Cool Hunting

At the Margin London tradeshow earlier this week a boggling 90 labels were on show, 60 of which were brand new proving that in its sixth year Margin is still the place to go to find new talent in streetwear. Keeping our eye out for organic and fair trade labels in particular, we were pleased to find three new denim brands that we think will be making some noise on the fashion scene with their collections for Spring/Summer 09.

Trousers London appeared to be the most directional label with unusual tailoring not often seen in denim and beautiful detailing including zips, braiding and bespoke silk pocket linings. Using organic cotton from Turkey, the jeans are handmade in Italy. Their first collection for Fall/Winter 08 catered only to the boys, but this season girls will get some Trouser action too.

NU is a French label that made its London debut at Margin this week. A funky street brand with a touch of the eco-rebel about them, they have styles for men and women in varying weights of organic African denim. Their Fair Trade production unit is located in Tunisia, where they have a closed loop water system for washing and dyeing the denim. Designer Maxime Guillon says, "It is out of the question for us to use 800 liters of water in the production of one pair of jeans." Amen.

Chance is a Fair Trade denim label that has also launched in 2008. Emerging from the Blurclue Ltd stable, a textile representative to mills and garment manufacturers, Chance produces classic jeans and t-shirts using African Fair Trade cotton. Blurclue Ltd also works with Made in Africa, "a brand set up to support African trade, producing denim garments and cotton t-shirts from raw cotton to the finished article which are locally sourced and organic."