Hello There: Farleigh io

Given our acute awareness of how the linear fashion model of buying, wearing and quickly discarding clothes so negatively impacts both people and planet, there is an increased demand from customers for greater transparency in the fashion supply chain. I for one, am really making a more conscious effort to buy from, and champion ethical and sustainable British designers, and one such brand that has recently come on to my radar, happily just in time for the summer, is Farleigh io, and their stunning ready-to-wear collection of hand-drawn printed mini’s and maxi dresses.

Created for free-spirited women of all ages and sizes, each of Farleigh io’s ethically made, romantic designs look just as great with heels or wedges at a wedding, as they do with a pair of Veja trainers at a festival.

Brilliantly, Farleigh io doesn’t believe in large seasonal drops, instead choosing to slowly add one new design to her beautiful collection each month, with the aim of you treasuring that considered purchase for a long time. The dresses are not only brought to life by local London seamstresses and pattern printers, but also, for every design sold, a tree is planted in Zambia to help offset any carbon emissions made during its creation… Aaaaall the wonderful sunshine feels!

Wear With…

Wearing: Farleigh io’s Hazel Dress

Featuring: Puffin the Pup

Smear Fear... #SilentNoMore

I was recently made aware that cervical screenings in the UK are at their lowest levels in two decades, especially across London, with one in three British women not attending their screening tests because they find them embarrassing. I was therefore, in total awe of my friend, and Lady Garden Foundation co-founder, Chloe Delevingne, for having her own cervical smear test on live television earlier this year, in a bid to combat the stigma around getting checked.

As cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women under thirty-five, its worth remembering that although smear tests are always pretty damn uncomfortable, they also last less than five minutes, are required only once every three years, and also save around 4,500 lives each year through early detection... Now that’s worth talking openly about! If you’ve been putting yours off, practice some ultimate self-care and book one in tomorrow morning… 💗 #SilentNoMore

I’m wearing my Tabitha Webb x Lady Garden Foundation silk blouse which helped raise vital funds towards the Royal Marsden’s ground-breaking research into gynaecological cancers... Available upon request.

Earth Day 2019

We are amidst the largest period of species extinction in the last 60 million years. Shocking, in the last 50 years alone, the populations of all mammals, birds, reptiles and fish have fallen by an average of 60%…

With today being Earth Day, I thought I might talk a little more about some of my long legged friends back in Kenya. What many people don’t know, is that the wild animals living around the Safari Collection’s famous Giraffe Manor hotel are part of the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife’s vital breeding programme for the Rothschild Giraffe, one of the three sub-species of giraffe found in Kenya. All nine sub-species of giraffe across Africa are fighting a ‘silent extinction,’ being overshadowed in the press by other endangered animals. There are approx 500,000 wild elephant left in Africa for instance, whilst there are only 90,000 giraffe!!!! I was so shocked and saddened to hear this statistic. Similar to elephant, giraffe populations have suffered dramatically from illegal hunting, habitat loss and human/wildlife conflict, and the Rothschild, in particular, have really struggled.

However, due in big part to the amazing work of the AFEW, the Rothschild population in Kenya has increased from 80 to 800 individuals in the last 30 years, with 50 of those giraffe being the babies of breeding pairs reintroduced back into the wild from the Manor’s neighbouring Giraffe Centre. My heart hurts at the thought of a world without these beautiful long lashed and even longer legged giants, and the moments spent with them are never lost on me

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make...” Dr. Jane Goodall.

In my opinion, every damn day should be Earth Day... 🌍 #ExtinctionIsForever

Notre Dame...

A heartache felt worldwide... Nous sommes avec vous Paris 💗

Photographer: Alex Zouaghi

March Against Extinction 2019

A few years ago, whilst waiting for my cab at LAX, I witnessed a group of American men, pushing their suitcases and firearms, being welcomed home by their wives and children like heroes, as they excitedly regaled stories of how many lions they had each shot on their (canned) hunting trip to South Africa... My heart utterly broke.

How are conservationists to win the fight against illegal poaching, exhaustively educating the world with what little time we have left, that Africa’s most endangered animals, in their ever dwindling numbers, are #WorthMoreAlive, and that their mounted body parts are not symbols of wealth and prosperity - if on the other hand, the blood-thirsty elite are legally allowed to kill and display severed body parts of the exact same animals back in their homes, as a sign of their own ‘power’ and ‘prestige’ (or more likely, as I see it, as a sign of their small...)

In total, some 1.7 million wildlife trophies were legally traded between nations between 2004-2014, 200,000 of them from endangered species.

This was why, yesterday, I joined the Global #MarchAgainstExtinction to deliver an open letter signed by 175,000 people (including my faves, Jane Goodall and Born Free Foundation’s Virginia McKenna to Theresa May at 10 Downing Street, asking the British Government to take urgent action to ban the import of hunting trophies to the U.K, and to support efforts internationally to end this gruesome trade once and for all.

We also called upon the CoP delegates to: support the proposal to up-list elephants to Appendix I, reject the proposal from several southern African countries to re-open ivory trade, and reject the proposal to allow trade in the Southern White Rhino.

Without maximum protections by the global community and CITES, elephants, rhinos, lions, giraffes and all endangered megafauna face certain extinction in the wild.

Above: Outside 10 Downing Street with actor and animal rights activist Peter Egan, who I haven’t seen Peter since co-starrrrring in the 2007 British comedy, ‘Death at a Funeral.’

(*Kidding, I literally had one line in the entire film...)

It was an honour to stand and be counted alongside so many committed and passionate voices for endangered animals yesterday in London, whilst so many did the same thing back in my home town, Nairobi, Kenya.

IWD 2019

On International Women’s Day we remind ourselves to show love, show support, but also to use our voices for those who still have theirs violently suppressed - Because none of us are equal until all of us are equal.

Shop TLC’s Style…

World Wildlife Day 2019: #DoOneThingToday

Today is World Wildlife Day, time to reflect upon the amazing and beautiful creatures we share this planet with, and that we must unite together to protect. Global populations of mammals, reptiles, birds and amphibians having fallen by 60% in the last 50 years! If there was a 60% decline in the human population, it would be the equivalent of emptying North America, South America, Africa, Europe, China and Oceana... That is what our species has done - and within one generation!!

The challenges that our wildlife is facing are often large and complex, and it’s normal to feel personally powerless. However, small actions add up to a much larger solution – making the difference between a species surviving or disappearing forever... With that in mind, whether it’s donating to conservation projects and supporting those on the front line (I recommend Local Ocean Conservation, For Rangers, The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, WWF UK and Tusk), spending time learning more about how the everyday items you consume may be affecting the environment and it’s inhabitants, or be it volunteering or spreading awareness, try and #DoOneThingToday to make a difference and help wildlife conservation!

Wearing: Wyse London’s ‘Conservation Cashmere’ which saw 100% of its profits donated to The Aspinall Foundation’s #BackToTheWild conservation projects. Over the past few years the foundation has released 8 black rhino, 49 Javan langurs, 9 Javan gibbon, 11 European bison and over 60 western lowland gorillas back to their natural habitat, with many more releases to come this year.

2019: Let's Do This...

A little late to the 2019 party, but wishing you all one healthy and happy New Year. In all honestly, behind all of the fun and the filters, this last year has been a bit of a whoop-ass struggle, and all things considered, I found it quite hard to pick an authentic array of annual ‘highlights’ to see out 2018...

Instead, as I sit reflecting on the last year, I see lots of faces. The faces of people who showed up, checked in, called and cared - my true, real highlights.

If I’ve learned anything recently, it’s that you are never too old to open yourself up and make new, brilliant friends. Some of the faces I’m the most grateful to over 2018 belong to people I might not have imagined being there a year or so ago, and that’s pretty wonderful in itself. I also learnt to not beat myself up too much for politely opting out of things when it all feels like too much, when you need to disconnect, and when you need to put yourself (and perhaps Netflix) first.

Lastly, I recently read that even if you feel like the least intelligent, beautiful or talented person in the room, you can always be brave and you can always be kind. And that’s how I’ll be walking into 2019; Brave and kind... Lets Do This 2019!

Shop TLC’s Look…

Dress and Lipstick by Rouje

Photography: Frances Davison

Hair: Taylor Taylor London

Nails: Sophie Gass

UPDATE: TLCxAuree: The Tembo Collection

Last week, on World Elephant Day, Auree Jewellery and I celebrated reaching quite an exciting and wonderfully unexpected milestone...

Influenced by my Kenyan roots, the seven Masai bead inspired Tembo Charity Bracelets from my collaboration with Auree Jewellery have collectively raised £30,000 (!!!) which has been donated to For Rangers, with a giant bow on it.

I’m so proud that 100% of the profits from our collection went towards supporting the brave heroes across Africa risking their lives every day to protect our endangered wildlife, and so grateful to have this platform (my own ‘digital soapbox!’) to share the causes I feel so passionately about.  

Thank you to everyone who bought one (or two, or three...) of the Satao, Pembe or Shina bracelets… You will have directly contributed towards the fight against elephant poaching, and the extinction of this iconic, important animal. 

Buy To Give:  Head to Auree Jewellery to secure one of the last few bracelets... 

#TLCxAuree

Photography: Frances Davison
Hair: Taylor Taylor London
Nails: Secret Spa

Loewe x Elephant Crises Fund

Spanish fashion house Loewe has teamed up with Knot On My Planet's global ambassador Doutzen Kroes and Save The Elephants in the fight against the ivory trade, a cause very close to my heart.

100% of the profits from the Loewe's limited-edition Mini Elephant Bag (above), adorned with handcrafted beadwork by the fabulously skilled mamas from the Samburu Warrior Trust based at Kenya’s Ol Malo (one of my favourite places to stay on earth), will be donated to the Elephant Crises Fund and the conservation initiatives they support. 

Left:  During one of my beautiful stays at Ol Malo, a family ranch and game sanctuary in Laikipia, the heartland of the Samburu tribe.  Whilst there the mamas colourfully beaded my ankles. This specialised craft has given the female elders a viable workflow to help sustain their families.

Did you know that elephants are deeply emotional and intelligent animals with strong family bonds that last their 70-year lifespans? Or that without elephants, natural ecosystems can quickly fall into disrepair, creating further food insecurity for local human communities?  Trust me, with a wild elephant killed every 15 minutes across Africa, a designer handbag has never felt like more of a crucial investment.  Shop HERE.