NEWS - Red Nose Day 2017

In support of Red Nose Day 2017, Madia & Matilda are happy to announce we will be giving a £1 donation to the charity for every sale made until the end of the month.

Look as Ab-Fab as Jo this Red Nose Day and support children in the UK and Africa suffering from poverty and injustice.

Adele Cream Shirt

Why not try out our Adele Cream Shirt and Eurora Pleated Skirt for a combo perfect for giggling in this Red Nose Day?

Eurora Pleated Skirt

Thank you for your support!

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

NEWS - London Fashion Week Debut

AW17 SHOWCASE

Classy, quintessentially classic, contemporary and clean-cut... next season's style is one to watch out for.

We geared up and got ourselves down to Chelsea last week for the release of our next season's clothing and we are delighted to let you in on a little sneak peek!

Elmira getting ready to shine

The girls arrived to our location in the lovely area of Old Church Street, Chelsea at Haute Elan for an early start to get their hair and make-up done.

It's the little things

Our fab make up friend, Chloe Versaci doing Danielle's make-up pre-shoot.

The lovely Linn having a giggle with Chloe.

Economic, social and environmental sustainability is something that is very important to us here at Madia & Matilda. Our new collection initiative is designed for simple-living.

The girls wore LilyFlo Jewellery, which you can find in our curated brands, accentuating their looks and with a little cuddle and gal time before taking to the stage.

Shardarae and Elmira pulling off our AW Collection effortlessly.

Linn wearing one of our next season daily looks.

Oriana showing off our new dress collection.

Wanting a more classy look? Danielle shows us how it's done in this new top and skirt combo.

Oriana still slaying in Lilyflo's new season minimalist, urban-geometric pieces whilst having a little sit down mid-shoot.

Is it even a showcase if we don't include a classic black and white behind the scenes?

Life isn't perfect but your outfit can be.

From left: Danielle Esprit, Shardarae P, Linn B. Saeb, Oriana Findlay, Véronica McBeal, Elmira Panjavi.

 Designer & Director Shalize Nicholas, Jewellery - Lily Flo - Designer Diana Sherling, Photographer  Rosalind Rosalind Alcazar & Claire Dytham, MUA Chloe Versaci, Showroom Haute Elan

Pre-order the new collection in August.

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

Discover Our Designer, Shalize Nicholas - Gift Selection

SHALIZE   NICHOLAS'S

GIFT SELECTION  Our Designer and Director top 5 Christmas gifts The Pleated Skirt Lilly  Pleated Skirt   - A  2 layered pleated skirt with a frill and an elasticated waist " This skirt is the perfect Christmas day staple, wear it with a sparkly Christmas jumper   "

Handcrafted Chocolate  For all those dark chocolate lovers!  an infused crystallisedrose petals chocolate bar, with a moreish crunchy texture  "  A great stocking filler! and in two decadent flavours "  Jersey Top & Lace Skirt  Angelica Jersey Top -  Effortless blouse that is apart of essential basics range. Malu Lace Skirt  -  A playful midi length upcycled skirt with a cream cotton lining  " A great combination, perfect smart casual look with an effortless skirt and one of my favourite tops from the collection   " Chelsea  Boot A style signature, a quintessentially British designed shoe, made with PVC-free eco vegan leather, lined with breathable biodegradable plant based bio-polyoils.  New in this week, online and in store. " These Chelsea Boots make a great gift, a classic everyday fit, various sizes available "   Cosy Movie Night  Feel good moments, an evening out with friends and family or date night Christmas movie night in Cheltenham at the The Frog & Fiddle, Barn Tickets available on Eventbrite        Sincerely Madia & Matilda More Handcrafted Gifts Available

Thoughts on value

Have you ever wondered why there is often such a big price difference between your average high street garment and a seemingly similar product from a sustainable brand?

People often say sustainable/eco fashion is too expensive, but is it? Or is fast fashion the costly one?

It depends how you measure it. Yes you can purchase a top for £15- £20 from a big high street brand, wear it a couple of times, throw it away, and as a consumer it hasn’t cost you much. However, it’s easy to forget that garment was made by a human being and the amount of labour and energy that goes into it staggering. For example, to turn a piece of cotton into a garment, first it must be planted, harvested, taken to a factory to be processed and spun into yarn. Then it’s taken to another factory, woven into cloth, sent to a dye mill, dyed and finished. Then it is sold to a manufacturer who must create an original design and pattern, test for fit and performance, cut and make the garment, ship and then market it, all before reaching the customer. People are involved for its whole journey, people who deserve a fair price for their labour. But unfortunately, to produce a garment with all of those processes involved and still sell it for a price we are willing to pay; someone along the line is missing out. 

The sad truth is what we class, as a reasonable, average price, is in fact, artificially low. These cheap prices shouldn’t be the norm; they are wrong, not the more ‘expensive’ eco brands. They are the ones causing costly damage to the earth and to the workers. For fashion to be sustainable it’s not meant to be fast, throw away and cheap. We’ve been trained to buy quantity over quality. Somewhere along the way we’ve lost sight of what is best for us and the environment.

This is where sustainable fashion comes in, as it tries to change perceptions of what is expensive and go back to valuing the right things. 

Sustainable fashion tends to be more expensive due to a number of factors:

Time – As a small brand it takes time to create new and original designs from scratch, develop a pattern and manufacture in a smaller environment.

Fair trade- It is cheaper to employ people abroad to make clothes, where minimum wages are a lot less than here in the UK. For example, an employer in China only has to pay their garment worker 60p an hour, whereas in the UK the minimum wage is £6.70. When buying from a sustainable clothing company that manufactures their clothes in the UK, you know the workers have been paid a fair wage for their labour.

Economies of sale- It’s cheaper to produce mass quantities of clothing if you are a large company. Small scale companies have to pay more to produce smaller quantities.

Quality – Finally, when buying from a sustainable brand, the garments have longer life spans and are well made.

To find out more about our thoughts on value, check out our youtube 

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

e::  info@madiamatilda.co.uk       w::  www.madiamatilda.co.uk/

Shop Unique - Brand Feature - Keepwood

Madia & Matilda curated selection of brands, SHop UNique features brands who share our passion and ethos. We interviewed Keepwood natural eyewear

A bit more about the brand:

Keepwood Sustainable Eyewear started in 2013 with a desire to offer environmentally conscious products while supporting a very worthwhile cause. By offering high quality eyewear that is sustainable and natural, we can help replace the burden of waste that cheap plastic eyewear creates. For each pair of our eyewear sold, we fund "Trees for the Future" to plant 50 trees in one of their worldwide projects. We are based in Manitoba, Canada.

How is our eyewear made:

The wood and bamboo is machine-cut and then hand -sanded, finished, and assembled.

What they are made from? components? why did you chose this material: 

Most of our eyewear is made from bamboo and wood, and we also have some acetate eyeglass frames available. We chose bamboo as it is highly sustainable and renewable. It grows rapidly and under almost any condition, produces more oxygen than trees, and is durable, lightweight, and waterproof. Our woods are non-endangered and non-restricted. We love the acetate line because it is made from wood fibers and cotton, it's hypoallergenic, and very lightweight, strong, and flexible.

What inspires us: 
We are inspired by the projects of "Trees for the Future" and are so honoured to donate to them with proceeds of each of our sales. For every pair of eyewear we sell, they plant 50 trees. Their tree-planting has a direct impact on the earth and the lives of the people who need it most. The Forest Gardens they plant provide families in Africa with sustainable food sources, livestock feed, fuel wood, and up to a 500% increase in their annual income. 

What does making a quality product mean to you:

We are very stringent with our quality control and make sure that each piece meets British and North American standards. As mentioned, we are conscious of using sustainable and plant-based materials with the hope that by providing a quality product that will last over time, we can decrease the burden of waste that cheap plastic eyewear creates.

What occasion can you wear your eyewear:

Our eyewear can be worn everywhere! We strive to offer enough styles that everyone can find something that suits them. Of course our sunglasses are best worn on the beach, but since they all include polarized lenses they are great for sports and activities that require improved visibility- such as surfing, snowboarding, boating, and driving.

Favourite place to relax:

Our favorite place to relax is of course the beach, enjoying the sun. We are hoping to make it to Bali this winter and get some inspiration there for new styles we could offer in the future!

Sincerely Madia & Matilda

e::  info@madiamatilda.co.uk       w::  www.madiamatilda.co.uk/