Rachel Eliza Guthrie, an ambitious blogger and future successful journalist wrote an article on The Junction Boutique. This can be seen on her exciting blog: http://rachelelizaguthrietwo.blogspot.com/.
Marine Tanguy is twenty-one, and alongside her partner Mark Whitman, has in the last year established The JunctionBoutique – an eco-fashion business. I met up with her in early March to discuss all things related.
Sat beside me is this neatly dressed French gentlewoman. Her elegance is to be expected and undisputed, and in conversation, I am charmed by the same elegance of The Junction Boutique…
RG: So Marine, we’ve just had go-green week, so tell me…what IS eco-fashion? Isn’t it just bin-bag dresses?
MT: (She laughs as a sign of embrace) Far from.
Items described as eco have been produced using materials or methods that result in less impact on the environment than conventional fashion items such as Top Shop’s or Primark’s. Products from high street brands can be bought on a cheaper budget, but then are thrown away two months later with disastrous impacts for the environment.
The Junction Boutique pieces are termed as socially and environmentally sustainable. This includes organic, fair-traded, reused (bin bags!), reclaimed or up-cycled materials. We source local designers and local materials.
RG: I definitely approve!
Is your hope that sustainable fashion will appeal to the masses?
MT: Well, realistically we know that sustainable fashion will remain a niche concept – certainly in the short term. However Stella McCartney and other top designers are beginning to convert their clothes to sustainable. Due to the quality required and cost, it is only able to infiltrate the high-end fashion market at the moment.
RG: Describe The Junction Boutique look.
MT: It’s: simplicity, classic, elegance, good quality clothing and young designers.
I smile, Marine embodies just this. Now that she is settled, I can see that beneath her chic winter coat is a loose-fitting black and white dappled chiffon dress, a large mixed-size beaded red necklace, some high denier black tights, and a pair of chunky dark leather heels.
RG: Can you introduce me verbally to one of your fashion designers and their work, which you represent?
Who would you dress and/or accessorize me in?
MT: ‘Cloth Magpie’ – very British, launched in 2009 with a range of limited edition vintage handbags…would definitely suit you. I love them already; it is very difficult to resist buying everything when you do this type of business!
RG: I can understand that! (We both laugh knowingly)
Is this your first venture into the entrepreneurial?
MT: Yes but I always wanted to be my own boss – same for my business partner, Mark Whitman.
RG: Your website went live earlier this month. How long has it taken you to get this far?
MT: It’s been around 6 months to finalise the business model and build the website.
RG: Starting your own fashion business involves more than a good eye…what’s your top tip?
MT: My top tip to anyone thinking about starting a fashion business or indeed any business is to think about what excites you in a way that you are happy to get out of bed everyday to do just that. Once you know where your passion is all you need to do is set a vision and then leverage your strengths to consistently deliver on it.
RG: How would you suggest I snazz up my seminar assemblages?
MT: I think the idea of simplicity with little details…red lipsticks, a nice piece of jewellery…that kind of thing.
RG: Is there such a thing as being too glamorous for Warwick University? Heels for lectures, yay or nay?
MT: Think practically I say…I can’t understand this about England – the weather and how girls can go out dressed in the evening as they do. If you can wear heels to lectures well, wear them!
RG: And finally, would you ever go on Dragon’s Den?
MT: (She doesn’t appear enamoured by the idea, but barters…) At this stage no. There may however come a time when we are looking to expand would seek funding. I don’t see why Dragon’s Den wouldn’t be an option…
But it does seem quite artificial…
And there is a very fitting to end our discussion on the future of natural fashion.
I thank her, and leave feeling inspired.
The business can be found at http://www.thejunctionboutique.co.uk/
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