housman collective (previously known as libertorre) is a collaboration between sisters Hannah and Lucy Housman. We bring beautiful, ethically and sustainably made clothes to people who appreciate the longevity of good design and fabrics rather than the fleeting flimsiness of fast food fashion. We have a dynamic and oft-changing range that is added to frequently. Many items are one offs: more art, less fashion.
We are very aware of the impact of the mainstream fashion industry, especially in developing countries. People and the environment are worked in exploitative ways in order to get clothes to the shelves and rails of the high street for people to consume consume consume. Although heightened awarenes of this is informing some buying patterns, there is still a lot to be done. Hannah and Lucy have been actively campaigning on these issues for several years and, as housman collective develops, see activism as a significant part of the endeavour.
You will notice distinct styles in the collection - Lucy's approach centres on reworking and restructuring vintage; Hannah's is characterised by handprinted simple organic shapes. Their dual range of lounge and night wear, Amaiyah, is made by a co-operative in India who train and employ disabled people, and use therapeutic dyes to colour the fabric, resulting in clothes that are beneficial when worn (click here). More information on the collections can be found in the shop (here) where you can also acquire if you so wish.
Our blog, the ongoing story, can be found above. And if you want to have an update every time we add to the story with a new post you can click on the tiny orange box below, and then click 'subscribe in mail' on the right hand side.....
