London-based brand Dai has a pop-up shop in Marylebone that brings fashion and sustainability together.
Dai
Dai, a London-based brand that makes office wear as comfortable as going to yoga, has a new shop near Marylebone. But it’s not just about selling clothes.
When Joanna Dai launched the company two years ago, she was focused on making workwear that breathed and moved as well as athletic wear. “I was on a flight coming back and in my work suit, and just felt so restricted,” she recalls.
That led her to leave her investment banking job for the world of fashion, even interning for free for several months at a fashion company to get a better understanding of how supply chains worked. After nearly two years of research, finding suitable fabrics, and mills that were willing to work with her, she debuted a curated collection that showcased her unique approach to modern work attire.
Yet, as she dove deeper into the experience of sourcing fabrics, Dai became more interested in working with partners that thought about their environmental footprint.
Dai argues that technical and tailored workwear can be comfortable and eco-friendly.
Dai
This month the brand’s pop-up shop, located in central London, goes beyond just clothes on a rack to telling the sustainability elements of the brand and creating a space where story meets retail. In fact, Dai’s calling it a Performance Lab, not a store. “We really wanted it to be a place where people gathered, learned, and became a part of the community,” she says, referring to the lineup of events scheduled to take place during their month-long occupancy of the space, conveniently located on Chiltern Street.
“We also chose not to be on Oxford Street or one of the busier roads in London, because we really wanted our customers to have an experience here. We don’t want to be like the high street shops where you just go in to shop,” Dai explains.
Thus, alongside the clothes, is a simple installation of see-through cubes, illustrating the process of how modal, one of their newest fabrics, is produced from beechwood to fiber to a finished garment.
“Many customers are not as steeped in the world of sustainability,” she notes. “If I say the term, ‘circular economy,’ I’d get a blank response. But if we break it down more simply, then it’s easier. Customers are interested to learn more about the process of how these fibers are made, and we as brands need to share that knowledge in an easy to understand format.”
Recognizing that most athleisure fabrics are made out of synthetic materials, Dai has adapted the line to more eco-friendly options, even if they are not perfect solutions. Recently, she launched a structured tee made out of recycled polyamide, and eco-print fabrics which use less water. Working with a mill in Italy, that uses renewable energy and recycles 30 million liters of water every year, she’s focused on making clothes that last–and can be machine-washed at home, avoiding dry cleaning (which often uses strong chemicals in the cleaning process).
But there are other hurdles as a young brand, she says: “It’s definitely hard to get manufacturers and mills to pay attention to you when you’re a small brand, but I persisted, showing up at their door even to get access. The industry as a whole is still really uncircular and unsustainable.”
Making stretch fabrics out of natural materials is a challenge. This year, Dai added modal, a cellulose-based material made by Lenzing, an Austrian manufacturer, to their collection and pushing the brand to be a part of the circular economy. The closed-loop process minimizes waste, prevents chemicals from leaching into waterways, and results in a biodegradable material.
Stretched out trousers to show their capacity and comfort level.
Dai
All of this is on display at the pop-up, along a pair of pants that have been stretched and hung against the white walls to state that tailored trousers can be comfy as well. “There is no reason why these fabrics cannot be easier to wear during the work day,” Dai says.
One of the challenges of stretch materials is the elastic, however: when trying to recycle these materials, it’s hard to separate elastane from polyamide. “But in a couple years time, the technology will be ready,” Dai assures.
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