People Tree

Remember Laura Ashley? The nauseating floral prints seemed to be on everyone's beds in the '80s. But the Brit brand has always been more than just bedding--they do women's and children's fashion too--and they're still around, even if Laura Ashley bedspreads and dust ruffles and throw pillow covers are no longer ubiquitous in girls' bedrooms (and thank goodness for that). In an effort to stay relevant, Laura Ashley has collaborated with sustainable Fair Trade fashion brand People Tree (the same brand Emma Watson has designed and modeled for), and has re-released classic prints from the '70s to create a summer collection that's actually pretty cute. The prints used for the collection were "re-coloured in contemporary shades and printed onto 100% organic cotton silhouettes," according to the Telegraph. While the brand has a much stronger presence outside the US, the collection will be available online at Laura Ashley starting in March (read: we can still buy it stateside). Check out the collection.

• By Leah Chernikoff
  Jan 27, 2011

While most teen superstar actresses tend to make a few (or many) missteps on their way to adulthood in the spotlight, it seems Emma Watson can do no wrong. Her latest move? Modeling and "endorsing" sustainable Fair Trade clothing line People Tree's latest "youth collection." Watson served as "creative advisor" for her first collaboration with People Tree, a line of cute French-preppy basics called "Love From Emma" that launched last year. She's still working with the ethical clothing line, but not in a design capacity. "Although I wasn't centrally involved in the design of this collection, I had great fun in helping Safia [Minney, the founder of People Tree] select some gorgeous Fair Trade textiles - a dogtooth hand woven check, cable knits, soft organic jerseys and the first Fair Trade hand woven brushed checked fabric which has been made into easy tulip skirts, dresses and shirts," Watson writes on the label's site. While Watson didn't design People Tree's latest youth collection (perhaps she's saving her creative design juices for her forthcoming collaboration with Alberta Ferretti), she did travel to Bangladesh to see firsthand the working conditions in the factories in the slums of Dhaka, and visited the Fair Trade factories People Tree works with in Swallows. She even lent a hand in the factories in Swallows, dying fabrics and getting involved on a weaving loom. Check out a video of St. Emma's visit to Bangladesh and see her modeling her favorite pieces from the collection. They're pretty cute.

• By Leah Chernikoff
  Jan 6, 2011

When 'Perfect' Isn't Enough: We try so hard to avoid, "I die." But then we see ads like this and nothing else properly conveys our reaction. Mario

• By Britt Aboutaleb
  Jan 13, 2010

There's been much speculation about Emma Watson's design prospects, from her own line to a capsule collection for Burberry. But now know what the Brow

• By Abby Gardner
  Sep 17, 2009