British designer Georgia Dant’s brand Marfa Stance is making waves in sustainable fashion with its unique reversible coats and customizable features, all crafted from leftover luxury materials.
British designer Georgia Dant is gaining recognition for her innovative approach to sustainable fashion with her brand, Marfa Stance. Founded in 2019, Marfa Stance is distinguished by its colorful, reversible coats and an array of customizable detachable accessories like collars, hoods, and linings, all crafted from leftover luxury fabrics. This design philosophy not only reduces waste but invites customers to engage with their clothing creatively.
Dant’s decision to incorporate buttons for attaching these elements stems from a desire for a hands-on, artisanal experience. In an interview from her London studio, where her newborn can be heard cooing, Dant explained, “The reason I went with buttons, rather than snaps or zips, is that you learn to create. It takes time to button, you have to think about it, slow down and use your hands.” This ideology ties into her overarching goal: to create garments that are seasonless and designed to last.
Since the launch of Marfa Stance, the brand’s offerings have included a variety of styles, such as furry collars, camouflaged jackets, and shearling-lined pieces, all characterized by their vibrant colors and textures that vary based on the surplus materials available from Italian factories that collaborate with luxury brands like Loro Piana, Loewe, and Saint Laurent. This focus on sustainability extends to the use of recycled or surplus materials for the jackets’ signature parachute quilting.
Pricing for Marfa’s signature pieces is premium, with items like quilted parkas costing around 1,200 pounds, while cropped jackets are priced at approximately 700 pounds. Add-ons, such as hoods and collars, generally range from 300 to 500 pounds. Despite the luxury pricing, customer interest remains high. Rachel Carvell-Spedding, founder of knitwear brand Navygrey, commented on the appeal of Marfa Stance, stating, “They find Marfa different — and exciting. These are customers who want to invest, but in the right way.”
Prior to establishing Marfa Stance, Dant gained extensive experience in the fashion industry, particularly during her time at Burberry and Rag & Bone. She acknowledged feeling disillusioned by fast fashion’s cyclical nature and wastefulness, prompting her to reexamine her approach to design. Dant said, “I felt a little bit disillusioned by the system, which is broken. As a designer, you put so much into what you do, and you want it to be meaningful.” This led her to develop a modular system that maximizes utility while using minimal resources.
Marfa Stance has expanded its reach, with a significant portion of its sales occurring in the United States. The brand operates a storefront on East 67th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan and has hosted pop-ups, gaining traction in cities like TriBeCa and Seoul. The name Marfa Stance symbolizes both creativity and responsibility, reflecting Dant’s vision for a sustainable fashion industry.
Dant’s commitment to community and creativity is evident in her collaborations, such as the initiative with the Gee’s Bend quilters from Alabama. This project not only showcased the skill of the artisans but also served to provide them with luxury remnants from Marfa Stance’s production. Each jacket in this collection involved a collaborative effort from multiple quilters, with the sales proceeds benefiting the artisans.
Marfa Stance’s latest collaboration features multidisciplinary artist Mickalene Thomas, reimagining rainwear using surplus materials. This limited-run collection aims to raise funds for the L.A. Arts Community Fire Relief Fund, emphasizing the brand’s dedication to charitable efforts alongside its commitment to sustainable fashion.
Looking to the future, Dant has aspirations to collaborate with the Judd Foundation and explore further product lines, such as knitwear, accessories, and even ski apparel, potentially creating versatile pieces designed for varied environments. The direction of Marfa Stance demonstrates a growing trend in the fashion industry towards melding creativity with sustainability, seeking to address the challenges of modern consumerism.
Source: Noah Wire Services
