In episode 294, Kestrel welcomes Jeff Garner, the designer behind Prophetik, to the show. A romantic visual artist, pioneer and unconventional designer, Jeff’s sustainably-minded label Prophetik is focused on changing our perception of luxury.
“It’s interesting how everybody in their different segment of market just want to do the cheapest ingredient because they don’t expect the buyer to buy it, cause it’s more. So, it’s this idea that if you go into a design, and just try to make it the cheapest way possible, so that you can turn around and sell it for the most money, and nobody wants to spend extra to make something better. And I’m like — where have we gone in a society that we don’t want to carve our stone for our patio, let’s say … we don’t want to carve the wood to do our door.” -Jeff
This week’s guest was the FIRST sustainability-focused designer I discovered that I got really excited about. Over the years, he has dressed notable stars including Fleetwood Mac, Miley Cyrus, Cheryl Crow and Taylor Swift, among others.
A little background – I started a blog called Make Fashion Fair back in 2010. I had just finished my internship at People Tree in London, and was trying to find my voice in this space. My 4th blog post on February 20th, 2010, was titled – “elephants, ethics, and fashion”.
It featured two creatives I was drawn to at the time – musician Trevor Hall and this week’s guest. They both had this random connection to elephants and painting. Trevor Hall had a music video where he is getting painted by elephants, and this week’s guest had a collection that featured prints painted by elephants.
So – with that in mind, getting the chance to have this week’s conversation feels very circular.
In addition to continuing to challenge what fashion can look like on the runway and at a luxury level, this week’s guest is also behind a new documentary series that uncovers the fashion industry’s toxic secrets and highlights the importance of making and wearing nontoxic clothing.
Quotes & links from the conversation:
“elephants, ethics and fashion”, Kestrel’s blog post from back in 2010 that feautures Jeff
An article from Choc & Juice that highlights more information on the Singer Studies that Jeff mentions
“My mom passed away from breast cancer, so I’m a firm believer that nylon and polyester bras are a huge part of breast cancer. Unfortunately, you cannot pinpoint and say this particular chemical in this bra caused the breast cancer, but it does have those toxins that are carcinogenic in it that have been proven, and research proves it, that do cause it.” -Jeff (23:12)
“Chemicals from textiles to skin: an in vitro permeation study of benzothiazole”, published study that backs up Jeff’s theory of toxins entering the epidermis or skin through textiles / dyes
Prophetik
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S04 Episode 180 | HUSTON TEXTILE COMPANY + BRINGING MANUFACTURING BACK TO AMERICA
S04 Episode 179 | FAIR TRADE USA + SHOPPER RECOGNITION OF THE LABEL TODAY
S04 Episode 178 | LOLI + ZERO WASTE BEAUTY FROM FOOD WASTE
S04 Episode 177 | NEW YORK TIMES STYLE + SUSTAINABILITY WITH ELIZABETH PATON
S04 Episode 176 | ANACT TOWELS + THE POWER OF HEMP
S04 Episode 175 | ELIZA SLOANE JEWELRY, SCALING AS A MAKER + ULTIMATE CREATIVE FREEDOM
S04 Episode 174 | TONLÉ, ZERO WASTE + MAKING IN CAMBODIA
S04 Episode 173 | FRANK AND OAK + LISTENING TO SHOPPERS TO DRIVE CREATION
S04 Episode 172 | NOBLE CARRIAGE + HOW SUSTAINABLE SHIFTS CAN START WITH MOMS
S04 Episode 171 | THE PSYCHOLOGY OF FASHION + WHY WE WEAR WHAT WE WEAR
S04 Episode 170 | SOURCERY THE LABEL AND SILK YOU CAN MACHINE WASH + DRY
S04 Episode 169 | TRIARCHY ON SUSTAINABLE DENIM, MINDFULNESS + BALANCE
S04 Episode 168 | THREDUP + THE MASSIVE RISE OF RESALE
S04 Episode 167 | THE LOVE IS PROJECT + PAYING IT FORWARD
S04 Episode 166 | MARIELLE ELIZABETH + SLOW FASHION FOR ALL
S04 Episode 165 | PACT + GROWING COTTON BETTER, WITHOUT THE GROSS STUFF
S04 Episode 164 | MADE TRADE + ETHICALLY ELEVATED GOODS FOR DESIGN LOVERS
S04 Episode 163 | ALICE ALEXANDER + INCLUSIVITY FOR ALL BODIES
S04 Episode 162 | SARAH SPELLINGS OF THE CUT ON GOING FAST FASHION FREE
S04 Episode 161 | THE SUSTAINABLE FASHION FORUM + BUILDING COMMUNITY
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