Friday 25 September 2009

Fashion with compassion

Fashionista loves a birthday and now that London Fashion Week is over, what better way to celebrate the weekend than to toast another fashion milestone? Fashionista has celebrated the birthdays of some well known and long established English brands but on this occasion wants to celebrate the first birthday of a small but fabulous independent fashion retailer based in the Oxfordshire market town of Thame. So Fashionista congratulates joint owners Nicola Noakes and Angela Good who bravely launched their business Freerange when others were closing their doors for good.

So what is Freerange? To use Nicola and Angela's own words, "it is a fresh faced fashion retailer offering a range of ethically sourced, stylish clothing and lifestyle products for men and women who care about the world around them, strive for a better one and to still want to look fabulous".
When asked by Fashionista to describe Freerange, Angela said that the aim was to prove that the words 'fashion' and 'eco friendly' truly do go together by establishing a personal shopping experience against a backdrop of eco friendly, ethical and stylish clothing.

A year on, the business is already well established locally and its online store is improving by the season - this means that you don't have to live nearby to visit. Freerange prides itself on dealing with companies who produce good looking, wearable, covetable collections whilst ensuring any impact on the environment is as minimal as possible - including amongst others Ciel, Bailey, Amana, Kuyichi, People Tree, Stewart and Brown, Lowie and Ivana Basilotta.

Angela and Nicola are not alone in the fashion world to find that relationships with suppliers can be trying - and in a recession perhaps more so. But on a positive note it is heartening to learn that some suppliers have been really supportive to this fledgling business.

So as we hear more news about green shoots - and even green fields - from the financial commentators, Fashionista is glad to hear that on the high street there is some positive news and something to celebrate. Hopefully, the story of Freerange's first happy year will encourage others to be brave and not only enter the wonderful world of fashion retailing but also encourage all fashionistas to embrace ethically sourced fashion.

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