We Are All A-Kyn
At last: a label that shows us how it can be done. How to shop, how to make, and how to show up in fashion.
This is an extended version of the feature I have written for Country and Townhouse Magazine, a thumping old school glossy that goes to all the best postcodes in London, which was reimagined five years ago by visionary editor Lucy Cleland. It is the first magazine company to be certified B Corp and to sign up to the Race to Zero. Its sustainability ethos and editorial vision - to live more consciously, without sacrificing pleasure, curiosity or joy - is a revelation in the world of breathless fashion glossies.
I interviewed the designer Amy Powney, previously of Mother of Pearl, who this week launched her new label as AKYN. Amy is so far ahead of the rest of the fashion industry in terms of intention and practise, and what she presents at AKYN is a blueprint for what fashion should look like.
Akyn comes from ‘kin’, meaning folk, “Because it’s not about me,” says Amy. “It's about the girls that work here, the factories we work with, and it's also about you. I can’t produce if I don't make things you can wear. We all have to do this together.” If you want to support a better path for fashion, and an independent founder who is self financing her uncompromising vision, check it out. To my taste, it’s beautiful, and it perfectly understands what modern women want to look like.
You can read the Country and Townhouse interview online here, or the full version below.
