Meet the designer: rani jones

With an exclusive collection showcase launching on leading eco boutique Fashion-Conscience.com, 2009 is set to be a big year for Rani Patel and Lucy Jones and their brand rani jones, writes Laura Dixon

From January 09, there’s a new name in ethical womenswear: rani jones. The luxurious label, noted for its high energy and bold approach, stormed into London Fashion Week last September and the Spring/Summer 09 collection – which included bright panelled pieces such as an orange and black striped bodycon dress, as well as high-necked jackets, slinky bamboo jersey cocktail dresses and wide-legged trousers – is on sale at the start of next year. I caught up with Rani Patel and Lucy Jones to find out what’s going on behind the label.

How did you meet?
rani jones: We were both working together at the same company, designing for the high street, and we instantly got on. Our experiences of working in the high street opened our eyes to the reality of fast fashion. Having spent time in India, sourcing materials and working with factories, it became apparent to us that our focus had to be on slower fashion. We wanted to become involved with more ethical, environmentally-sound fashion.

How was the experience of taking your first collection to London Fashion Week?
rani jones: It was our first season – we didn’t expect it to happen that quickly! We won an innovation award from the Ethical Fashion Forum, and thanks to them, we were able to showcase our collection at their stand at Estethica during London Fashion Week.

What’s the collection like?
rani jones: The collection is based on Brutalism, the architectural movement. The main principles are rawness, it’s a kind of brash concrete aesthetic, with exposed wood, geometric lines and a boldness to it. For us it was really important in how we cut our garments. It really inspired us. And we’ll use that blocky aesthetic in all our future collections too.

What were the main challenges for you?
rani jones: We had limited time to put the collection together. We started in April, putting us a couple of months behind everybody else, and as well as designing a collection, we were setting up a business, sorting out the financing, branding, fabric sourcing and more!

Fabric sourcing is all very different when you’re doing it from an ethical point of view. It’s quite limited, and you have to look further afield than you normally would. Having said that, we’ve come across some things we wouldn’t normally have found – and have even discovered new fabrics made from recycled PET, coconut husk, pineapple fibres. We’re waiting to see what they’re like right now. It’s amazing to think that they’re being produced.

Where do you fit in green fashion?
rani jones: We are a socially responsible company. Garments are made as ethically and environmentally sound as possible and everything is manufactured in the UK- we’re doing our best! We’re constantly researching new fabrics and processes.

We also have a sustainability consultant in-house, we’re members of the Ethical Fashion Forum and of the Centre for Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion, and they all offer great guidance and support.

What can we expect from you in 2009?
rani jones: We’re looking at selling from the website right now, and are currently holed up working on the Autumn/Winter 09 collection which we are really excited about!  There is so much going on but we’re hoping to be able to take a break at Christmas and go home to be looked after by our mums!

rani jones’ Spring/Summer 09 collection will be on sale on their website www.ranijones.com from January, priced £95-870.

Look out for their Daily eBay pick coming soon to greenmystyle.com.