As part of Fashion Revolution week STYLE is looking at the brands, people and ideas that are creating positive change within the fashion industry. Recently, we caught up with Gosia Piatek, the founder of sustainably and ethically minded Kowtow, to discuss what transparency means to her.
“I started the brand 15 years ago and [transparency] was the pillar of everything,” says Piatek.
“I wanted to know who was working in my production chain from seed to garment and wasn’t going to budge on that – that was the foundation of Kowtow.”
While it may surprise fans of Kowtow’s clean, structural aesthetic, Piatek says it was the idea to create something that served as a catalyst for change that actually came first. “I wanted to start a business, it didn’t have to be clothing,” Piatek explains. “Clothing came after the idea.”
“I wanted to do something radical that I felt wasn’t being addressed in the world,” she says.
We often forget to look beyond the end product that ends up on the shelves or clothing racks, but Piatek believes if we knew more about how the product came to be, many of the production methods – such as child labour – wouldn’t’ sit right with us. “Even today, there’s a detachment from what we purchase and who’s making it,” says Piatek.
“Clothing [transparency] is really complicated and maybe that’s the reason why people put it in the too-hard basket,” she says. This commitment, Piatek explains, isn’t easy and it comes with a lot of nuances and complexities. Unlike, say Fairtrade coffee or banans, there are multiple steps in the clothing supply chain – from growing and processing to cutting and stitching.
“For us, it’s about being really honest with our customers and being accountable,” says Piatek. “Accountability for us all is what’s going to drive us forward … discussing our processes in an open way is not only sharing our knowledge, but it also holds us accountable to our commitments.”
In Conversation with Kowtow
As part of Fashion Revolution week, designers from 12 around the globe have come together to bring an intimate studio experience to a global audience. FASHION OPEN STUDIO will serve as a platform for consumers to engage with the designers leading the social and environmental change within the fashion industry. Designers participating include Phoebe English, Ssōne, Vivienne Westwood and founder of Kowtow, Gosia Piatek.
Kowtow will be hosting Kowtow Conversations on their Instagram channel @kowtowclothing at 7pm NZT on Tuesday 21st April as part of FASHION OPEN STUDIO. Founder and creative director, Gosia Piatek, will talk with Fairtrade CEO Molly Harris Olson, who has a fascinating history of campaigning, from the Rainbow Warrior in the 1980s to the White House. You’ll be able to tune into Kowtow Conversations right here on Kowtow’s Instagram and there will be a chance for you to submit your own questions as the conversation is taking place.
