Devotion to sustainability and a relentless drive to change fashion for good make up the foundations of Arkdefo, with a focus on handcrafting, upcycling and educating the next generation on the importance of slow fashion.
As part of our Virgin Experience Days x Virgin StartUp collection, we’re proud to help support Arkdefo’s vision for change. Read on to discover their journey so far and their plans for the future.
We began our journey in 2018-2019 but Arkdefo really began in 2020 with an online clothing range and our online courses.
The principle of the business was to teach slow fashion, slow down consumerism and showcase a return to handcrafts. We saw this as a skill that was being lost. Many people cannot carry out simple repairs, or sew a button, which leads to clothes being needlessly thrown out and many buying low quality and low price garments that they hardly wear.
We felt teaching online fashion design courses could help reset this imbalance and our forthcoming upcycled denim collection looks to do likewise.
If we can avoid needless, impulse buys through repairs, or making your own simple wardrobe, this would help slow down fashion consumption and waste. We offer online sewing and fashion design courses, which can be taken from the comfort of your own home. If you want to learn a new skill that will stay with you for life, or would like your children to learn, there is no better time than now!
Our courses teach creative design, encouraging as you grow, building confidence as you complete each garment. These video lessons are yours for life and can be watched as many times as you wish. There is no time limit and you have the space to develop at your own pace. We offer a Loungewear course for adults, perfect for that WFH wardrobe and we also offer Sewing & Fashion Design for Kids (8-12yrs) which is the first of its kind in the UK.
We always wanted to work with Virgin. Elizaveta attended a Virgin business workshop day in 2018 and that began the journey. Last year we received funding through Virgin StartUp, which was vital to our growth.
The chance to strengthen our relationship and showcase online fashion design courses as an experience option with Virgin Experience Days was an instant yes for us. More people will see online as a great avenue to learn without travelling and we wanted to partner with Virgin to make it happen.
As a small business, we've had challenges along the way. Marketing during 2020 has been a particular challenge. Regardless of the product, or whether it would provide a distraction to some and a mindful relief to others, people have understandably had their attention elsewhere.
We have been surprised by the random locations we have sold courses to and how people find us! For a UK based start-up to be discovered as far as the U.S.A. and U.A.E. is incredible. We're hopeful that 2021 will be the year online courses finally catch on in the UK.
We have big plans for the business. In 2021 we'll be launching our upcycled denim collections as a sustainable fashion brand. We are zero waste and advocate slow fashion practices, which is at the core of everything we do, from clothing right back to our courses.
It's all about slowing down consumption. In five years' time we will hopefully run our own fashion factory, develop a new fashion waste collection system and be the pioneers of textile recycling in the U.K.
Supporting a small business is important - they're the lifeblood of any community. They could be family run, maybe generational and may engage positively in the area.
We're thankful to each and every customer and we are lucky enough to be at a stage where we do remember customer names. That is important to us and to other small businesses. We never want to be a faceless entity. A small business will always provide the best customer service as you matter!
