Ally previously worked as FFI's Deputy Director of Communications. Before this she worked in media management and PR for clients including comedians Eddie Izzard and Ed Byrne. She has also worked for Melbourne International Arts Festival, conservation organisation Greening Australia and the production company Roving Enterprises.
Designer Tanya Bowd will show her environmentally sustainable African blackwood jewellery collection at London Fashion Week.
Each piece in Tanya’s ‘Africa East’ collection is hand carved from wood from the East African blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon) tree, otherwise known as Mpingo, in Tanzania.
Using Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)–certified wood ensures Tanya’s collection, which she designs under the name Candescent, features only wood from trees that are grown and the forests managed sustainably according to an international standard.
Candescent African blackwood ring by Tanya Bowd
“My designs always begin with the environment and sustainability in mind,” Tanya says, “The narrative of culture, style, beauty and colour in my range are not compromised by my decision to use only fair trade materials – in fact this adds to the beauty.”
Fair trade fashion has risen in popularity over the past decade, but is still frequently overlooked. London Fashion Week’s Good Fashion Show will feature 44 international designers, all with an ethical objective. The Good Fashion Show is a new addition to London Fashion Week – and is unique in that it is open to the public.
Candescent African blackwood bangle by Tanya Bowd
Fauna & Flora International has been involved in mpingo conservation since 2004, following a grant from the Conservation Leadership Programme – a partnership of four global environmental organisations – which launched the Mpingo Conservation and Development Initiative to protect southeastern Tanzania’s coastal forests, under threat from logging.
The Good Fashion Show is on Saturday 18 February, and runs as part of London Fashion Week.
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