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EDUN
IndustryFashion design
Founded2005
Headquarters
Dublin, Ireland
New York City, United States
Key people
Ali Hewson (Co-founder)
Bono (Co-founder)
Julien Labat (Chief executive)
Danielle Sherman (Creative director since April 2013)
Sharon Wauchob (Creative director 2009–2013)
Rogan Gregory (2005–2007)
ProductsClothing, footwear, handbags
Websitewww.edun.com

EDUN is a fashion brand founded by Ali Hewson and Bono in 2005 to promote trade in Africa by sourcing production throughout the continent. In 2009 EDUN became part of the LVMH group.

Danielle Sherman was named Creative Director in April 2013.[1] Her first collection debuted during NY Fashion Week, September 2013.[2] The collection includes a range of ready-to-wear, handbags and accessories.

History

In 2005, Hewson and Bono founded the Edun label ("nude" spelled backwards, to suggest both "natural" and the Garden of Eden).[3] It was intended to help bring about positive change in Africa through a fair trade-based relationship rather than by direct aid.[4][5] Hewson said they wanted "to show that you can make a for-profit business where everybody in the chain is treated well."[4]

Since it was launched, Edun has sourced globally from various countries both in and out of Africa, including Peru, Tunisia, Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Uganda and China.[6] The company now produces 85% of its collection in Africa.[7]

Edun struggled as a business,[8][9] and Ali Hewson later admitted that she and Bono had incorrectly focused on the mission rather than the product, which led to their failings. She also admitted that this led to a fall in quality, which was not expected from a fashion brand.[10] With their African suppliers, Edun faced problems with the quality and delivery times of the goods, and causing most of the stores to drop it.[8][10] It lost €9.7 million in 2007 and did still worse in 2008, by the end of which it had some €8.7 million in debts.[11]

"We felt if we failed it would be a double failure. We'd be saying, 'We can't do this,' and then other companies would go, 'Well, see? We've always known that. Basically we dug our heels in and said, 'We're staying. We're going to make it work."

—Ali Hewson on the problems Edun was facing

The New York City and Dublin based company ran up against the limitations of Africa manufacturing. Hewson said that she considered ending the company; she and her husband consulted with friends, one of them was the Columbia University economist Jeffrey Sachs, who told them to go on with the project.[citation needed]

The couple put around $20 million of their own money into the brand and in May 2009 they sold 49% of the company to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.[8][10][12][13][14] The large luxury conglomerate, helped the company recruit new management and a new designer after the departure of Rogan Gregory two years before, and tried to convince Ali and Bono to expand their sourcing horizons. They initially resisted the idea of manufacturing in China, because it might run against the brand’s mission. LVMH Inc. chief executive Mark Weber confirmed the account and added in a statement: "While this business is small today, we believe it can grow in size by building on a noble idea." Following LVMH's investment in the brand, EDUN appointed a new creative director, Sharon Wauchob.[8][15][16]

At the same year Ali Hewson and Bono appeared wearing EDUN in a Louis Vuitton campaign, shot by photographer Annie Leibovitz in Africa.[17] In season 2010 Edun brought back the focus to the runaway, which was critical for their new chief executive, Janice Sullivan, former president of Liz Clairbone Inc.’ DKNY Jeans division. Edun's new designer, Ms. Wauchob, trained at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design in London.

By March 2011, the company had 8 factories in Africa 37% of the collection in September 2011 was produced in Africa. This number was expected to increase to 40% by 2013, according to Hewson.[18][19][19]

In April 2013 Danielle Sherman became the creative director for the brand [20] and debuted her first collection SS14 during New York Fashion September 2013. Sherman has been with Alexander Wang since 2008, most recently as design director of the men's and women's T by Alexander Wang lines. Earlier, she cofounded The Row with Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen from 2005 to 2007. "Coming from her success with two well-respected brands, Danielle brings her experience and strong design sensibility to EDUN," said Ali Hewson, who founded the brand with her husband, U2 front man Bono, in 2005. "Bono and I are impressed by her creativity and believe her unique approach and vision will help grow the brand." [21] The collection will launch in stores such as Barneys, Colette, Liberty, United Arrows and Beams. Sherman was quoted as in a US Vogue feature (December 2013) documenting her first trip to Africa saying, "Matching the design mission and the ethical one is an exciting challenge." [22] Under her direction 85% of the collection will be manufactured in Sub-Saharan Africa. "The appointment of Danielle as full-time creative director marks a step-change in the development of Edun as a brand of fashion and meaning," said Antonio Belloni, managing director at LVMH and a member of Edun's board.[21]

Mission

In 2008, Edun established the Conservation Cotton Initiative Uganda (CCIU), which provides funding, training and enterprise support to cotton farmers to help build sustainable businesses in Northern Uganda.[23]

Edun Live

In 2007, Edun launched the division Edun Live, a tee-shirt business which is 100% grown and sewn in Africa.[6]

DIESEL + EDUN

In January 2012, Italian fashion entrepreneur and "jeans genius" Renzo Rosso of the Diesel group,[24] Hewson and Bono travelled to north Uganda, where EDUN's Conservation Cotton Initiative (CCI) is based, and to Dioro in Mali, which is house of the Only The Brave Foundation Millennium Village, a project of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, the United Nations Development Programme, the Millennium Promise, and Renzo Rosso.[25] This African journey encouraged them to join their forces for a new Diesel+Edun label that will be made entirely in Africa to generate sustainable development and raise awareness of the creative opportunities in the continent.[26]

Born in Africa, the first Diesel and Edun collection, was launched on 27 February 2013. The collection, completely made in Africa from cotton produced and processed by the Conservation Cotton Initiative (CCI), is inspired by the African creative spirit, reinterpreting the four-pocket jeans of the 1970s, which were popular on the streets of South Africa. Malian textile prints are applied along the denim and across the jersey .[27] On 3 March 2013, DIESEL+EDUN feted its new collection at the Gaité Lyrique theatre in Paris for the Paris Fashion Week.[28]

File:Coachella Sunset 2011 Jamey M Photo.jpg
The sun sets over the main stage at Coachella 2011.

On 12 April 2013, Bono cohosted a party at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival to throw the Studio Africa project on the first official night of the 2013 festival. Studio Africa, a project started in 2013 by DIESEL+EDUN, is as an effort to spotlight fashion, music, and other arts from the continent.[29][30] The campaign features nine artists in fashion, film, music, literature, and photography, including Tanzanian beauty queen and fashion model Flaviana Matata, Senegalese actor Sy Alassane, Ivoirian fashion designer Laurence Chauvin-Buthaud, Congolese musician Baloji, Moroccan writer Abdellah Taïa, and South Africa photography collective I See a Different You.[27]

Source of manufacturing

By 2010, most of the company's fashion line manufacturing was in China, while simpler garments were still African-made. This gave some negative publicity to the brand.[8][10][31] Hewson said that business realities compelled this action, but that over time she hoped more work could be done in Africa.[8] Since its founding in 2007, Edun Live has produced 700,000 African made t-shirts. Hewson calls this venture 100 percent African grow-to-sew initiative.[32] Hewson said in March 2011, "There is a misconception that we moved business out of Africa. We didn’t. We’re now working in eight factories in Africa whereas this time last year we were in two. We’ve actually grown our Edun business in Africa and by 2013, it will be up to 40%".[19] The company now produces 85% of its collection in Africa.[7]

References

  1. ^ http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2013/04/edun-appoints-danielle-sherman-as-creative-director [accessed 15 November 2013]
  2. ^ http://www.stylequotidien.com/edun-ss14-runway/ [accessed 15 November 2013]
  3. ^ Masterson, John (6 March 2005). "Ali's other Eden". Irish Independent. Dublin.
  4. ^ a b "Fashion with a Conscience". Heyoka. Spring 2006. Archived from the original on 17 June 2006.
  5. ^ "About Edun". EDUN. Retrieved 24 March 2007.
  6. ^ a b http://www.lvmh.com/the-group/lvmh-companies-and-brands/fashion-leather-goods/edun
  7. ^ a b "Ali Hewson, Danielle Sherman and Simon Doonan Talk EDUN". 7 March 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Atkinson, Nathalie (5 March 2011). "Ali Hewson and Bono's return to Edun". National Post. Toronto.
  9. ^ Lipke, David (13 September 2011). "Q&A: Ali Hewson and Bono". Women's Wear Daily.
  10. ^ a b c d Dodes, Rachel (10 September 2010). "Out of Africa, Into Asia". The Wall Street Journal.
  11. ^ Dunne, Hannah-Louise (7 November 2009). "Are Pricey Principles Wearing Thin, Bono?". Daily Mail. London.
  12. ^ Flintoff, John-Paul (9 May 2010). "Mrs Bono on how fashion can save the world". The Times. London. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  13. ^ "The Today Show". Youtube.com. 16 July 2006. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  14. ^ McLean, Craig (30 May 2010). "Ali Hewson: Edun regained". The Independent. London. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  15. ^ Livingstone, David (10 March 2011). "With a dose of design daring, Edun endures: To sell beautiful clothes and a good story, Ali Hewson knows intention is as important as invention". Toronto Star. Retrieved 28 May 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  16. ^ "Voque UK, Edun's New Dawn, 2010". Vogue.co.uk. 20 January 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  17. ^ "Vogue UK, Bono In Fashion, 2010". Vogue.co.uk. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  18. ^ 13 September 2011 (13 September 2011). "Q&A: Ali Hewson and Bono – Parties – Eye". WWD.com. Retrieved 27 September 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ a b c "Ali Hewson and Bono's return to Edun | Arts | National Post". Arts.nationalpost.com. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  20. ^ White, Belinda (2013). "Alexander Wang designer Danielle Sherman moves to Edun – Telegraph". fashion.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  21. ^ a b Lipke, David (2013). "EDUN Names Danielle Sherman as Creative Director -WWD". Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  22. ^ Nnadi, Chioma (November, 2013). "Finding Edun". Vogue (New York)
  23. ^ "Juxtapoz Magazine – Sean Metelerkamp for DIESEL x EDUN: Studio Africa". juxtapoz.com. 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  24. ^ Menkes, Suzy (30 September 2003). "Renzo Rosso, jeans genius". The New York Times.
  25. ^ "Only The Brave Foundation Launches Partenership with Millennium Promise". New York, NY: Millennium Villages Project. 14 September 2010.
  26. ^ Menkes, Suzy (15 November 2012). "Philanthropy in Fashion". The New York Times.
  27. ^ a b "Diesel X Edun “Born in Africa” – African Cotton collection in stores Feb 27th!". Africa Fashion Guide.
  28. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (17 March 2013). "Ali Hewson: 'In the next 20 years, Africa is going to blow our minds'". The Observer.
  29. ^ Miller, Lindsay (13 April 2013). "Stars at Diesel and Edun's Coachella Party 2013". POPSUGAR.
  30. ^ Codinha, Cotton (13 April 2013). "Diesel + Edun Studio Africa After Pary – Coachella 2013". ELLE. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ Bowman, Jo. "CNBC.com". Cnbcmagazine.com. Retrieved 27 September 2012.
  32. ^ Elle Magazine, July 2010

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