Meet the brand owner who says no to fast fashion

FullaLove is a newly launched clothing brand offering ethically sourced clothing which doesn’t cost the Earth.

Millie, owner of FullaLove – image by Shannon Mountford

It was in the late 1990s and 2000s when low-cost fashion production became a phenomenon and fast fashion retailers including Topshop and Zara took over mainstream fashion on the high street. This then infiltrated to online retailers, with brands like PrettyLittleThing and ASOS designing and producing pieces cheaply and quickly.

As a result, fast fashion has had a huge impact on the planet. Because of pressures to mass produce and do so in the most-effective way, brands have cut many corners using toxic dyes and cheap textiles, causing a lot of harmful pollution.

However, as consumers we have become increasingly conscious about fast fashion and are opting to support more sustainable and ethical brands.

The new brand on the block who is campaigning for change is FullaLove, who launched last Saturday in Leicester.

I had the pleasure of attending the FullaLove launch and was blown away with not only the brand itself, but also the passion of the owner Millie FullaLove herself. I was very grateful to be able to speak to Millie during the event, and talk everything FullaLove. Here is everything you need to know:

What is FullaLove?

Fullalove is a new niche clothing brand that embraces ethical production and natural materials, to produce high-quality and wearable fashion.

The brand’s ethos is everything sustainability, and understands the need for change in the fast fashion industry.

To be as sustainable as possible, the clothing pieces are made with natural fabrics and natural dyes; Millie described how she uses fruit and vegetables such as red cabbage, blackberries, beetroot, kale, and turmeric to name a few, to create the dyes and then soaks it in salt and vinegar to help stick the dye to the fabric.

This method also means that every item will never be the same. Because each individual vegetable or fruit will grow differently, depending on the season, for example, the dye will always have the same hues but the colouration with be different making every garment unique. Also, by using this method of dying, it means that the waste is more manageable and is always available throughout the year, meaning the clothes are pretty much in sync with nature.

Millie also explained how the clothing is made with bamboo jersey rather than cotton. Using this fabric has a lot of advantages to both the production and the consumer. For example, compared to cotton, bamboo fabric is easy to grow, sustainable and is also naturally soft, anti-bacterial and odor resistant. It is also 40% more sweat absorbent and strong so is less susceptible to wear and tear.

This is an important factor for the brand, who want to help people create a capsule wardrobe, with versatile interchangeable pieces that can create multiple looks through each season. The current A/W collection consists of wearable pieces such as joggers, t-shirts and jumpers that could be dressed up or down to suit the occasion, with Millie and her team currently working on other pieces to add to the collection.

One piece in particular is the shirt. Everyone over at FullaLove recognise that people want clothing that they can wear everyday and so they want their clothing pieces to be an investment. Millie recognises that it is hard to convince that spending a bit more than you would in a fast fashion chain is difficult, but their persistence and values of sustainability speak for themselves, and will gain more momentum soon enough.

Launch night

The night was a massive triumph, with a full house turn out to support Fullalove. On the catwalk the clothes were styled perfectly and spoke for themselves, as models wore natural makeup and freed the nipple. This strip-backed look shows how the brand champions the natural and raw-look, meaning there was no distraction from the clothing pieces and embraces the refreshing nature of FullaLove.

Hosted at 247Studios in Leicester, the warehouse catered for the high crowd who came along; this goes to show how many people are taking note and want to invest in brands who offer so much more than fast fashion chains do. Millie was stunned by the reception FullaLove received and said how it is yet to sink in.

Other local businesses, such as Teesh, also came together and got involved in the brand launch, showing how there is a great support and a community feel amongst smaller independent brands.

As well as the launch, Millie went along to the Leicester Design Season panel talk, to discuss sustainability in fashion with students and like minded professionals, and help spread awareness about how the design community can have a positive impact on the environment.

Being proactive is the key to spreading the message of not only sustainability in the fashion industry, but in all industries, and the more people talk the bigger the impact will be. When sustainability is so achievable, and more important now than ever, we all need to back the people who are backing our planet.