Press Release – Carcel paves the way for the future of fashion where impact, quality design and smart business meet. This combination shows that it is possible to run a fashion company while making the world a better place.
Each piece is manufactured by imprisoned women in countries with high rates of poverty-related crime. The production is set up inside a women’s prison in Cusco, Peru made from 100% baby alpaca wool. By providing the women with good wages and new skills, they can support their families, save up for a crime-free beginning and ultimately break the cycle of poverty. Each style carries the name of the woman who made it, which creates a relation between the producer and the customer.
“We want to give people a new fashion alternative, where every item solves a problem instead of creating one, without compromising on quality or design” says CEO and founder Veronica D’Souza.
Setting up this new type of production, that improves live without compromising on quality or design, requires a different business model. Carcel calls it: ‘No stores, No seasons and No compromise”. By selling exclusively online, which gives customers access to quality without paying the retail mark-up, allows Carcel to only produce what is demanded. Rather than following the conventional seasons, Carcel launches limited drops of new styles throughout the year, which minimises waste and keeps each style and colour relevant.
Carcel is using only natural materials native to the country of production, which keeps sustainability ingrained at the core of everything they do. Carcel’s vision is global and the company is already investigating to set up a the next production in a women’s prison in Thailand with pieces made from 100% silk.
Driven by a tireless ambition for merging high quality design with sensible production, Louise van Hauen, the creative director and partner at Carcel has a fancy for balancing the beauty of classic elements and current relevance with a cool, considered and casual attitude.
