Q&A with Amy Roberton of Seventy + Mochi, a stylish and sustainable fashion brand that we all want to wear
Q Your clothes are very wearable, plus they have lots of unusual design features, and they’re sustainable too. What’s the design ethos?
A In truth we design for ourselves and our friends. We are constantly inspired by the amazing women around us and we strive to give them season-less, long-lasting sustainable fashion that easily assimilates into their everyday wardrobe, denim they can dress up and down, that works for their busy lifestyles. We are inspired by workwear and vintage garments, giving them modern twists with crafted elements inspired by our founders’ heritage.
Q You’re a female-led brand. What impact does that have do you think?
A We are proud to be a female-led brand; it is huge part of our DNA. We are our customer and so can understand her better than anyone. Personally I love working for female entrepreneurs and have found them to be some of the most creative, hardest working and emphatic leaders.
Q How did the brand come about?
A Our founder, Haya, comes from a family deeply rooted in the denim business in Karachi. After studying in the US she went to work in the family business and felt there was a gap in the market for a women’s design-led but sustainable fashion brand. At the same time, I was on a personal journey myself, having worked in denim for 15 years. I had been researching the circular economy and I wanted to work with sustainable mills and factories. When we met and shared our views, we knew we could work together.
Q How do you ensure that your fabrics are sustainable?
A We are lucky in that we make all our own fabrics, from sourcing the organic cotton and making our own recycled cotton at our recycling plant, to spinning, weaving and dying. This is all in the same location too, so we can ensure that we are only using organic or recycled materials and we know our carbon footprint is as low as it can be. Our make facility is in the same region, which keeps our carbon footprint as low as I think it is possible for a finished garment to be.
All of our organic and recycled materials are certified, to give our customers confidence in what they are buying. I visit the recycling plant every time I visit the factory: it is so important to stop discarded clothes from being dumped in landfills or burnt.
We will never stop trying to source the best and most low impact fabrics possible. This year we are launching an exciting drop made with 100% recycled cotton and no dye. We have other exciting plans, including growing our own organic cotton.
Q Your pricing is quite accessible, especially for sustainable clothing. How do you make that work?
A We work with our parent company to have the best possible materials and practises at the best possible prices, in truth it is a vertical set up. We think it is really important that sustainable clothing is affordable and accessible and not for the elite few.
Q What are your favourite pieces from the current collection?
A I love the Sally dresses and Pablo Waistcoats as well as the Elodie skirt. All are new pieces for us and I can’t wait to mix and match them. I also love our classic Pablo jacket in the new colour Khaki and Barely Pink.
Q Tell us about the jumpsuit. Why is that such a winner?
A We love ‘one and done’ dressing. Sometimes thinking about putting an outfit together feels too much and the ease of chucking on a jumpsuit is liberating. I also love how they can be super casual with sandals or trainers or dressed up with heels or boots. I have all of our jumpsuits and they are in constant rotation in my wardrobe, we have a new style launching in May called Amelia – she’s a modern flight suit in the softest denim with great workwear styling details and looks great with chunky boots, trainers or sandals.
Q What’s next for Seventy + Mochi?
We will be doing some pop-ups around the country. There is no better place to develop a new collection than seeing people try the clothes on and watch how they style pieces and talk about them.
