If you are searching for a high quality, loungewear brand that doesn’t only talk the talk, but actually walks the walk, then you need to be clued into Riley Studio. The very ethos of this brand is grounded in sustainability; and not sustainability as a trendy buzzword but an actual mission to move the fashion industry in an eco-friendlier direction. Every aspect of the fashion brand is influenced by its ethos, which encourages conscious consumerism, rejects gender norms and makes deliberate decisions at every level to produce a sustainable product.

Gender-neutral clothing

Many fashion brands have begun adding gender-neutral collections to their product selection, but for Riley Studio, gender-neutral design is inherent to the brand. In an interview with The Restory, the brand highlighted the alignments they envision between gender equality and sustainability— “we believe in equality, and didn’t believe in labelling our products as menswear or womenswear… the other reason for it was from a production point of view, particularly concerning overproduction, we didn’t feel we needed to produce two similar products under the label womenswear and menswear.” The brand proports itself as being “human kind” and hence the decision to create gender-neutral clothing

Timeless & Re-usable

In stark contrast to the mass production of the fast-fashion industry, Riley Studio designs timeless clothing in small batches to reduce over-production and waste. Their products are designed not for a season but for life, utilizing recycled materials wherever possible and only resorting to responsibly sourced, natural fibers when necessary. The idea is to create clothing that is always recyclable—thereby combatting the huge landfill problem in the fashion industry.

Eco-innovation

Eco-innovation is a core value at Riley Studio, which means they have some cool stuff going on behind the scenes. Their fabrics and materials are always responsibly sourced and in some cases have been recycled in very interesting ways. For instance, some of their products use Recover® Yarn, which is yarn produced by recycled cotton and polyester from plastic bottles. Another one of their yarn sources is EVO® by Fulgar , which is a yarn made from castor oil. It is a totally renewable resource that does not require high amounts of water for production, nor does it subtract arable land for food uses.

Collection 06

Now onto their newest collection, also known as collection 06. Loungewear has experienced a major (and unexpected) surge, due in large part to the pandemic, where many are looking for that intersection between comfy and stylish. Collection 06 has a number of classic pieces that can easily transition from a zoom meeting, to running errands to casual coffee dates (once it’s safe to dine outside again!). It’s clear that Riley Studio specialises in wardrobe staples that transition through seasons like this recycled cashmere cardigan and this classic crewneck sweatshirt.  The Change Maker graphic tee in a cozy slate grey is a fun, versatile piece with a big message that can be dressed up or down, or layered appropriately depending on the season. This collection, like its predecessors, places an emphasis on wearability, versatility and of course, sustainability.