Tracking the highs and the lows of the fashion industry, this week we see the field go from sublime to surreal.

A New Tool for Tracking Fashion Transparency

With knowing where your clothes come from being the first step to understanding how they were made, the C&A Foundation and Azavea have together released an open source database and interactive map of garment factories around the world. Known as the Open Apparel Registry, the makers hope that their resource will enable conscious consumers to browse the largest accessible database of fashion manufacturers, and ideally make more informed choices about the brands that we support and the clothes that we wear. As more brands become more open about where they source their materials and where their garments are produced, tools such as this will allow for comparison and for consumers to hold labels to account. Take a look here: https://info.openapparel.org/.

Pierpaolo Piccioli On The Future of Fashion

In an interview with Vogue at the first Fashion Trust Arabia awards ceremony, the creative director of Valentino staked out his claim for the future of fashion. Notably arguing that fashion is required to be a force for good, rather than just having that aim as an accessory to making a profit, Piccioli forecefully argued that the overarching aim should be one of “inclusivity rather than exclusivity.” Putting this into practice, Piccioli is one of the mentors for a young wave of designers from the Arab world, and rather than encouraging these designer to follow in the steps of European fashion houses, Piccioli is focusing on getting the stories and ideas that these designers have within them to a global audience.

A Luxury Designer … dog bowl

Each week we seem to hear of another luxury designer turning their hand to an everyday item that no one would have thought needed the designer treatment. Bottega Veneta are the latest to reinterpret a mundane object and in this case have designed a $770 pooch plate. Made of steel and leather, in two colours, your hound’s homewares can now match your sartorial choices.

SALES: Saturdays NYC

WHAT: Surplus sale
WHEN: Thursday, April 4 – Sunday, April 7
WHERE: 17 Oxford St, Paddington

SALES: KitX

WHAT: Warehouse sale
WHEN: Thursday, April 4 - Saturday, April 6
WHERE: District 01, 44 Fopveaux St, Surry Hills
DETAILS: https://www.facebook.com/events/801362976899232/

SALES: Fashion Sale x The Frock Exchange

WHAT: Pre-loved and new luxury brands
WHEN: Thursday, April 4 – Saturday, April 6
WHERE: 78 Campbell St, Surry Hills
DETAILS: http://www.bigfashionsale.com.au/sydney-pop-up