But now,the battle is over,and earth has won,with the veteran designer pulling the pin – and needle – on future collections. “I’m hopping off the treadmill,” Willow says. “I’m getting off because I stepped onto it thinking I could change it.”
After 20 years of designing clothes,Kit Willow is switching to focus on the environment.Louise Kennerley
“It’s costing more to create clothing,yet we’re producing more fashion,and then we’re throwing it away. We need to regenerate and circulate.”
Following the release of research from Canberra think tank The Australia Institute showing that Australians consume more textiles than any other country,buying,Willow will stop making seasonal collections and launch a decarbonisation consultancy called Cirkit.
“The fashion industry needs to address the impact it has on our planet’s resources so we can achieve at minimum a 43 per cent decline in greenhouse gases by 2030,as part of the Paris Agreement.”
“I had to decide whether the best use of my time was continuing with Kit X or helping large corporations get on the fast track to net zero carbon emissions.”
This is Willow’s second time getting off the fashion treadmill,although.
Raised in Melbourne,Willow launched her first label in 2003 at Australian Fashion Week with lingerie-inspired designs. After moving to Sydney,Willow took her eponymous brand to New York,London and Paris,with supermodels Cara Delevingne,Linda Evangelista and Karolína Kurková wearing her designs on and off the runway.
In 2013,Willow was unceremoniously fired from the company she founded by majority owners Apparel Group&Co. “I had Willow for 10 years and then Kit X for 10 years … two very different evolutions and endings,” Willow says. The Willow brand was closed by APG&Co in 2016 only to be relaunched in 2020 with no involvement from its founder.
In 2013,she was blocked from using the Willow name. This time the Kit X brand and values are staying with her.
While launching Cirkit,Willow will sell Kit X clothing until current stocks diminish and release capsule collections for causes,such as an upcoming project on dolphin preservation.
“Kit X won’t be my primary business in the future,” Willow says. “In terms of action and where we are now with sustainability,there’s a lot of talk. We need more walk.”
“It’s hard because we have had three strong months of sales at Kit X. Saying goodbye to my customers hurts.”
With Kit X leaving the runway and shelves at David Jones,thecontinues shrinking. Sustainably focused label Nique entered administration in February and Melbourne labels Arnsdorf and.
The head of Australian Fashion Week,IMG Fashion Events Asia-Pacific managing director Natalie Xenita,says that Willow paved the way for the next generation through her runways.
For Willow,more labels are not the answer. “We have too much fashion,” she says.
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