Lady vintage

Sergio, a former chef, started Lady Vintage with a loan from his grandmother. Initially operating from a market stall and a spare bedroom, the brand quickly expanded. Victoria, a classically trained pianist, joined Sergio in building the brand. They launched the brands’ website offering worldwide shipping, and saw rapid success, with their first collection selling out quickly.

Lady Vintage relocated manufacturing to London to enhance quality control, reduce production times, and uphold local garment manufacturing traditions. This strategic relocation led to significant brand growth, leading Victoria to join full-time and move closer to the factory for better oversight. Lady Vintage can directly liaise with the workers and personally ensure that their dresses are of the highest quality.

With its UK-based production, the brand upholds strict UK quality and ethical standards.

At Lady V’s UK headquarters, all dress and print designs are created in-house by Sergio and Victoria. The manufacturing of these designs is carried out in London, UK. However, the brand has not disclosed any details regarding the sourcing of their materials.

Lady Vintage, predominantly uses material blends of 97% conventional cotton and 3% elastane, or 95% polyester and 5% elastane for their dresses. The blend of natural and synthetic fibres poses issues in terms of recyclability and end-of-life disposal.

Other environmental concerns include the significant water and pesticide usage associated with cotton production, despite it being a natural fibre. Additionally, elastane, as a synthetic fibre, contributes to microplastic pollution during washing.

Furthermore, the brand has not provided specific details regarding the chemicals used in production and finishing processes, nor information on their packaging materials and transportation methods. This lack of transparency makes it difficult to fully assess the overall environmental impact of Lady Vintage, particularly in areas like chemical management, waste reduction, and carbon footprint associated with transportation and packaging.

Lady Vintage’s approach to sustainability does not align with the principles of a circular economy model.

The brand’s use of material blends in their dresses complicates recycling and reuse, as these blends are harder to break down and repurpose. 

The brand does not offer repair service, which means that extending the lifecycle of their garments through mending is not an option they offer, which is a key aspect of circular fashion. 

The lack of use of recycled materials in their new productions indicates a missed opportunity in reducing virgin resource consumption. 

They do operate an outlet, which helps in moving unsold stock and reducing waste.

Lady Vintage’s production process is short and efficient because their design team, factory, and main office are all close together in the UK. 

However, the brand’s lack of transparency regarding material sourcing and shipping methods makes it difficult to fully assess their supply chain.

Lady vintage does not use any animal materials, so they are theoretically a vegan brand unless they use animal derived products in the chemicals.

Despite Lady Vintage’s claim of embodying slow fashion with their vintage-inspired designs and unique prints, their low score in sustainability suggests a gap between their marketing and actual practices. The brand focuses on timeless style and inclusivity in sizes, but this does not necessarily equate to sustainable production methods or materials.

Moreover, providing only a basic washing and care guide is a minimal effort towards garment longevity, and does not fully align with the principles of slow fashion, which emphasize comprehensive sustainability and ethical practices in every aspect of production.

The brand provides some transparency regarding their production locations and processes, as well as materiality. However, we would love to see more details about their production partners and their ethical nature, material sourcing, transportation, etc.