Chaos and Colour founder Pariss Cozier set out to put a fun, colourful alternative on the sustainable fashion scene, often dominated by ‘neutral-hued clothing’ for ‘a neutral-hued customer base.’ Cozier tells the story of how she began her vibrant fashion line, designed to uplift both its makers and its wearers.
I will never forget reading the story of the Zara customers finding hidden messages in their clothes. Sown into the seams of dresses, hung up on glossy shop floors, were messages like: “I made this item that you are going to buy, but I didn’t get paid for it.”
Like many other London born, twenty-something, millennial women, I grew up on a diet of ASOS next day delivery, ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ and dreams of being a fashion journalist. Not long after came the rise of blogging, influencer culture and very quickly I, like many other twenty-something, millennial women, became completely seduced by the algorithm.
Bad shopping habits were made worse by my first job at a London PR agency. Looking back, I guess this really was my ‘Devil Wears Prada’ moment, except my boss had all the venom of Miranda Priestly but not much in the way of a Meryl Streep charm. So, I shopped. Every purchase made was an attempt to pacify the feelings of disappointment and dissatisfaction— crap job, crap commute, complete and utter lack of direction. Yet the thrill was always illusive, nothing bought could quell that rising tide of dissatisfaction.
After almost a year in, they fired me.
“It’s a blessing in disguise”, my mum reassured me as I sobbed into the phone receiver, slouched and defeated on a curb somewhere in Fulham. The next three days were spent crying. But in the five months that followed, I travelled China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia, taking with me little more than a couple of quick-dry outfits, making sure to leave enough room for any treasures I would find along the way. South-East Asia awakened my love for handicraft items and my desire for a smaller wardrobe of truly loved, hard won, curated pieces. It really was a blessing in disguise.