From her Bridgend bedroom to London and Paris Fashion Weeks, Moray Luke’s fish leather handbags have taken her on a whirlwind journey this past year. For Buzz’s November 2021 Sustainability Issue, she chatted with Hannah Collins about her love of the sea, sustainability, and how we can be better ‘eco-warriors’ without giving up Instagram.
“We’re so used to buying a new outfit for Instagram. That doesn’t make us bad, we’re just tricked by capitalism.”
Moray Luke
Can you tell me a bit about your background and what led you down the fashion path?
I’ve wanted to do this since I was like 10 years old – not even kidding! I saw Rome on the BBC when it came to the UK, and from that moment onwards l wanted to be a costume designer. We’d learn about ancient Romans in school, like how the Romans were really evil to us, the Celts, but I just became obsessed with Roman fashion.
I accidentally watched Sex In The City when I was 13 and that was one of the most life-changing moments of my life – Carrie wore vintage clothes and that was massive to me back in 2009. That’s how I got into sustainability – she made it fashionable to go to thrift stores and flea markets and stuff like that. I just thought it really promoted it as a great thing, you know, sustainability.
You’ve only been doing this as a business for a year, is that right?
Yeah, basically. I graduated uni and then I lived in Venice Beach for eight weeks. And then I came back [to the UK] because of the earthquake. This was in September 2019. So I spent eight months researching and really, it’s been a pandemic baby over 14 months.
Where did the idea to use fish leather come from?
I’m gonna regret saying this because everyone loves this point. I grew up on the coast and I’m obsessed with sirens and mermaid culture. And I swim all the time, I love kayaking – I’m an outdoorsy girl! I moved to Brighton to be near the sea, which is where I did my degree, and then I was in Venice Beach. I got obsessed with Hans Christian Andersen, who created The Little Mermaid, and the whole folklore element of it. I have been to Scandinavia countless times and to Copenhagen and [Andersen’s] house. Using the byproduct of fish is kind of a unique way to celebrate that culture and protect the seas.
Oh, that’s interesting. So you were already passionate about the sea and then the sustainability stuff just fed into it?
Yeah, I used to be really arrogant about it – like “oh, I’m really big into climate change!” Not conspiracies, but big oil and stuff like that, and people on message boards said my attitude is right: We’re gonna face so much uncomfortable stuff in the next 50 years; our generation does not have the luxury of ignoring climate change. So fish is a strange material, but we’re going to do a lot of strange things that are going to have to become normal. I hope that my bags are just the start of my fashion house, and fish as materials that are the norm.
Another thing is, I believe that people being negative – “oh, we’ll never solve climate change” – or saying that the oil companies control it… that’s the attitude they want you to have. Just try and do whatever you can. Even if you save one bird, or one plastic bag from going into the ocean, congratulations! You have succeeded. I’m not the best eco-warrior – I enjoy KFC, you know? And I’m gonna have to start travelling because of work now. But I try and go to beach cleans and I try and do as much as I can.
When we talk about sustainable fashion, how far do you think the industry still needs to go to improve?
People in the fashion industry have still not adjusted to sustainability as far as I’m concerned. But as people my age are getting more attention, the more they realise that we can’t ignore this problem of climate change. Sustainability is a little like Brexit these days – everyone’s got a different opinion about how we should have done it. And they get angry about the problem rather than being proactive about it. I’m like, right, it’s not going to save the world, but it creates a conversation starter.
We’re so used to a certain lifestyle, like buying a new outfit for Instagram – that doesn’t make us bad as humans, we’re just tricked by capitalism. We need to find cultural solutions. For example, rental websites and thrifting are really good ones. What we’re going to have to do, in my opinion, is change the way we consume, but so that we can still have all the bells and whistles. And I feel like I’m kind of that solution.
How big a part do you think social media is playing in all this? Trends are changing even quicker and people are ‘needing’ that wardrobe refresh sooner.
I don’t think Instagram culture will change. But I don’t really blame the people who are watching and using this stuff – I blame companies for profiting off entrepreneurs. That culture will not change, we have to help change people’s habits, and encourage them to find good solutions.
For example, with me, I’m now gonna be doing a lot of appearances. I love vintage clothes. And I have big boxes of stuff I bought from vintage sites because I’ll be expected to wear a new dress every time [I appear somewhere]. It’s ridiculous. We are our own celebrities now. I mean, we are public figures. Instagram has commodified us. I don’t think that’s gonna change at all, so we have to work around it. And as a designer, that’s my job now – to help people work around these problems.
Info: www.morayluke.com
words HANNAH COLLINS
