From Unity, 14 March 2009

Clean fashion show

After last year’s huge success, Flax Mill Textiles goes on the catwalk again.
    On Saturday 28 March the historic mill in Derrylane, outside Dungiven, is going to welcome linen-lovers and dedicated followers of fashion from far and near when Marion Baur, chief weaver and owner of Flax Mill, is going to show her new range of exclusive clothes and accessories.
    As always, the event will be different from any other fashion show on these shores. All materials used are pure, natural, and locally sourced, Irish linen and wool being the central ones. The design and the weaving of the fabrics and tailoring have been done at the mill; cheap imports and raw materials that had child labour involved in the production are no options.
    Marion Baur stated: “Our textiles are clean in more than one sense. There are no poisonous dyes here, no synthetic fibres, and no mass-produced garments which have been shipped around the globe just to save a few shillings. Our collection is made from the best raw materials and finished here to the highest standard.”
    Marion is no longer alone when it comes to designing extraordinary clothes. Flax Mill’s new addition, Sarah Morrison, winner of the Irish Design Award, will certainly put her stamp on this year’s collection. “Sarah’s fine sense of colours and unusual combinations of traditional and new materials have been like a breath of fresh air to our design work,” says the experienced weaver and designer.
    Neither Sarah Morrison nor Marion Baur is willing to give away too many of the surprises to be expected on the catwalk. “After a long period of bad weather we need sunshine. A sunny yellow will be one of the dominant colours in this year’s collection, alongside several blues and of course the natural brown of linen” is as far as the mill owner would go.
    The event will draw people from Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, England and Scotland to the mill, and the models are of an equally multicultural make-up. Jacob Ampofo (aged seventeen) from Essen in Germany is flying in to model the men’s clothes. Marion Baur stated: “We are very happy to welcome Jacob back. I’ll not deny that there’s been a bit of pressure, especially from our female friends, to bring him over again.”
    Marion’s daughter Fiona Baur, born in Germany and now living in Drumsurn, will be one of the two models showing the women’s collection, sharing this task with Sophie Rasmussen. Sophie’s origins are in Copenhagen but she is now resident in Belfast, where she works for the BBC.
    Along with Flax Mill’s new textile collection, the models will show exclusive pieces of jewellery. Some of them are creations by the renowned glass artist Alice Mc Guinness; some are made from vegetable ivory. Nina Christinacce of Bangor imports the unique raw material, made from the seeds of an Amazonian rain-forest-tree. Says Marion Baur: “Alice’s beautiful glass-art jewellery and Nina’s creations of vegetable ivory go well with our clothes. They are sustainable, made with love, and in tune with nature. Clean clothes deserve clean jewellery.”
    The fashion show starts at 1 p.m. Sharp, and the organisers are urging interested people to make contact early. “We treat our guests as private visitors in our place of work and in our home. As much as we like to welcome many of them, space is limited, and the demand huge,” says Marion Baur.
    There’s no cover charge, and refreshments are being provided. The show will be moderated by Hermann Glaser-Baur.

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