Eco style

The eco revolution has arrived! Put away your hair shirt and Birkenstocks – Skinny Nelson and Friends is here to deck you out threads that are not only easy on the planet, but also easy on the eye.

Skinny Nelson and Friends insists on saving the world in style – using 100% certified organic cotton, the label’s debut collection features androgynous basics that are as comfortable as they are cool. “We took some influence for this range from Japanese culture, throwing some sumo pants and shorts into the capsule,” explains co-designer Jacqui Alexander. “Our shapes are clean and lines are quite sharp. It’s a juxtaposition of the cool and monochromatic colours with the softness of organic cotton.”

If the name Jacqui Alexander is ringing bells for you right now, it’s with good reason. In 2007, aged 18, she launched her eponymous international fashion label, and was the youngest designer ever to have her label stocked in prestigious British department store Harvey Nichols. That same year, she was named the face of the Motorola Melbourne Fashion Week, and in 2008 she was the youngest designer to show at Australian Fashion Week.

For Skinny Nelson and Friends, Jacqui has teamed up with Zachary Midalia, a Sydney-based designer with a background in music promotion. After traditional training at the Whitehouse Institute of Design, the pair decided to collaborate on a label, and Skinny Nelson and Friends was born. “Skinny Nelson is all about our collective philosophical belief in modern, minimal, dark fashion and fashion for the future of Mother Nature,” say the designers of their partnership.
And the story behind the label’s name? “This is the golden question… enjoying the perfect things in life like a skinny latte on Nelson St. As for the friends, why wouldn’t we include the people we love?”

Skinny Nelson and Friends is available from top boutiques around Australia, New Zealand and Asia and will be available online from May.