Isabel Froemming and the Future of Sustainable Fashion
 

Style. Couture. Design. Luxury. There are so many words that leap to mind when we think of “fashion.”
But who are the people at the helm of this industry?

by Cathryn Larsen

The fashion world depends upon many artists and businesspeople with unique talents, without whose contributions the industry would crumble: designers, pattern-makers, stitchers, models, critics, consultants, entrepreneurs. Often, these roles are separate. But once in a rare while you will find a multi-talented individual who, appropriately speaking, wears a variety of hats within the fashion industry. Isabel Froemming ’16 is such a person.

Currently based in London, Isabel dons quite a few hats these days. She is a writer and blogger for various print and online fashion sites and magazines; she is a consultant and content editor at Luminaire, a high-end fashion consulting firm; she models for runway and print; and most recently, she has founded her own clothing line – Toile Vierge, a brand that specializes in sustainable fashion. As if owning and running her own small business weren’t enough, Isabel is also the primary designer for Toile Vierge garments.

Isabel got her start in the fashion world during a Tulane University study-abroad program in London. Though the program was slated to last only a semester, Isabel ended up transferring from Tulane to King’s College to finish her undergraduate studies. While in London, she began an internship as an editorial associate at a sustainable luxury boutique. It was there that Isabel’s passion for sustainable fashion really took flight.

She recalls, “Through my internship and other connections I made, I started diving deeply into the world of sustainable fashion. Around the same time, I began writing the final project for my undergraduate program – called a dissertation in England. The topic was health attainment of female ready-made garment workers in Bangladesh; that was an intense subject to study, and it helped open my eyes to how I might be able to take action on what I had learned. I found that I was really interested in developing a more holistic approach within the industry. I became inspired to explore avenues where I could share this mission with the world and stay true to my beliefs and values while still setting trends.”

During the pandemic and subsequent lockdown in London, Isabel relocated to Denmark to take a marketing editorial position with the renowned Copenhagen Fashion Week. She says, “Copenhagen Fashion Week attracts a lot of international acclaim for being a trendsetter and making sustainability achievable and cool. I was able to see firsthand the balance that this kind of environment attempts to strike between running a fashion economy that produces beautiful and ambitious products and keeping sustainability front of mind.”

After her experience in Copenhagen, Isabel returned to London to finish her dissertation while also doing freelance writing for various fashion magazines and blogs. Through these jobs, she connected with a number of designers and companies that specialize in sustainable fashion, including those that supply “deadstock” fabric – recycled and left-over material from garment production. Through these experiences, Isabel began formulating the idea for her own sustainable fashion line, Toile Vierge. She says, “As the lockdown went on, a friend and I started testing out some embroidery designs and using deadstock fabrics, and I began commissioning some of the pieces that I was creating.”

The featured garment in the Toile Vierge line is a simple but elegant white Oxford shirt made from completely recycled and sustainable materials. Each shirt has a colorful, hand-embroidered design on the back. The designs are inspired by, and reminiscent of, various notable works of art, such as Picasso’s Le Visage and Le Portrait by Matisse. Isabel notes, “While I was doing research into creating my own company, I was still writing and traveling to various fashion weeks to cover those events. Because of the fast-paced, busy nature of these weeks, it’s great to have at least one go-to basic but versatile clothing piece. I would always pack this vintage Chanel Oxford shirt; it went with me everywhere. I just kept coming back to the idea of that classic yet elegant piece and worked that into my ultimate design.”

Isabel’s company reflects her values and social conscience in more ways than one. Toile Vierge garments are hand-embroidered and sewn by women within London’s incarcerated and low-income populations through a program called “Making for Change,” run by London College of Fashion. The women are taught embroidery and pattern-cutting skills by LCF instructors and produce the garments based on Isabel’s designs, with materials that she obtains through various sustainable-resource channels. This innovative program allows the workers to gain useful skills and connections for their future, as well as be contributing creators on these sustainable products.

Though Toile Vierge is still a young company, having premiered online and in pop-up shops in fall 2022, Isabel is happy with the line’s success so far. Toile Vierge currently has one collection that features eight items, and Isabel hopes to debut a second collection within the coming year. She sees Toile Vierge’s ability to take custom orders and ship internationally as strengths that will help to build her clientele.

Sustainability is becoming more of a focus for producers and consumers across various industries, and the idea of acting as responsible stewards of the Earth in all that we do continues to gain support. Though Isabel’s current efforts are helping to lead the way to a more sustainable future in fashion, this cause does not feel new to her. She traces her passion for sustainability and environmental stewardship back to her days at Potomac, noting, “I was in the Sustainability Club and on the cross country and track and field teams, so I spent a lot of time outdoors at Potomac. When people ask me where I went to high school now, I always say ‘on a 90-acre nature reserve with biodynamic gardens!’ My relationship with nature that was fostered in that unique educational environment has had a huge influence on where I am today and what I am passionate about creating.”

To check out Toile Vierge’s growing collections, visit https://www.toilevierge.co.uk.