House of Sunny: Where Aesthetics Meet Sustainability
Words by Sophie Norton
Fashion brand House of Sunny has just announced the pieces for their SS collection, and the whole of teenage instagram seems to know about it. Thanks to their iconic pistachio green ‘dress of the summer’, modelled by Kendall Jenner and promoted by the likes of Bella Hadid and Emma Chamberlain, the status of the London-based independent brand rocketed sky-high through 2020.
Kendall Jenner in House of Sunny’s ‘Hockney’ dress
It’s become pretty clear by now that fashion as a general discipline is unkind to the environment, with the industry emitting ‘more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined’, according to businnessinsider.com. A well-circulated statistic shows that with the rise of influencer culture, and brands such as Boohoo and PrettyLittleThing, the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of all humanity’s carbon emissions. Clothing production has roughly doubled since I was born, back in 2000, and the perpetuation of fads and trends means that these garments live shorter and shorter lives before being dumped in landfill sites - where 85% of clothes eventually end up every year.
Landfill largely consists of textile waste
An increased awareness of this gives rise to the pressure to shop consciously and ethically, with the goal of perpetuating a cycle of sustainable fashion where clothes are remodelled and reused once their original look or fit is exhausted. Fashion brands have found themselves the particular targets of young consumers desperate to commit to a more sustainable lifestyle.
This area is where House of Sunny appears to have found their niche. The internet-based brand features designs that are inspired by nature, with a hint of 70s reminiscence with the goal of appearing timeless. At the same time, they boast an impressive set of statistics: completely biodegradable bags, recycled labels, and the use of anti-wastage prints to minimise the amount of offcuts. They claim to avoid air freight and reduce water consumption in their production methods, as reported by ST.ART Magazine. Their items aren’t as cheap as other ‘affordable’ brands though, with a £28 sun cap the lowest-priced item on their site.
House of Sunny clothing sample
On the other end of the scale is fashion that bases its priority on sustainability, with the actual aesthetics of the product as a secondary factor. Meet Aniela Hoitink and her mushroom material. If you aren’t aware of her work, textile designer Aniela grows discs of mushroom mycelium, which she assembles together to form clothing. With a belief that humans will not sufficiently adapt from their wasteful consumption habits to effectively combat their negative impacts, she reckons that investigating the properties of the textiles we use will provide “solutions that correspond to the reality in which we live”.
Disks of mushroom mycelium
With the use of on-demand mycelium cultivation, fabric may be formed and moulded in the same step; grown directly into a three-dimensional garment. As the mycelium is biodegradable, the item of clothing creates zero waste, even when discarded. Going further, the mycelium feeds on natural offcuts such as wood chips and straw, saving them from waste. Aniela has founded the company NEFFA which is dedicated to bringing compostable textiles into the commercial fashion market, through the development of mycelium technology.
NEFFA’s proof of concept with a dress made from mycelium disks
Establishing a clothing brand with the perfect balance of ‘sustainability’ and ‘fashion’ involves finding a solution with environmental neutrality and practicality, whilst accounting for the uncertainty of human behaviour and lack of permanency. The hypothetical success of this is what these sustainable brands and biotechnic designers aim for. The answer to practical problems; the nirvana of disciplinary action, if you will. If ‘fashion’ and ‘sustainability’ are intersecting elements of a venn diagram, then both House of Sunny and mycelium clothing lie somewhere in the middle grey area. House of Sunny resides closer to the boundary of aesthetics, while the products of Aniela Hoitink’s clothing work would find themselves much closer to the further, ecological end of the bubble.
While House of Sunny claims a ‘zero waste’ goal through systemic measures to prohibit the perpetuation of fast fashion, their internet popularity counteracts this by exposing them to mass attention, which paradoxically creates the demand for their clothing in the first place, lending them vulnerable to being copied by lesser-quality alternatives. In other words, their brand is just one of many that are fashionable at the moment, and will unlikely replace demand for other cheaper and less sustainable companies.
House of Sunny dupes on fast fashion site AliExpress
While House of Sunny may not be the epitome of sustainable fashion in the same way that Aniela Hoitink’s designs aren’t truly fashionable per say, they both demonstrate progress towards an idealistic goal. In comparison to other brands with a similar target audience, House of Sunny is far ahead of the ethical curve. Yes, the ‘Hockney’ dress was the most iconic thing to pass through 2020, and no, you shouldn’t feel guilty about ordering one.
