There are times when I simply cannot believe my luck as a blogger. I've been fortunate enough that even though my blog is quite small and obscure in comparison to some, it has opened some wondrous doors for me, and taken me places that a teenage Holly would never have believed she could go.
Recently I was invited to attend the press launch for Dame Zandra Rhodes's S/S16 collection for People Tree, titled Girl Power: Roses, Lipsticks and Bows. It was held in Dame Zandra's own penthouse overlooking The Shard; exactly the kind of wonderland you would imagine, full of colour, fabric, Mexican artwork and palm trees. Basically my dream home, with a few extra awesome things I hadn't even thought of. I could have spent the whole night just photographing her stuff, but there was so much to see and do and so many creative people to meet that I only had time to get a few shots.
The evening kicked off with a talk from Lucy Siegle, the author of To Die For: Is Fashion Wearing Out The World? and regular writer for the Observer and Guardian. She spoke of her love for People Tree, the importance of what they do as a brand, their uniqueness within the fashion industry, and the life-changing experiences she had in Bangladesh with Dame Zandra and Safia Minney (People Tree's inspirational founder and CEO). After that we heard from both Minney and Rhodes on the design, production, and aesthetics of the new collection, as well as Minney's new book Slow Fashion. The beautiful Rebecca Pearson, model and ambassador for People Tree, was also there to represent the brand.
After listening to everyone's incredible stories about the origins of the collection, we were free to mingle and go and feel the clothes for ourselves. I helped myself to some (a lot) of Dame Zandra's wine and bumped into Don Carlo, photographer for Glass Magazine (who teased me for having a Canon but reassured me I looked like a true professional) and went to give Safia a huge hug and thank her for such an amazing night/starting one of my favourite brands. She was even lovelier in person than I had hoped, and I came away from the whole evening feeling so unbelievably privileged to work in the industry that I do, and totally motivated to making ever more ethical, conscious fashion and lifestyle choices. That night felt like more than just a press event - the People Tree team is more like a little family than anything else - and I am so, so glad I got to be a part of it.
