The Unmaking Of

A redefinition
of the fashion
retrospective

Kowtow Clothing

Author

Best Awards

1x Finalist (show upcoming)

At twenty years, ethical fashion brand Kowtow didn’t want to celebrate it’s making, but it’s undoing.

Kowtow has been at the forefront of ethical, sustainable fashion for twenty years. From our early beginnings producing certified Fairtrade organic cotton tees, to a boutique label now spanning three countries, Kowtow has embodied a spirit that is uniquely counter to the fashion industry at large. Always questioning the status quo, challenging ingrained practices, redefining methodologies.

Reaching our 20 year milestone, this counter spirit called us to not only reflect on our journey so far, but to project a challenge to the industry for the years to come. Eschewing pure celebration, for provocation.

A playful twist on the traditional ‘making of’ narrative, THE UNMAKING OF subverts expectations of what a fashion retrospective can be. While most celebrate the creation process, we celebrate the unmaking. Unpicking our own garments, processes and story, to simultaneously unpick the inner workings of the fashion industry; highlighting why change is crucial.

More than a title, ‘unmaking’ is an underlying ethos woven into the fabric of Kowtow since inception, and is essential to our story. Informing decisions to remove all plastic, reducing materials to a mono-fibre, and returning end of life garments to the Earth without harm as organic cotton biochar.

THE UNMAKING OF is an extension of this ethos in narrative form – detailing the why, what and how of our twenty year journey. Offering both a challenge to the industry, and guidance on how to change.