When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I think about is what I’m
going to wear. That was a lie, the first thing I think about is coffee, then my
outfit. Either way I sometimes find myself incredibly angry because in spite of
my relatively well filled closet, I feel like I can’t find the perfect outfit
and my bedroom floor is suddenly filled with clothes and shoes. I bet you know
the feeling. This feeling in the back of my mind is a result of me scrolling
through Instagram, Pinterest and my favourite blogs and suddenly the pieces I
bought last week aren’t good enough. The value of caring for the things you
already have doesn’t really apply anymore, because in that moment, what I have
already invested money in, isn’t good enough. Sad and illogical, isn’t it?
That’s why I fell in love with the brand Stig Percy when I spoke to its founder
Mathilde Jansson.
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| Mathilde Jansson, the founder of Stig Percy |
Mathilde studied fashion design in London and got a shoemaker
certificate in 2013 which triggered the idea of creating her own brand. She
drew her inspiration from her grandfather and explained to me how the
foundation of Stig Percy (not only the name) was built on her grandfather’s
belief "that you should be grateful for what you have and take care of it”.
Solely that statement contradicts a vast majority of the fashion industry that
we see today. As you know I always get excited when discussing sustainability
in fashion and I guess somehow Mathilde’s grandfather had a mindset that all
fashionistas could learn from today.
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| Mathilde and her incredibly charming dog, Dylan |
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| Dylan really wanted to be the centre of attention |
“Help us close the loop”! - I see this on almost every brand website. I
don’t think that it’ll ever be possible to do that completely and that’s why
Mathilde’s honesty in the matter was very refreshing to me, “As a very small brand in two hazardous industries (the shoe and the
leather industry), the mission is to create a shoe with the least negative
impact on the environment as possible with the means we have”, and again her
grandfather’s wise and very relevant words come to play a key part in the
sustainability aspect, “The customer is also part of the journey,
and if you take care of your shoes they will last longer, no matter what they are
made of”. It is impossible to expect that consumption can continue at the
current rate and have no effect on the environment. No matter what company or
brand, profits and sales are always going to be vital for their survival,
whereas an individual doesn’t need to purchase new clothes and shoes every week.
“I believe, at large, we are way too far down the consumption lane to stop it
completely or to change peoples’ consumption behaviour and consumption habits
overnight […] All fashion companies, small and large, have to make aware
decisions and incorporate sustainable thinking into their products and
practices and it's our responsibility to educate the consumer as well. However,
with that said, sustainability has also become a marketing tool for large
companies – for better or worse”.
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| The first Stig Percy shoes I fell in love with |
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| But I ended up going home with the black ones (I apologise for the poor quality in this picture) |
To me, who has always wanted to do something creative within fashion but
never really dared to take the leap, Mathilde is truly inspiring. “It probably sounds cliché but don't give up! You will have to fight for
it, there will be backlashes and you will get a lot of no’s and it will make
you feel like shit from time to time. But, if you don't give up and you believe
in what you do, in the end it's worth it, all the small gains and everything
you will learn along the way is worth it”, cliché or not, I guess it’s true. I
met with Mathilde in May and I’m posting this now, not because it’s taken me
this long to write it, but because I’m afraid of people’s reactions to my blog
posts and I’m afraid of what can go wrong. The fashion industry has always
called to me but I’ve always been secretly afraid to enter and procrastination
has been a dear friend from time to time.I bet it’s like that for a lot of
people, because of the presence of judgement in the fashion industry. Don’t get
me wrong, I don’t think that fashion could exist without it, but the industry
can be cruel. “The worst thing about fashion is that it can create social
divides, class differences and work as a sort of exclusive status symbol”. However,
it also gives us a chance to express ourselves without using our words, when we
like Mathilde, dare to do it.
https://stigpercy.com/
@stigpercy
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| Dylan had to get his own portrait in this post |
