Meet Fanfare Label, the female-founded clothing brand revolutionising circular fashion.
Says Circe Hughes
Founded in 2018 by long-time Fashion Buyer Esther Knight, Fanfare Label was born out of the desire to improve a beloved industry that’s seen better days.
The words ‘circular’, ‘sustainable’ and ‘ethical’ are thrown around a lot within the fashion world at the moment, with the pressure on to shift to slower production practices in response to the climate crisis. But a lot of the time what we’re really seeing is brands adopting a ‘green-washed’ marketing strategy to hop on the bandwagon – without any real evidence to back their sustainability claims.
“The label is a representative of what fashion could and should look like.”
Thankfully, that’s not the case with London-based apparel label Fanfare, which injects conscious practices into every inch of production. “The label is a representative of what fashion could and should look like,” says founder Esther Knight. “Fanfare offers customers timeless, seasonless pieces that are made to be cherished and reduces waste by turning clothing and textile waste into premium products.”
A native of the fashion world, Esther had been working in the industry for over 10 years – as a buyer for both high street and designer brands – when she came face-to-face with its unethical underbelly. Poor working conditions, forced labour and tonnes of unnecessary waste feed a market that’s become hyper-focused on cutting costs and boosting margins. “I couldn’t be part of this industry in the same way anymore,” Esther says, “rather than leaving it, I decided to create a business that tackled this issue head-on.”
That’s when Fanfare Label was born. The industry had become careless and was missing out on a huge opportunity – reusing discarded materials. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, $500 billion is lost annually through not utilising recycled materials, with less than 1% of all materials produced for clothing being recycled. Esther recognised this mistake, creating Fanfare as a brand that puts recycled textiles at its centre.
That was 2018, and four years later Fanfare produces a range of fully circular collections that demonstrate how the fashion industry’s waste issue can be addressed without compromising on design. “We transform vintage pieces to unique contemporary designs,” says Esther, with some of her favourites being their navy linen co-ord set, signature wool jeans and the seasonless midsummer trousers. And with a pair of their jeans alone saving 9500 litres of water, stopping 1kg of waste from heading to landfill and 34kg CO2 from being produced, we love them too.
Beyond their choice of materials, Fanfare shows their dedication to positive change within the company itself. With production based in London, Fanfare is able to perform regular quality checks and ensure they are able to provide their employees with good working conditions and fair pay. And when it comes to choosing suppliers, Fanfare works with female-run small businesses across the country to bring empowerment and income to deprived communities.
Since turning the Fanfare Label concept into a reality, Esther’s mission has resonated with customers and reeled in acclaim – the brand’s future is looking bright. Next up, building a solid community around the brand, “creating brand awareness and holding more of our sustainably focused events will be a key goal for next year,” Esther says. “As for physical goals, we dream to have our own store where we can show people what the future of fashion looks like.”