Ethical production

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Brands which are serious about ethics & sustainability will have a page like this on their websites.

As it is now, the fashion industry doesn't work...

The fashion industry is broken. Extremely cheap “fast fashion” brands drown consumers under disposable clothes with arrivals from oversea factories every 2 weeks, while traditional brands present runway collections that will only become available one year later.

None of these business models makes sense for the future, so I chose a different approach.

The problem in numbers:

Number of garments bought per year:

Did you know...

50% of fast fashion clothes bought get discarded within 1 year

Tons of apparel produced worldwide:

Did you know...

>20% of garments are discarded without having ever been worn

I have setup my brand differently.

Projects, not collections: Following the fashion calendar would mean that I do pre-fall, fall, pre-spring and spring collections – with fixed deadlines & potential overproduction. And for a small team like mine, it would be unrealistic. So instead of doing seasonal collections, I do “projects”. Projects have no season, they are born from a concept that needs to be expressed. I don't commit to a certain frequency & I like to design for various product categories.

LEARN HOW I DO THINGS...

The sourcing | The production | The retailing

How I source my fabrics & raw materials

There is no worldwide law as to which dyes are allowed or how raw materials should be grown and harvested. But some of the highest standards in terms of fabric production are in Europe.

By sourcing my materials from the best mills in Europe, I make sure that fabric suppliers pay their employees properly, and that they aren't exposing them to harmful chemicals forbidden by E.U. regulations but allowed in some other regions.

Some suppliers buy fabric from anywhere in the world, only dye it or finish it in Europe and then claim "made in Europe": that's not OK. For me, all steps of turning thread into finished fabric must take place in Europe for that claim to be legit. I also disclose information about each fabric's origin in my webshop.

As for the precious metals used to make my jewelry line, we source only 925 Sterling silver and 24K gold of recycled origin. It means that none of the metal we use is being extracted by mine workers (the mining industry is sadly famous for disregarding human rights). Jewelry made of recycled metal has the same quality as "new" metal, as silver and gold can be melted and re-used endlessly.

Where and how I produce my designs

Where a garment is produced is usually its highest cost factor: fashion is a labor-intensive industry. This explains why so many international brands (and especially Fast Fashion) outsource their productions to countries where salaries and laws are much less protected than in the countries where the garments will actually be sold.

Having my designs produced in Europe is much more expensive, but it's a conscious choice I make. I also produce only the quantities I know I can sell, to avoid over-production. Sometimes designs do sell out quicker than I anticipated. But if you are registered to my newsletter, you will always be informed first about new project launches.

Some brands, including in the luxury segment, will have their designs almost finished outside of Europe but will have the last production step done in France so they can claim "made in France". I think it is dishonest, which is why my designs are "100% made in Europe", aka. not only the last step.

Fashion-designer-steaming-clothes-photoshoot

How I sell my designs

Most brands sell their clothes to retailers, who re-sell said clothes to end customers (you!) after adding their own mark-ups. I prefer to sell my designs directly on my own website.

This allows me to keep my prices much lower than what you'd expect from designer clothes, even though my production costs are much higher & the materials I pick are absolutely on par with high-fashion brands.

The other parameter which matters to you is shipping: I aim to keep shipping costs low for my customers, by shipping with (more environmentally-friendly) slow-post, aka. boat instead of plane, whenever possible. Clothes are not "urgent", and having to wait for your order also makes you less likely to impulse-shop. Three birds with one stone.

JL crossbody bag leather - Caviar black

€349,00

Perfect circle earrings

€89,00

I'm new to curating my wardrobe and my own style, where should I start?

Great question. This free PDF guide will get you started:

Download your copy!

7 good reasons for working regionally

Keeping my supply chain in Europe has clear advantages:

QUALITY AND SAFETY OF MATERIALS

The development of a clothing collection - in 10 steps:

STEP 1:

idea, concept, visual research, moodboard

STEP 2:

sketch the shapes and proportions

STEP 3:

find the right fabrics & materials for my concept

STEP 4:

look for sewing / knitting partners able to execute the designs

STEP 5:

prepare technical specifications, patterns & prototype(s)

STEP 6:

order fabric samples, estimate quantities, calculate costs & retail prices for the collection

STEP 7:

prepare the production patterns & order production samples

STEP 8:

check samples, order fabrics & materials and go into production

STEP 9:

photoshoot, prepare the lookbook, plan website & marketing activities

STEP 10:

launch!

WATCH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CLOTHING COLLECTION:

(5 videos)

Watch: Full process from step 1 to step 10

Frequently Asked Questions

It's important to me that you have the knowledge you need to shop fairly.

Where do you ship to?

We currently ship to 50+ countries. The list can be found here.

Do you accept returns?

Yes. We accept returns from all the countries we ship to. However if you're unsure about your size, we recommend that you get in touch with us ahead of placing your order. We can help you take your measurements.

Do you have physical stores?

No. Justine's designs are only available online here.

Are your collections inclusive?

Justine creates her color ranges so that they include colors for every skin undertone.

We also aim to increase our size range with every project. In production, each size must reach a minimum order quantity (MOQ) in order to be doable. So we increase the size range as the brand grows.