Para Athlete Samanta Bullock Launches Sustainable Accessible Fashion
In June 2019, disability activist Samanta Bullock collaborated with seven London-based fashion designers to form the SB shop – a line of fully inclusive, universally accessible clothing.
The shop was founded on the principle that inclusion must be for everyone, including our planet. As well as being fully inclusive of all body types, each collection is based on sustainable material practices, from sourcing Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) organic cottons to providing training for local communities in India. By combining both social and material sustainability, the SB shop hopes to provide a three dimensional understanding of inclusion.
Meet the designers
Contessina London is a family fashion brand established in 1958 in Athens, Greece. It was founded on the principle of contributing positively to our society through socially and environmentally concerned practices. Inclusion, for Contessina, is about consciousness, ethics, sustainability, integration, collaboration and human centred design. In collaboration with the SB shop, Clara from Contessina has created an exquisite jewellery collection based on the emblem of the dragonfly using silk, metallic threads and semi precious hematite.
Gunda Hefner was born and raised in Austria. Having completed her education at Central Saint Martins and the London College of Fashion, Hafner decided to start her own brand in 2016. The materials used in the products are mainly natural fibres such as wool, silk, linen, cotton, yak, alpaca and cashmere. All fabrics are sustainably sourced from small suppliers in the UK, Austria and Italy. For Hafner, the purpose of her work is to produce eco-conscious garments by minimising synthetics. She believes that by removing plastic from her garments, the consumer is both able to feel comfortable and that they have contributed positively to the fashion economy.
A stand out piece from Gunda’s collection for the SB shop is the vegan leather belt bag, which can be worn comfortably by everyone, including those in the sitting position.
AmaElla was founded in 2016 by friends Julie Kervadec and Lara Miller, with a shared vision of creating a fashion company with ethical and sustainable values at its core. Ethically made in Portugal, all AmaElla garments are manufactured using GOTS certified organic cotton – the worldwide leading textile processing standard for organic fibres with an ecological and social criteria. AmaElla produces timeless lingerie classics that are kinder to the skin, kinder to the environment and kinder to farmers and their communities. AmaElla and the SB shop have teamed up to create a beautiful range of fully inclusive underwear, including side tie knickers and front fastening bras. AmaElla’s underwear is kind to everybody.
BeKoffee is a project that aims to take advantage of spent coffee grounds to produce composites that are used as raw materials to manufacture decorative and personal pieces. The Bekoffee pieces are handmade, have a slight coffee aroma and have a unique design, inspired both by nature and human activity. Bekoffee's inspiration is based on the taste of coffee and the desire to transform a residue, which carries aroma and colour, into a new material that can be used to create pieces with culture and tradition. Diversity, incorporation, integration and involvement are synonymous of inclusion, and are too synonyms of BeKoffee. The SB BeKoffee collaboration has resulted in a stunning collection of modern, geometric necklaces and earrings.
Caroline London is an Italian London-based brand with a strong belief in sustainable fashion. Every single collection is produced to last a lifetime, and is entirely customisable – it’s all about two-part garments, using a multitude of styles and fabrics that can be mixed and matched, allowing every garment to be re-used and styled in a new and exciting way; it's like having 3 outfits in one! Every fabric is sourced locally, and every item is made in London with an accurate high-end finishing to guarantee a certain level of longevity.
Stand-out pieces from the SB Caroline collaboration include crop-style tops in pink and lace that can be coupled with various palazzo trousers in grey and floral.
House of Twiss - Peter Twiss is the name behind a deep-rooted story in the small state of Nagaland in North East India. Based in the UK, all garments are handmade in Nagaland, providing local employment to a small team of seamstresses, weavers and embroiderers. Peter has made it his aim to educate and provide employment through setting up a training centre and a fashion house in Nagaland, in order to grow a sustainable local economy. Proceeds from Twiss’ collections also go towards helping the local village infrastructure and educating the young people who live there. The House of Twiss SB collaboration is made entirely out of salvaged fabrics and includes timeless colour block/floral dresses, and a stunning printed silk jumpsuit.
Rua Luja is a London-based fashion brand set up by former lawyer, Nasim. Instead of following trends, the brand aims to create timeless pieces that can be worn year after year and still look amazing, providing a sustainable alternative to the seasonal pattern of fast fashion. Each item is hand made individually in the Rua Luja London studio and all fabrics are sustainably sourced from local suppliers, with any waste fabrics being given to local arts groups and schools to use creatively.
The Rua Luja SB collaboration has resulted in graphic zipper style dresses and chic knitted crop tops.
