Socially responsible and environmentally-friendly cult denim brand Outland collaborates with Karen Walker.
By Carolyn Enting
A very special limited edition collab has fashion industry buzzing in the best way. Outland Denim x Karen Walker is the first ever collab for the Australian denim brand which shot to fame globally when Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, wore a pair of Outland Denim jeans on her visit to Australia.
The news went viral, the brand received 25,000 instagram likes, phones began to ring off the hook and it enabled Outland to employ 46 more seamstresses in Cambodia where Outland Denim’s production house is based.
And that is a very cool thing because since 2011 Outland Denim has provided employment for formerly enslaved or exploited young women of varying positions of vulnerability, including those leaving exploitative situations within garment factories, those with physical disabilities and those who have been trafficked for labour.
It also provides workers with a fair living wage, and training. Each is taught how to make a complete garment from pattern making through to construction so that they learn every step of the process. A contrast to many garment factories where workers can spend a lifetime just sewing sleeves or fitting zips.
It’s something Outland Denim founder and former motocross rider James Bartle is proud of and it’s something Karen Walker is proud to be associated with, too.
The Outland Denim x Karen Walker collection comprises of a six-piece limited edition range, and it’s Bartle’s hope that through the association with one of the world’s leading fashion designers that it will spread the word about Outland Denim so that it can continue to expand and make even more of a difference.
The collection is available from Karen Walker stores and online at Outland Denim.
