Fairtrade Focus: Dialog

Mixing bohemian urban style with commendable community work, fair trade accessories label Dialog is a hot new name to watch. Greenmystyle.com’s Fairtrade Fortnight content is sponsored by ethical fair trade fashion boutique Equa.

Dialog is a Hong Kong-based accessories label set up by Cassandra Postema and Dong Shing Chui shortly after the Tsunami in 2004. It is dedicated to helping poor communities in Asia.

Having first met at Central Saint Martins, Cassandra and Dong had followed markedly different paths until their chance meeting in Hong Kong at the time of the Tsunami disaster.

After witnessing the devastation caused by the Tsunami, Cassandra and Dong launched Hope Tees, a graphic T-shirt company which raised money to help rebuild lives. It now also supports other Asian initiatives, from a Day Care Nursery in Ho Chi Mingh to sewing workshops designed to empower Montagnard villagers in Vietnam.

The inspiration for their signature look came from the traditional Malaysian four-fold tuck rug, small origami squares of mixed fabrics, which features heavily in Dialog’s bags and purses.

Dialog’s designs fuse traditional Asian craft with modern styling and all bags feature their signature four-fold recycled trim.  Based on fair trade networking, Dialog focuses on creating high fashion products that are glamorous, bohemian and fun at the same time.

Having proved a huge hit at London Fashion Week with its impressive array of textured and exotically compiled clutches, romantic handbags and ethnic carriers, the brand is quickly gaining a following for its designs as well as its ethics.

The majority of the trimmings for Dialog’s accessories are made by a sewing group in Viet Nam, others are made by Love Multi Culture, a Pakistani group of migrant workers based in Hong Kong, and some bags are now produced at a factory in China which employs disabled people.

By working with groups who already produce clothing, Dialog ensures its trimmings are all from recycled off-cuts. The girls have also now started working with another group of women in Pakistan to make the components of jewellery that will be designed in Hong Kong.

Cassandra says: “We really enjoy spending time with people at a grass roots level – it is more meaningful. The emphasis is on the meaning we create with the product – rather than the superficiality that comes with being in the fashion industry.”

Check out our Top 10 Fair Trade accessories to see the Dialog bag that has got us all a flutter.

Dialog’s current range includes cute horse and fish purses (£15-£18), bags (£50-£95), and necklaces (£18-£25). Look out for Dialog’s expanded range including cushions and dresses shortly.

Dialog