Brands are taking a more responsible and proactive approach for their enterprises and outputs, and Vee Collective is one such example: dedicated to aligning the steps of reducing and reusing with the possibility technology can play in design.

The more we educate ourselves with different sustainable approaches to design the more we open our mindset for effective change. Twin caught up with the brand founders about how the brand came about and their responsible approach to design. 

How did Vee Collective come about?

10 years ago we launched our first brand Lili Radu – handcrafted leather bags and jewelry at a premium price point. By working closely with stockists, customers and creatives, we found that there seemed to be a great quest and hunger for accessories that were more stylistically and functionally versatile. We constantly heard that people wanted a super lightweight tote bag, comfortable to wear, effortlessly transitional and affordable, but it proved difficult to source. We wanted to create an update on the concept of the universal tote, more inclusive, carefully created, responsibly sourced and built to last. 

Can you tell us a little bit about the name?

Vee is a symbolic and a literal link to the V shaped pattern and weave on many of the products that we were creating within Lili Radu accessories. Journey and evolution is an important element of life for us and so to act as a continuous reminder of the route of this starting point we decided to include this as a nod to the focus of craft. 

The process of creation is very collaborative and it is a democratic, community approach that we work across, so we felt it integral that the name reflected this too, so we included the word Collective to anchor our creativity. We wish to build an interesting community, a collective of people that feel similarly towards being inclusive, support open-mindfulness, freedom and embrace the pace and movement of life. When we collaborate with artists and partners, these partnerships are selected on these shared beliefs, and so become integrated and part of the fabric of the collective.

Talk us through your responsible approach to design

Creativity has always been a focus, as well as practicality. We grew VeeCollective from the brand ethos of everyday-unlimited. Like so many people, after becoming parents your vision changes and evolves. It became so apparent that the environment we create has such impact, past our immediate visibility. This concept of responsibility, in a broader sense became extremely important to us. We felt it necessary to start navigating ways to become a more contentious brand, exploring how to deliver our vision but with less environmental compromise. We do not only want to follow, we want to be innovative and lay paths to a better and more responsible format for a fashion business. 

What are the biggest challenges you see the fashion industry facing?

Two challenges that can make a great difference to how brands evolve, survive and optimise contentious creation in fashion are re-thinking the format of traditional seasonal collections and also the process of sourcing sustainable materials. 

It can take time to source and develop specific components, materials and manufacturing solutions or processes. We are lucky to work with a fantastic team who are very passionate in finding wonderful qualities in recycled or re-engineered materials and components, as well as collaborating with innovative textile developers who are trailblazing the life-cycle of fabrications, components and packaging. These can take two-three seasons to source and implement and close the sustainable circle. Allowing time for creation and implementing improved-ethical choices is important but also can be complicated to balance in an industry with specific traditional season-lead collections. 

We work closely with our retailors to launch our capsule- core collections and also limited edition collaborations. By creating versatile accessories we allow for variation with consideration. We are proud to have been able to launch products when they are ready, aesthetically, functionally and when we feel confident they can also deliver the values we prioritise. 

How is Vee Collective finding solutions to these challenges?

We are still evolving, adding even more optimization of practices and exciting solutions to our way of creation daily. Our goal is to make the best product possible in the best way possible. Our products are created in recycled Nylon fabric, linings and recycled thread/yarns. We use long-lasting aluminium hardware to extend product-life and recycled or no-trace packaging. We ship our products by sea to try to off-set carbon foot print and always look to find ways in which we can offer better with less-impact.

It is not just the product that we look to invest in, we also believe in supporting creative communities and social-sustainability practices too. 

We try to approach change with little but honest steps and to be open in the conversation of change. It is a process.

What positive change can you see on the horizon between fashion and sustainability?

We feel that talking about responsibility is important, but it can also have so many meanings. The word sustainability needs to be un-packed- it holds so much. As an industry, we feel that we are all still learning how to incorporate or live the process authentically. Support around interest in change and transparency is now becoming more widespread and that makes problem-solving feel less isolating. 

It can be far more expensive to implement the steps and processes needed to be a more sustainably created product, but now, due to the more recent demands and expectations by the consumer, this has helped to align the journey of the final price tag. We try to find ways that keep our totes functional and approachable in every sense including the price.

Recently we have been selected as one of the brands to be included in the fantastic Selfridges Project-Earth campaign. This is a great initiative to foster and lead questioning on how things are made and to give everyone more earth-conscious, interesting options to explore in luxury retail.

It is exciting to connect and partner with so many other creative-leaders who are exploring how to reinvent the fashion industry and to help close the loop on waste.

Find out more on Vee here

Tags: colville, Fashion, photography, Viviane Sassen