Last Thursday, September 8th, I attended the launch of Safia Minney’s new book: Naked Fashion, held in London at John Lewis’ Oxford Street location.Safia Minney, the creator of Fair Trade and sustainable label People Tree, is a leading figure in the field of ethical fashion, particularly here in London where People Tree is based. I was lucky to be invited to the reception, so here’s a first-hand report for The Green Stylist readers.

Naked Fashion is the result of a journey Safia Minney embarked on around 20 years ago, when she started People Tree, and her work and mission to show how fashion can be used to protect people and the planet. During this time, she has met agents in all area of the fashion industry, from the exploited workers, to the activists that, like her, work to bring about change.

In Naked Fashion, she has asked over 40 of these people to contribute their thoughts and experience, and finds out what they are doing differently to make fashion more sustainable. This includes photographers, models, illustrators, actors and journalists, guiding the reader through the Fair Trade environment, styling, up-cycling, Slow Fashion – all illustrated with stunning visuals, and ending with a comprehensive ethical brand directory. The list of collaborations for this book is phenomenal: from Caryn Franklin to Orla Kiely, from Vivienne Westwood to Jane Shepherdson, with a foreword by Lucy Siegle and Livia Firth, who so much have done lately to bring ethical fashion under the spotlight of red carpets, and the attention of the general public.

Safia Minney and Caryn Franklin at the launch party in London

It is always a pleasure to attend events like these, to meet the people behind the pages, and hear from them a few inspirational words. The set-up was also beautiful, and Safia was so generous to present us all with goody bags complete with a signed copy of Naked Fashion and a gorgeous organic cotton People Tree scarf.

The perks of the job!