Fur & Fashion

Name: Saskia Reggel
Country of Residence: Germany
University: Berufskolleg Für Mode & Design
Inspiration: I view my collection as a charm bracelet decorated with nature’s most beautiful charm: fur. Like a charm bracelet, you start with the base form, and from there on you build, add and remove elements to suit your mood and style. These interchangeable sustainable components mean my collection can never go out of season.
 
The furs I have used in my designs are responsible in a number of ways. Firstly, I used Mongolian lamb which supports an entire Mongolian nomad community in a remote region of the world, which without fur farming could not sustain itself. The sale of these furs also supports this community in the most environmental ways. Not only do these animals graze on the tundra, promoting sustainable agriculture and removing the need for feed in traditional fur farming, but the lamb meat is eaten and the sinew is used for tools and building tents, meaning the entire animal is utilized and nothing is wasted.
 
I purposely chose to incorporate African-produced fabrics to show how important global responsibility is in relation to the environment, and how we in the fashion industry should support traditional methods of fabric making in developing countries.  These fabrics are underrepresented in the fashion world today. Additionally, I chose rabbit fur for my designs which is a  by-product of the food industry, and would be wasted if I didn’t utilize it. It would be irresponsible to throw away a 100% organic, biodegradable, durable, and versatile clothing material – one which complies to Saga Furs’ highly regulated transparency and certification program. Here, I wanted to showcase why choosing fur is more responsible than a plastic alternative, something not many realize. 
 
Fur garments are created by craftspeople that are paid fairly and work under good conditions to craft a garment that can be worn for a lifetime and beyond—passed down through generations. Or, if the fur no longer has a use, it can be recycled into an entirely new garment, alternatively it can decompose and not leave any CO² footprint behind.
 
In the case of my designs, buyers can quickly and easily add or subtract from the look, so even the most particular fashionistas can stay chic. My three garments are created for any gender (binary, non-binary and fluid genders). My multi-colour designs are intended to make anyone wearing them feel great, while my use of responsible materials like fur reassures anyone wearing my garments that they have made a responsible and considered fashion choice. If you look closely at my designs, you’ll see a message: the eyes represent the awareness of a responsible buyer. Instead of consuming lots and lots, we investigate, contemplate and then buy responsibly. The brightly coloured fur is paired with the traditional African patterns, the colours complement each other beautifully and give my designs a modern touch. My designs are fun—we can mix and match according to our style and mood – as well as rejoicing at our rejection of cheap throw-away plastic clothing that hurts our ecology.