Last night, a central London location called the Hub saw the launch of the Ethical Fashion Forum, which I was kindly invited to attend through Pamela and Maria of My Only One. Thanks again ladies and congratulations on a truly gorgeous collection!

Guests browse through My Only One's debut collection

While enjoying a cocktail and browsing the collections, 2 other brands caught my eye: MIA “Up-cycled” clothing and LaLesso. MIA by young designer Mia Nisbet fuses recycled fabrics and traditional Malawian textiles to produce a collection that combines the richness of African textiles with western styling. Having grown up in Tanzania myself, the mixture of African patterns with old, branded Mickey Mouse t-shirts created beautiful, loose fitting dresses that were extremely well created.

MIA and LaLesso win the Fashion Innovation award

LaLesso’s use of Kenyan textiles made in consciously ethical workshops have created several jobs and a better way of life for their seamstresses, bead experts and crochet experts. Not to mention their dresses, bikinis, skirts and sarongs are vibrant, fashionable and unique.

I wish all the designers luck and hope they continue to grow and provide us with reasonably priced, truly inimitable clothing. I hope you’ll all look out for them on the high street – thanks again for the invite My Only One!