Oxfordshire Limited Edition – August 2019

August 2019 |OxfordshireLimitedEdition| 131

withculturesandcommunitiesaroundthe

worldandholdtheirbusinesstothehighest

standards.

Saharacontinuestogrow,influencing

peopleeverywhere;fromthewomenwho

inspire,designandselltheirgarmentstothe

womenwholoveandwearthem.Thejourney

thatbeganwithSuzyisfarfromover.

SaharahasbeeninOxfordsince 2005.

StartingwithonestoreontheHighStreetand

expandingthroughtothenextdoorstoreto

createalargershopintheheartofOxford.

Theyliketosituatestoresinmarketand

universitytownswithawealthofhistory.

P

assionateaboutsupporting

theOxfordHighStreet,they

wereofferedaspaceinthenew

Westgatecentrebutdenieditas

theywanttocontinuetosupport

thelocalcommunityandretailersoftheHigh

Street.Withthis,they’veinvestedintheirnew

storerefurbishment,creatingawholenew

lookandfeeloftheOxfordstore,andthey

hopetoremainthereformanyyearstocome.

Saharahavebeenstrongcampaignersforthe

HighStreet.

Howimportantislongevityinyour

designpractice?

Emily:Completely.Intermsoffabric,IfeelI

wouldn’tchooseafabricthatIfeltwouldn’t

survivealongtimeinagarment.Andin

termsofdesignforSahara,wedonotfollow

trendslikemuchofthehighstreet,instead

it’saconsiderationofshapesanddetailswe

feelthatwillworkyearin,yearout.

Rosie:Longevityisanextremelyimportant

areaofthedesignprocesswhichIamapart

of.IworkwiththeGarmentTechnologists

whereouraimistoensurethatallpieces

ofSaharaclothingareconstructedtolasta

lifetime.

Whatkindofprogressdoyouthinkthe

industryhasmadeintermsoflongevity?

Carole:Ithinktheindustryhasgone

backwards.Qualityhasbecomeless

importantthanpricesoclothesare

considereddisposableafterafewwears

andasaresultendupinlandfill.AtSahara

weusegoodqualityfabricsandtimeless

designs,sohopefullyourcustomerswillhave

Saharapiecesintheirwardrobesforalong

time.

Christine:CompanieslikeTRAIDhavehelped

re-educateusaboutre-using,recyclingand

repairingoptions...butIammindfulofhow

muchsecond-handclothingendsupflooding

Africa.

Whataresomeofyourfavourite“Sahara

classics”–shapes,silhouettes,fabrics,

andprintsetc.thatappearacross

seasons?

Rosie:Thebubblejerseydressandtextured

linenbubbletrousersareafirmfavourite.

Christine Emily

STYLE FASHION