It’s easy to feel lost and disillusioned when navigating 2023 as a young person. With growing CO2 emissions and sea levels on the rise, the planet is reaching a crisis point. Where consumers are concerned, we all still want to look good, feel good and still somehow do good, so we’re left with two choices: to stand back or to get up and do something.

Some people have chosen to step up, including award-winning circular fashion pioneer Phoebe English, who is on a mission to change things. Off the back of sourcing and repurposing deadstock fabric, she has been recognised by the British Fashion Council as a leader of change, building a formidable brand grounded in an ethically conscious ethos and sustainably-driven practice. 

“We’re living in a time where we’re producing more clothing than we physically use, and far outstretching the realities of our planetary boundaries,” she tells Stylist from her London studio. “It’s my job as a fashion designer to think about how my role fits into the current climate context.” 

But when English first started her namesake label in 2011, the world of planet-conscious clothing was largely limited, she says. “It’s been interesting to see the response to us as we’ve developed ways of working with design and the surrounding systems that align within the realities of our planet.”

The industry is awash with climate commitments from brands and a flurry of trends making sustainability feel somewhat like a buzzword. And so English is trying to make it a little easier for us all, having recently joined forces with the Kentucky-based bourbon maker Maker’s Mark on an upcycled made-to-order capsule for the holiday party season. 

Sleek jackets, reconstructed trousers and dresses to twirl around in – these are just a few of the wondrous new pieces on offer from her limited (Re)Made to Party capsule.

Her designs are “eclectic, inviting and colourful”, proof of the difference small changes can make. No wonder the brand has seduced countless editorials and magazine pages, all while eschewing the likes of leather, feathers and fur. 

But English isn’t taken in by the acclaim and accolades. Instead, her focus is always on creating better products for a better consumer and better planet. When working on a collection, she thinks about how a Phoebe English-designed piece should make us feel: effortless, comfortable and above all conscious of our relationship with the clothes we buy. “Once you know the scale of how much we’re producing and how much we’re wasting, it’s really hard to design without that in mind,” she shares.

Change is afoot, but there’s much still to be done. Looking ahead, English hopes to forge a rebellion from within the next crop of creative talent. “We must equip the younger generation with the knowledge of how to embed circular practices into their design work so we can create in less damaging ways.”

As the consequences of climate change escalate with each year, she says there is still reason to remain positive. “Human beings have a really amazing ability to adapt.” By proposing a different idea of what fashion can be, she says change can “really start to happen”.  

Images: courtesy of Phoebe English and Maker’s Mark® Bourbon

Items are exclusively available at the (Re)Made to Party Boutique and Bar this weekend in Shoreditch.