The Slow Fashion Brand Rescuing Left-Over Fabric
Megan Mummery, a Canadian-born, Australian-raised, and UK-educated designer, does most of her business in Turkey, venturing into hidden corners of Istanbul to rescue left-over rolls of fabric for her slow-fashion brand, Oh Seven Days.
Why Turkey? “There’s a lot of manufacturing for big brands [there],” explains the designer. “They have great quality fabrics that just get left-over and sit there. So I thought, ‘This is magic!’ I felt a little bit guilty at the idea of just adding to the millions of other brands that are starting everyday, so I thought, unless I have some sort of sustainable element there’s really no point,” she says.
Oh Seven Days clothing possesses an inherent simplicity. The capsule collections veer towards feminine pieces made out of simple fabrics and classic cuts. Mummery puts her own spin on basics; adding an accentuated frill, pleat, or hemline to each piece.
Sticking to simple fabrics is how Oh Seven Days avoids using fabrics that might be a little too familiar. “Generally, [factories] don’t like to tell you the designer that the fabric comes from because of confidentiality reasons,” she says. Designing out of Istanbul has influenced Mummery “in a contrasting way” she explains. “Everything is so rich and vibrant, I always try to pare back even more than I would otherwise, just to be a bit more minimal.”
Mummery works with an in-house team of 4-5 tailors and machinists to produce her breezy clothes. Although many Oh Seven Days garments are one size fits most, the in-house team allows for personalized fits. “Instead of working with a big factory to produce, I have the freedom to do a bit more customization, because women come in all shapes and sizes,” says the designer.
Since the Oh Seven Days business model is diametrically opposed to most brands – the availability of fabric dictates production rather than the other way around – Mummery says that she sees her brand as leading by example, demonstrating to the rest of the industry that success and sustainability can coexist.
With a slow fashion business model that defies traditional expectations of supply and demand, Oh Seven Days creates beautiful, fresh, feminine clothing out of available resources. Click through the gallery bellow for some of our favourite pieces from the brand.
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