Oxfam: Community
In the early days of fashion activism for me I began a relationship with Oxfam to promote the designer second-hand clothes that had made their way to the Oxfam stores. The company's remit for me was to upgrade the nation's perception of second hand as something that had a desirable 'pre-loved,' perception rather than plain old cheap second hand. We did this through shows and a nationwide PR campaign.
I did various charity shows and one took place in Covent Garden featuring lots of my friends (all models) who agreed to donate their time to promote a good cause. I was also asked to talk about the outreach work they did in tiny villages, with the women and girls who made lace, embroidery, crochet and beaded bags, when I hit upon an idea.
Why not link up these artisanal crafts women up with a top prediction agency to point out which materials should be featured and which styles would hit the highest sales by aligning the trends?
Once back at the desk I picked up the phone. Promostyle was my first call and Matthew Jeatt was the marvellous person who answered my request. He got it and offered his services for free. Oxfam made use of Matthews visionary predictions for many years.