Ashleigh Slater

Masterweaver - Creative Designer, founder of warpweftweave studio
Round table discussant

Ashleigh Slater graduated from Duncan & Jordanstone College of Art and Design, in 2012 with a BDes (Hons) in Textile Design specialising in weaving. He opened his working studio in 2012 named warpweftweave studio. Ashleigh has pioneered his very own brands of tweeds and tartans; offering bespoke textiles created and designed to meet the growing market for locally sourced, hand-woven cloth. Ashleigh quotes:

“…I don’t intend to upgrade to machine operated - power-looms; I want to create hand woven cloth on looms that still require manual and mental dexterity using a principle of slow textiles…”

In 2013 Ashleigh started working with the ethical fashion designer Fatima Mahmood, of Ala Mairi – he helps the company source, design and weave bespoke hand-woven scarfs and continues to help expand the range of ethical fashion accessories to this day.

About Ala Mairi

With Ala Mairi’s passion to celebrate the integrity of craftsmanship and hand-made it was to come hand-in-glove that the ethical fashion was a positive route to embrace and with certainty that the brand qualifies as ‘ethical’ - Ala Mairi continues to expand and embrace the boundaries that this ‘term’ comes with. Ala Mairi sees that humans we are all evolving and the evolution is uncertain one - when we start to question the boundaries and processes, it’s a journey that must be developed and evolve with passion and integrity, with ethical fashion on the cusp of new horizons with ever evolving and developing new technologies and trends – the human fast-fashion consumption has been called into question it is time to look geographically at what, and how we support artisans, the studios, and the independent craftsmen and call into question the materials we source though fashion and textiles.

The greatest challenge for a fashion designer facing in today’s climate is to be recognised and rise amongst hundreds of brands, and the radical fast-fashion demands for ‘quick’ and cheap production - not only that she or he wants the brand to be successful, also a promise that designer/founder give their whole heart to the craftsman’s that promise: ‘’Yes, together we will create’’ - “together the footprints we start must stand tide and time” and that’s the calling of Ala Mairi and every designer must embrace - no matter how big or small is that change. Ethical fashion is much deeper and revolutionary than the average cynical view. Opinions and eyes need to be opened to see “clothes made by organic cotton and natural dyes” – are not for the hippies and vegan’s… ethical fashion is a revolution – and at Ala Mairi we aim to take this and hold fast though every challenge.