Rockstar Bono is known for doing his bit for charity, but what is relatively unknown to those that aren’t fashion worshippers is that his wife Ali Hewson set up an ethical fashion label in 2005, called Edun. Edun is described as a ‘for profit contemporary fashion brand which aims to raise awareness of the possibilities in Africa and to encourage the fashion community to do business there.’ By doing this, Bono and Hewson wish to help alleviate poverty and encourage the industry to be more ethical. Hewson said of the situation, ‘The fashion industry is often considered superficial, but it’s actually a huge employer as an industry. It’s the first industry in any country that is developing, so it’s very important.’
Due to the new partnership, Ali and Bono were featured in Louis Vuitton’s Core Values campaign in 2010, shot in Africa by Annie Leibovitz.After an initial lack of success, a 49% share of Edun was bought by LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey) in 2009, which raised the brand’s profile. It was the first eco-focused label to be purchased by the luxury product company, which owns names such as Marc Jacobs, Veuve Clicquot and TAG Heuer. Shortly afterwards, LVMH appointed Northern Irish designer Sharon Wauchob as the new creative director of the label. Despite this, Hewson is still highly involved in the creation process, commenting, ‘We have a design, production, and sales and marketing team and I work closely with them throughout the product cycle – from sketch to finished product.’
85% of Edun clothes are produced in Africa in six factories, in Tanzania, Kenya and Tunisia, with the other 15% coming from China and Peru, and they source organic and sustainable materials wherever possible. Hewson took inspiration from Gerson Barnett and his wife Cristina Cisilino, the owners of Made, a fair-trade jewellery and accessories company established in 2005 in London. The couple moved their business to Nairobi in 2007, and employ natives to create the jewellery in their workshop as part of their ‘trade not aid’ philosophy. Since the move, the pair have collaborated with model Laura Bailey and Peaches Geldof, and founded the charity Made Africa, for ‘the provision of training and funding in Africa for fair-trade and self-help projects.’
Following this trend, Edun created a t-shirt range designed by Kenyan school children, the profits of which funded school supplies, lunches and healthcare. 700,000 of the designs were distributed across the UK, which Hewson commented was a ‘100 per cent African grow-to-sew initiative’. The label also has an off-shoot company called Edun Live, which makes African sourced t-shirts favoured by the likes of Coldplay and (not surprisingly) U2.
Despite the label’s African roots, their S/S 2012 collection is the first to take aesthetic inspiration from the continent, featuring jewellery made from beads, feathers and shells, and ethnic style block prints. To add a quirky twist, these patterns have been layered over floral designs that feel very British, and paired with boxy jackets made of hemp recycled polygabadine. The collection also includes trousers, blouses and dresses made of silk, and garments harking back to the luxe sportswear trend. The looks are more lightweight than the Fall 2011 collection, but clean and slick to maintain a modern edge. There were holes punched in garments as seen at Azzedine Alaia, and gold and silver grommets were attached to jackets, tops, trousers and shorts.
37% of this collection was manufactured in Africa, including black dresses and shorts made by a group of Kenyan artisan nuns known as ‘The Crochet Sisters’, and indigo coloured fabric hand-dyed by Malian artist Aboubakar Fofana. He uses the pigment from a plant that is indigenous to Mali, and the colour symbolises devotion, wisdom, justice and fairness.
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