INSPIRATION
Inspired by our own NHS staff who are playing the most crucial role in our fight against Covid 19, our first designer, 'Emma', decided to take a look at the history of the NHS uniform. Dating back to the beginning of the 20th century Emma drew inspiration from both her extensive research as well as her own mother's career in nursing. By exploring the ever evolving dress code of our British nurses throughout history, Emma has created some of the most beautiful and original designs that all stem from various, nostalgic elements. Our 'Structured Bando' for example, was born from the traditional nursing hats. Towards the end of their lifespan, these were made from paper, with every nurse educated on how to fashion these together. When coming across some instructions for this on her research journey, 'Emma' lay out her finished hat, flat, to find fresh, shapes. From this, she constructed the first version of our 'Structured Bando'.
PRINT OF THE CENTURY
Also during her research phase, Emma came across her mother's old nursing dictionary. After scanning in the book cover and examining the letters, 'Emma' decided to create a half mirrored repeat print. The day our samples came back, we knew we had something special! We decided to colour in the letters gold for our classic trench coat (behind) and beige for our 'Structured Bando' and 'Silhouette Dress'. Named the print of the century, for it's striking aesthetic and inspiration origin.
TOP SUSTAINABLE PIECES
With both 'Emma' and our brand 'MODEL CTIZN', dedicated to sustainable fashion design, it was such a delight working together, to create a responsible fashion collection. One of our most sustainable and responsible pieces in the range is our 100% biodegradable suede dress. Not only does it feel absolutely gorgeous against the skin, but it will biodegrade itself, once placed into landfill (which we hope only happens after it is reworn, passed on, donated and recycled first). We also have our beautifully classic and timeless black 'Silhouette Dress', which is made form dead stock, that otherwise would have ended up in landfill. In addition to these, our printed 'Silhouette Dress' and our blouse are made from 100% organic cottons. The rest of our collection is GOTS certified fabrics and sourced responsibly.