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The new Zakee Shariff for People Tree collection has just put a huge smile on my face. The London based designer has teamed up with ethical fashion brand People Tree to create a range of 100% organic and Fairtrade cotton t-shirts. Not very Christmassy, but they will certainly make you long for spring again.
When I blogged about People Tree’s autumn range back in July, I fell in love with the Cleo print blouse. In stark contrast to this elegant, neutral piece of attire, the Zakee Shariff tees are colourful, fun and innocent. Following the lead of Karen Nicol and Orla Kiely, who both created ranges for People Tree this year, Zakee Shariff’s range is available to buy online now.
The cotton mini dresses, t-shirts and long sleeved tees are the perfect spring staples to make you stand out from the crowd. The garments, which are hand screen-printed, feature four designs. I particularly love the Peace birds motif, but there is also the spectacular paisley print. The Words tee is also very sweet featuring phrases like, ‘fashion for the future’ and ‘I wear my heart on my sleeve’. Prices range from £30 to £45. The organic cotton is from Agrocel, a pioneering Fairtrade certified organic cotton producer in Gujarat, India.
Zakee Shariff set up her studio in 1993, making art and working freelance with a variety of fashion and textiles based clients. In 1996 she launched the Zakee Shariff ladies clothing collection, with a younger diffusion line called Maggie introduced in 2001. Zakee’s aim is to ‘touch people through her work and spread a message of peace and love, hopefully encouraging people to think more deeply about the world they live in’ which fits with People Tree’s mission perfectly.
