buy something if it looks good, and the extra function is something that grows on them, that they start playing with.”

DePloy is located at 34 Thayer St. in Marylebone, London W1U 2QX. Buy online at Deploy Workshop.

Photo: www.deployworkshop.com