Local brand sustainable development, safflower pieces, string fashion and environmental protection
For many years, the name of local fashion designer Johanna Ho (He Zhien) has been linked to fashion. After she became a mother, she continued to move forward, hoping to create a better world for the next generation. She founded the fashion brand “Phvlo” with sustainable development as its core value. This Lunar New Year, this sustainable fashion concept, is presented in the Lane Crawford store in Hong Kong and the mainland through the hands of a group of Sham Shui Po housewives.
When Johanna had her own children, she began to think about how to build a better world for the next generation. In the process, her role gradually expanded from the fashion designer to a larger level. Two years ago, Johanna began to prepare Phvlo, a fashion brand with “sustainable development” as its core idea, to find people and organizations with whom she shared ideas and to build a like-minded community.
In the context of fashion and clothing, what exactly is “environmental protection”? Years ago, Johanna signed a cooperation contract with a Japanese company. The company opened up to 11 stores for her brand Johanna Ho. Johanna was excited and asked how the other would handle the rest of the goods in the future. The answer was scared. One jump: “Take it to the incinerator and burn it.”
On this day’s visit, she slammed the fact that a fashionista was shocked: “The fashion industry is one of the industries that cause the greatest pollution to the environment.” Johanna said that the industry is currently focusing on and discussing topics, including use in the production process. Environmentally friendly materials, how to reduce waste, to achieve zero waste.
Designed with versatility to extend product life
The brand established by Johanna takes one step further. At the design level, the versatility of the product will be considered. The launched items can be worn from morning to evening, suitable for different occasions. Extending the life of the product is definitely on the road to environmental protection, but Johanna does not intend to stop there. She explained that Phvlo’s pronunciation is flow, “go with the flow” flow, it sounds like it is so comfortable and light, but it is actually difficult. “Ph in the name – with the meaning of pH balance in chemical theory, the world needs to strike a balance in different areas, but to do it, there are many challenges.”
To be balanced, there is no lack of fairness and reciprocal partnership. Johanna is committed to this through Phvlo. “Many institutions in the UK have moved their garment factories back to London from remote areas. This will not only provide employment opportunities for local grassroots and immigrants, but also effectively improve the technical level of these practitioners.” Johanna tried to bring the British The move to Hong Kong, her starting point is a visual merchandising display project in Lane Crawford.
“I know the non-government agency SVHK (Hong Kong Social Venture Capital Fund). They are providing training for a group of grassroots family women living in Sham Shui Po. It is just the future development direction of Carver, including some projects that give back to the community, so I They proposed to them the concept of environmental protection and used the old city seal to make the Chinese New Year. They were suggested to use the preparations for the coming year. Who knows that Carver said that they have a batch of old paper bags as materials, which are just red. I will implement it immediately and show up in this New Year.”
Johanna remembers Carmen Channer, alumnus of her alma mater, Central Saint Martins, England. She is not only talented in fashion design, but also very experienced in the display of visual merchandising, so she was invited to join. Carmen’s idea is to sew a piece of flower-shaped paper ornaments with old paper bags to create a festive atmosphere for the store. After Carmen produced the first bright red floral ornament, the entire project was declared into the production stage. Phvlo gave a briefing session to SVHK’s women students to teach how to make floral ornaments.
Old paper bag sewing paper flower arrangement display
“Because there is no specific factory, the production process is carried out in the home of the sewing workers. They later told us that the home is small, many families, and the other one is sleeping in the same bed. The children are young and they are worried about holding the needles. It’s dangerous to start work every night until the children fall asleep. Because there is no room interval, they can’t turn on the lights when they work, so they have to hold the flashlight in one hand and the needle in one hand.” Johanna said that when she heard the moving stories, she couldn’t help but This group of women who are determined to fight and face the difficulties are proud.
The child may not have imagined that at night, he took his own sleeping hand and held the needle until 1 am, and finally made a beautiful display design. After the completion, Lane Crawford arranged a day to let the sewing and her family visit the store to appreciate the results of their efforts. The children are holding their mothers, and the husbands are holding their wives, and they are excited about the projects they are involved in. This plan allows the housewives who stay in the Sham Shui Po room to find their own value in taking care of children, long-lost social roles. It is indeed a long absence. When factories moved from Hong Kong to Guangdong Province and even more remote places in the Mainland, garment technicians lost their jobs, part of becoming full-time housewives, taking care of children, or retire early. Phvlo hopes to connect people from different disciplines with the same concept into a group through similar projects. On the one hand, it develops environmentally friendly products, and at the same time provides workers with job opportunities and self-confidence with higher than minimum wage treatment and flexible working hours. .
Johanna has transformed from a former product designer to a project coordinator. As she said, people who share their common ideas are connected in a line like a connected game. In 2017, she made her first attempt to connect with the schoolmates of the UK’s alma mater. She held a competition to invite students from Central Saint Martins to design eco-friendly fashion. In the process, she guided the students to adjust the production mode, adjusted the cost to make the products more “sticking to the ground”, and led the students to communicate with the mainland and the office. Her role is not only a coordinator, but also like a teacher.
Years ago, when Johanna successfully settled in Japan with her personal name brand and opened a flagship store in an important fashion base, she said to herself: “There is no regret in this life!” As a designer, she did achieve her goals. Then she set a new direction. She is focused on “sustainable development” and is convinced that education is an indispensable task. “Through retailers, increasing consumer knowledge of apparel products and reaching out to students will make the next generation more aware of environmental protection.” When Johanna started to laugh, many people doubt that fashion can make money. Johanna did not answer directly, but said that the next project is already under negotiation. She will continue to work hard to find a sustainable win-win for sustainable fashion.