Hexed - THE GREEN LOOK
Sustainable fashion brand Hexed puts recycled plastics and rescued cotton front and centre of its unisex loungewear collection
If there’s one positive that came out of the pandemic lockdown, it made many of us stop, think and perhaps re-evaluate where our time on this planet is best spent.
Independent fashion house Hexed (@hexed.fashion) was one of those to be created during Covid and launched in 2022. Hailing from Chislehurst, via Tunbridge Wells, founder Sharon Finch grabbed our attention both with Hexed’s stylish loungewear and its sustainability credentials - it’s made from recycled plastic and cotton and is knitted here in the UK.
But also, in just 18 months, Hexed has been a pop-up at Bluewater’s John Lewis store and in shared retail space Sook on London’s Oxford Street. Having more than 25 years in the fashion industry, working with brands like Fila, Ellesse and Guide Londona and retailers such as House of Fraser and River Island, Sharon took the decision to go her own way.
“I’ve worked in the fashion industry since I left art college [UCA Medway and Epsom], so a long time,” says Sharon. “And mainly for big brands, and probably more on the sports and outerwear casual side of things. I’ve always wanted to have my own brand.”
Sharon travelled globally during her career and saw first-hand the waste, low wages and constant pressure on suppliers to continually lower prices. She felt a strong desire to create a low-carbon footprint, sustainable alternative to mass offshore production.
The answer, she felt, was closer to home and she was determined to find UK factories and suppliers that would work with small-batch orders and have 100 per cent visibility and traceability of all products.
“I wanted to create a sustainable collection of loungewear that makes the most of what UK manufacturing can offer.”
A background in design at international brands means Sharon has a keen nose for what people want right now.
“It’s kind of having that thing in your head… looking at something and paring it back or, you know, looking at a silhouette and thinking, ‘Right, OK, how can I make this something that people want to buy?’. So I put the collection together and had to keep it quite simple.”
The core of the collection is based on two colours designed to appeal to all.
“The palette and the colours and the graphics and everything a little bit inspired by nature, as in, you know, it’s quite muted,” says Sharon. “I think it’s quite inclusive - men will like it, women will like it… it’s fairly accessible in terms of the styling as well.”
Unisex and size-inclusive hoodies, sweatshirts, joggers and even a drawstring sweat-skirt make up the loungewear, while organic cotton T-shirts and tote bags complete the initial collection.
CLOSING THE LOOP
The Hexed logo, which displays an H encircled in a recycling-icon-style loop, instantly suggests the aims of the brand, which has already picked up the Best Sustainable Loungewear Brand title in the 2022 SME News British Made Awards and recently been shortlisted in the Ones to Watch category in the Drapers Sustainable Fashion Awards.
But more importantly, the brand has had its sustainability certified by ESG Mark (Environmental, Social, Governance), recognising its process of diverting plastic bottles and waste cotton away from landfill.
“I came across a guy in the Midlands who actually knits the sweats fabric. He’s the only person in the country to have the licence to use this yarn that comes from Spain, and it’s certified recycled. They spin a yarn that’s made from recycled plastic bottles and recycled cotton. The two are twisted together to make this yarn and then he knits the fabric here in the UK.
“I didn’t even know this existed. I thought I would have to buy imported fabric and make the goods here. Obviously, the yarns come from Spain, but that’s still a very low-carbon footprint and it’s all been recycled. So it’s diverted the materials from landfill and they’re being put to new use.”
The ESG Mark investigates each business and its supply chain to make sure both the materials are legit and workers are treated and paid fairly. This independent and anti-fast-fashion approach has certainly seen an upward trend in the past couple of years.
“One of the positives that came out of the Covid period is that all these little businesses and independents have all got similar goals in that we want to create something a bit better for ourselves and for the planet,” says Sharon. “And we all know a bit of a mission and we’re doing it together. It’s quite nice, really.”
While the majority of the Hexed interest comes through social media and the online shop, the pop-ups in Oxford Street and Bluewater have helped both the brand’s notoriety and which customers are picking it up.
“I want it to be something that a 20-year-old could pick up and love and also there’s nothing to stop a 60-year-old picking it up and liking it,” says Sharon. “And I think that’s what I have got because when I was at John Lewis the customer base was quite a lot older and I was getting guys on the stands in their late 50s and early 60s really loving it, saying ‘You know, I really love my clothes, but just because I’m older I find it really hard to shop and find things I like’. So that’s where I am with it, really.”
While there has been some interest in moving into wholesale in and sending her clothes out to Japan and the US, Sharon is focused on putting it in the right, hand-picked, environmentally conscious stores right here in the South East. It’s not started badly, has it!
INFO: www.hexedfashion.co.uk
