Sustainable fashion: Andel is the new cooperative that wants to reinvent fashion

Sustainable fashion: the new brand to know is called Andel and is a cooperative that wants to transform the industry.

The conversation around sustainability needs to expand beyond the fibers and fabrics that make up the garments, to the very structure of the companies that cultivate, create and produce fashion. Andel, a new responsible brand launching its debut collection, is stirring up this discussion by proposing a cooperative corporate structure.

Founded by Peter Dupont (model / entrepreneur), Oscar Miles (stylist) and Weronika (Vera) Banas (scholar participating in the Fulbright project and industrial designer focused on the search for innovative materials), the label, explains Banas, is “working on intersection of disciplines that combine science, fashion and collaborative systems to create responsible products “.

Dupont notes that the trio wants to “show that there is a functional alternative to the traditional capitalist structure that we do not believe is sustainable”.

The company takes its name fromThe cooperative movement, a Danish cooperative movement that has existed since 1900, but Andel, says Dupont, a Dane, “also means just ‘sharing.’ More relevant to the structure of the company, he notes, are the” basic democratic structures of the country from which the do-it-yourself culture; the squatter movement, and Christiania too. “In terms of business models, the team looked to the giant Spanish cooperative Mondragon Corporation. At Andel, this means is that every founder has the same say and the same stake in the business.

In the future, Andel hopes to offer equal shares in the company to all of its full-time employees. Meanwhile, part of the collection will be produced in Sweden with Fugeetex, a socially conscious and sustainable company. The clothes will also be made in Portugal, and that’s where the brand is 3D printing its buttons and hardware using soy-based materials.

As for the design, the trio worked backwards. Taking the clothing’s later life into consideration, they decided to work with single-fiber fabrics: “It’s a pretty pure design process,” says Miles, who studied menswear at the University of Westminster. “The team spent a lot of time examining their wardrobes and looking for gaps, and filled them with casual and functional ‘stand alone’ pieces in a minimalist vein. Being aimed at a large audience,” we categorized the pants by size. and tops based on size only, rather than gender, “says Miles.” Anyone can wear them, silhouettes aren’t complicated, “adds Dupont.” We’re not going to design Met Gala looks, it’s not this the idea “.

The focus for this sustainable fashion brand is on casual wear (a soft trench coat, a wide turtleneck sweater) with special details, such as a deep button-down cuff, and trousers with pleats on the back that give them an interesting silhouette.

The team has high goals. It remains to be seen whether they can or will be communicated to customers. Meanwhile, Andel’s proposals, which are direct but nuanced, speak for themselves. Chapter One, as the brand calls its first proposal, focuses on clothes as tactile and functional objects with, one could say, a democratic appeal.

This article was originally published on Vogue.com

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