Much to bag about
t may be modelled on an old carryall borrowed from a friendly Italian medic, but Stella Jean’s Doctor Bag is unlikely to become a healthcare staple. The reimagined accessory takes a classic shape and pairs it with the eye
catching colours of bogolan, a traditional mud cloth from Mali, and the striped handwoven fabrics customary of Burkina Faso. While the Doctor Bag was one of the standout pieces from Stella Jean’s spring/summer 2015 collection, which is now available from Harvey Nichols Dubai, it can also be taken as a mark of the designer’s unique approach. The sustainable collection, which featured handwoven textiles made in West Africa and jewellery made by Haitian artisans, reconfirmed Jean’s status as one to watch – and also highlighted her growing relationship with the Ethical Fashion Initiative. At its heart, the spring/summer offering stood as a symbolic return to Jean’s Haitian roots, offering a bold, colourful interpretation of the country’s spirit, nature and people, from the hustle and bustle of the market and its colourful vendors to sugar cane and tap-tap buses, a distinctly Haitian form of public transport. Epic prints and hand-painted fabrics were paired with papier mâché fruit made from a mix of recycled cement bags and plant-based starches, by artisans in Jacmel, home to Haiti’s largest carnival. Also thrown into the mix were horn bracelets produced in Port-au-Prince and metal jewellery cra ed by local metalsmiths in Croix-des-Bouquets, using nothing but recycled oil drums, a hammer and good old-fashioned physical strength. In 2013, Stella Jean joined a slew of designers, including Vivienne Westwood, Stella McCartney, Sass & Bide and Karen Walker, that have collaborated with the Ethical Fashion Initiative, a programme by the International Trade Centre, a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. Built on the mantra: “Not charity, just work”, the initiative links the world’s top fashion talents to marginalised artisans – the majority of them women – in East and West Africa, Haiti and the West Bank. Profits earned go in part to the individual and in part to a collective elected by the community. These funds are then used for everything from water tanks to school fees and home-improvement projects. “Stella [Jean] showed our same orientation and enthusiasm for a form of fashion that is based on artisanal skills, top quality [and] responsibility towards people,” says Simone Cipriani, head of the Ethical Fashion Initiative. “What is truly lovely is responsible luxury: you satisfy your need for beauty while doing good.”