Kowtow Loves #02
Loneliness is a shared experience that often goes overlooked. After experiencing this herself, Sophie McIntyre founded Club Sup - a supper club for people to make authentic and lasting connections across Melbourne and Sydney. The idea of shared connection through food, music, literature and art is something we often discuss at the Kowtow Workroom and Sophie’s approach to fostering community and connections is one we admire. We spoke to Sophie about the inception of Club Sup, her experience at these events and the most worn piece in her wardrobe.
Two Raw Sisters in Kowtow
When Margo and Rosa, also known as Two Raw Sisters asked us to dress them for their new book, it was a no brainer. Two Raw Sisters is a plant-forward company that puts good ingredients first, sharing effortless recipes that nourish. Having followed their journey, we knew the love they had for the clothes we make, and knew collaborating would be special.
Kowtow & Fairtrade: An Eighteen Year Partnership
When Gosia founded Kowtow in 2006, she knew she wanted to make clothing made from organic cotton that was Fairtrade certified. After learning about the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) she was certain this was the path Kowtow should take to entirely understand the cotton supply chain and look after the growers who are traditionally the least looked after and taken advantage of in any commodity.
Lucianne Tonti on Regenerative Agriculture and Natural Fibres
Lucianne Tonti is a sustainable fashion journalist who we were happily introduced to last year via her book, Sundressed. We spoke to Lucianne to break down what regenerative agriculture really means, the benefit of wearing natural fibres and her approach to getting dressed.
Kowtow & Our Relationship With Clothes
Fashion Revolution Week asks us to consider what we wear, who makes our clothes and why transparency and accountability are paramount in the fashion industry. This year we wanted to spotlight a member of the Kowtow community who we think is revolutionary in the way they document and see fashion.
Founder Story with Gosia Piątek
Gosia Piątek founded Kowtow in 2006 with a vision where a necessary product, such as clothing, originated from and how it could return back into the earth, without causing harm to people or the environment. Here she tells us the journey before she started her mission and what her vision for the future of Kowtow is.
Creating a culture of care
We proudly partner with Koha Apparel, a registered charity that seeks to uplift our most marginalised, providing clean, quality clothing to those in need at no cost. Based in Tāmaki Makaurau, we spoke with founder Charli Cox about this work and how the organisation is addressing textile waste through their community clothing exchange.
Kelmarna: Creating A Food System Kinder To The Planet
Nestled in the heart of Tāmaki Makarau, Kelmarna is an urban farm whose purpose is to rebuild connections between people, food production and the land. General Manager, Sarah McFadden, embodies the spirit of Kelmarna, reflecting the passion and dedication of its team and volunteers who together work to bring more sustainable solutions into the food system to create one that is kinder to the planet, fair to farmers, and better for health.
Sowing The Seeds For A Brighter Future
Nestled in the heart of Tāmaki Makaurau is Kelmarna - a thriving urban community farm and garden dedicated to building a healthy community and environment, and promoting regenerative agricultural practices. Kowtow spoke to Kelmarna’s Urban Farmer, Maddy Cull, to find out what makes this place so special and to learn more of the positive impact urban farms have on local communities and the planet.
Urban Farming For a Better Future
At Kowtow, we are inspired by Kaicycle’s small changes that make a big impact. Whether it’s regenerative and organic farming, circularity or composting, we have a shared purpose to do better for the planet. Through our long standing relationship with Kaicycle - and years of using their composting service - we have worked together to divert our waste from landfill to compost.
Community & Urban Garden Directory
The Garden Book Tee is a celebration of Avant Gardeners - the local changemakers behind our community gardens and urban farms. Nestled within our cities, these spaces become a source of education and nourishment, green patches for community amongst the urban landscape.
Lauren Brincat x Kowtow
We are excited to partner with Australian artist Lauren Brincat, for her Vivid LIVE performance at Sydney Opera House. Sharing a love of colour, textile and shape, Kowtow dressed the artist and her collaborators in a Bauhaus inspired uniform. Tutti Presto fff’ responds to the site of the Opera House, translating the visual and historical gestures of the building into cloth.
Enlightened by Nature
Our commitment to nature is evergreen. We use only 100% Fairtrade organic cotton, and with each new collection we move closer to our goal of 0% plastic. With a goal to leave the world better than we found it, that we share with our community, we’re looking to inspirational women to see how they are inspired by their natural environment and how they keep close to it, every day.
Innovate & Resist: Māori Art & Activism
There is a kōrero that has become synonymous with Māori art, it is a kōrero that reflects both where Māori art originated and where it is going. It is that Māori makers have a tradition of innovation, acknowledging that Māori have always taken up new technologies as they arrived in Aotearoa or have been developed here.
Left of the middle: How a decentralised museum model can foster climate action
For a number of years, museums and galleries have been grappling with their role and responsibility towards climate change. As institutions traditionally concerned with preserving and celebrating narratives of colonialism, globalisation, capitalism and modernity, they are intimately bound with the root causes of impending ecological collapse. Coupled with high-carbon, high-waste activities such as touring exhibitions and affiliated packaging, trends in international vernissage attendance, collecting, and preservation (often stolen objects at the heart of the ‘decolonising museums’ debate), the sector’s impact is vast.
Thumbs Up to a unified nationwide waste and recycling strategy
Thumbs Up New Zealand (Tino Pai Aotearoa) is an exciting movement working to progress the creation of a unified nationwide waste and recycling strategy so that Aotearoa can be empowered to transition out of our waste crisis. We believe that together, we can make for positive change to this smelly situation.