High street collaborations with designers have gained kudos in the industry over the years. Collections have the ability to sell out as quickly as cult It items, and often gain a strong waiting list too. So, when John Lewis teamed up with sustainable label Mother of Pearl for a spring collection earlier this year, it was guaranteed to be a match made in sartorial heaven. Now, the eagerly anticipated winter drop has started to land at johnlewis.com. 

Stylist spoke to the founder and designer of Mother of Pearl, Amy Powney: a woman who’s made sure sustainability has been at the forefront of the brand’s collections since launching in 2002. 

AP: “At Mother of Pearl, sustainability is everything so it’s easy to have that clear focus but it hasn’t come without its challenges. Changing everyone’s mindset has been a tricky one. It’s one thing for me to learn and have a desire to change but then you have to in-still that passion into each and every decision maker at the brand. I always talk about sustainability as a mindset, and that mindset needs to be company wide including suppliers and the wider chain.

When I initially met with John Lewis I was very taken by their knowledge on sustainable fabrications and practices. I feel as though John Lewis has a real desire to make changes in the industry, which is why I chose to work with them.

The initial design process when creating a designer collaboration is very similar to designing my own ranges. It all begins with inspiration concepts and design direction but from there the process does differ. Our customers are different so I have to adapt to this when designing each collection. 

What would I pick from the collection? Well, I have my eye on the black pleat-front dress, which I’ll be wearing with socks and my lace-up black boots for winter. I also love the tan pleat back trench that I’ll wear over my jeans (still currently my maternity pairs) and a roll neck oversized jumper.

The word sustainable is the ‘usual’ word we use when discussing eco-friendly matters. It’s one that people connect with first, but in truth fashion full stop is not sustainable. Every garment has a footprint no matter what. Yes, some are better than others but the word ‘sustainable’ has now been used too freely. It’s hard to make its meaning tangible. We all have to dig a little deeper now.

Huge retailers need to take action rather than marketing by greenwashing. It makes it very confusing for the consumer to know who and what to trust. 

It would be great to have tighter certifications and legislation before the ability to market and my ultimate ask but governments are so far behind on climate issues. I watched David Attenborough’s witness statement and, whilst he doesn’t direct it at us, the solutions he suggests (and are true and needed) are for us to take and I think we all need to begin driving changes as well as pushing governments.

In order for us to evolve as a brand we have tightened our ranges more and more in order to be more efficient with fabrications and waste. We are also designing the ranges like never before, the woman is at the absolute forefront of our design development and fashion has taken a back burner. After everything I have learnt I move further and further into creating with the best practices but also pieces that fit into wardrobes with ease to wear and re-wear. For summer 2021 (hitting our online store in March) we have a capsule of four hero dresses that myself and my female lead team all love and want one of each.

A few simple changes you can make to be more sustainable is to change your energy supplier to one that uses renewable energy, eat less or no animal products, eat local produce, consume less and support businesses that have good intention when spending your money – your biggest vote is with your pound.”

The Sustainable Shopper shopping list: John Lewis and Partners x Mother of Pearl winter collection

All images: courtesy of John Lewis & Partners