Sarah Ciel

Mini Biography

 

British Designer Sarah Ratty FRSA, trained at Bristol University in Fashion Textiles, where she was nominated as Student Designer of the Year by FW magazine, (Fashion Weekly). Sarah came from a talented fashion background; her mother was a fashion lecturer at Brighton College of Art and taught Barbara Hulanicki, who later went on to make BIBA a landmark in fashion history. Sarah inherited her mother’s flair and Art & Fashion has been a lasting interest and passion. Starting in Fashion PR at Lisa Nelson PR Unlimited in the early 90's working on accounts such as Dolce & Gabbana, Adolfo Dominguez, Charles Jourdan and Reebok, curating events and photoshoots notably the WarChild Fashion Show at London Zoo with Vivienne Westwood. After initially working in journalism and later as a designer for a women’s clothing company in the West End. Sarah decided to set up on her own, implementing her own strong belief in the need to be eco-conscious.

 

Conscious Earthwear

 

Conscious Earthwear was founded by Sarah Ratty who began her fashion career as a model for fashion photographer Glen Luchford, who encouraged her to pursue a career as a fashion designer. The first collection sold successfully to the legendary Brown’s in South Molton Street, London, and accounts with Harrods, Selfridges, and Joseph in the Fulham road quickly followed. Sarah was invited to show her work at the Levi’s “i-D now” exhibition and collaborate with a special commission for the Levis' windows from dead-stock denim for the Levis flagship opening in Regent Street in London [1991]. This collection was styled by *Edward Enninful as Editor of i-D and featured in the i-D magazine and Street Style book of the exhibition. The i-D Now show toured in Florence & London with a life-size image of Sarah photographed by Simon Foxton, which led directly to her first collection being bought by the V&A Museum in London for their permanent collection and shown as part of their influential Street Style Exhibition. Conscious Earthwear became a successful 90s Designer Sport & Streetwear brand Pioneering Green Fashion featured prominently in the display at the Victoria & Albert Museum exhibition on Street Style in the 90's and again in "Fashioned from Nature" 2018-19. Subsequent collections were shown at The Barbican Art Gallery London for the influential multi media exhibition “The Jam” 1995 which toured to Brazil with the British Council. Exhibitions in Tokyo, Sydney and Melbourne as part of the British Hotwave shows with UKFE and the RIBA Eco-city Living exhibition in 1999/2000.

 

Photographed on Macy Gray by Rankin for his book Rankin Works. Featured in The Face, i-D, Dazed, Vogue, and Elle. Worn in the '90s by now Strictly TV Stars: Faye From Steps, Zoe Ball, and Macy Gray, Metallica, Prodigy, Lamb & All Saints. Part of the 90's Cool Brittania wave of Designers showing collections in Paris, London, Tokyo, and Sydney. Conscious Earthwear designs still stand as fresh and modern today.

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A love of fashion, cutting techniques, innovative fabric, and colour has been the key to her success and informs the design process throughout. It is this coupled with a desire to create something stylish, original, and contemporary with a green twist that makes Sarah Ratty FRSA, a true pioneer of Conscious, Sustainable, Green Fashion. Both her brands Conscious Earthwear in the 1990s and Ciel in the'00s put her Design Philosophy at the forefront of Pioneering the Conscious Fashion Movement, with Green Sustainable Circular Fashion. From up-cycling to working at the cutting edge of fashion innovation "Sarah's work has always reflected the times we live in" Dilys Williams CFSF London.

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Quotes

• "Sarah's work always reflected the times we are living in" Dilys Williams CFSF - Centre for Sustainable Fashion

• " Pointing to the future, A Sustainable Following" Edwina Ehrman Curator Victoria & Albert Museum Fashioned from Nature 2018-19 

• "A true pioneer of Green Fashion". Tamsin Blanchard Creative Director The Telegraph.

 

 

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Ciel 

Sarahs next label Ciel picked up the thread and working with pioneering natural fabrics the feminine collections were featured in magazines from Vogue, Elle, Telegraph, Observer, Time, Life, Marie Clare, Red, Grazia. Cath Brown editor of Marie Claire devoted a whole issue to the brand in 2009. Known for its feminine print dresses, alpaca knitwear, and organic cotton collections designed from the inside out. A women's lifestyle brand with an A list following from Cate Blanchet, Sienna Miller, Livia Firth. Showcasing collections in London, Paris, and in exhibitions in Berlin, Milan, Rome, LA, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, Peru, Japan. With accounts in the best stores worldwide from Isetan in Japan to Nordstrom in the US. A regular at Esthetica at London Fashion Week, and favorite with journalists Suzy Menkes, Hilary Alexander, Harriet Quick, Tamsin Blanchard, and Lucy Siegle. Orsola de Castro co-founder of Esthetica and Fashion Revolution said, "Sarah always brought the buyers and the press", she even persuaded Livia Firth to take an interest in Eco-Fashion when they both appeared in the same issue of Vogue, who was soon converted to include sustainable fashion with her brother Nicola eco-architect and their eco interiors and lifestyle store and consultancy Eco-Age, where she hosted their first  sustainable fashion event with Livia and Lucy Siegle. Sarah's work was a catalyst as an ethical pioneer, at the vanguard of the movement today for Sustainable style along with Orsola de Castro, Safia Minney and Carry Somers, and Sarah Ditty of Fashion Revolution. A regular participant at London and Paris Fashion Week at Esthetica with the Ciel brand. At the Royal Academy Show EARTH Art in a Changing World 2010/11, where Sarah’s designs in up-cycled Lyocell fabrics, were commissioned by Sketch Mayfair to dress the hostess’s for the event at the Royal Academy of Art.  "Well Fashioned" exhibition at The Craft Council UK, 2005. Fashion Footprints exhibition, The "Green Fashion" at the FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC, USA 2010 and "Green is the New Black" exhibition at La Rinascente in Rome, Italy 2010. Stockists included, Isetan, Mitsukoshi, Nordstrom, Eco-Age, and online at Adily, Yoox, Net-a-Porter.

 

Awards

• British Chamber Awards for Sustainability  London South East 2011

• Red Woman in Business 2009

• Winner of the Inaugural Award for Ethical Fashion UKFExports in 2007

• Observer Ethical Award 2007

 

Cielshop Interiors  2011-2022

Creative Director Cielshop Interiors -Swapping the fashion scene for interiors has been a natural development and the collections feature many of Ratty’s go to design aesthetics. Natural materials, simple shapes, a pioneer of the Biophilic and Organic Modern trends. Sarah studied Hotel Design at Chelsea College of Arts and is an expert in Balinese Feng Shui. Sarah’s curated collections are causing a stir amongst the fashion forward with organic cotton rugs, hand crafted sustainable rattan and mango wood furniture, featured on Chanel 4's George Clarkes Project Home series 2021 and seen in the home of Radio and TV presenter Jo Whiley. Furniture for Radio Bar at the Norman Foster designed Me Hotel The Strand London and featured furniture for the bar in The Batman movie 2022.  Sarahs unerring eye for style and form can clearly be seen in these curated collections.  Feature in Elle Decoration, World of Interiors, Living Etc, and Grazia magazine. 

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Visiting Lecturer

Sarah has also participated as a visiting lecturer for several colleges from UAL London College of Fashion, St Martins and Chelsea College of Art, Nottingham & Trent Business School, Southampton, Portsmouth, and Brighton, to ESMOD Berlin and FIT in Florence. 

 

Trained in Fashion Design for Textiles, Knit and Print, Pattern Cutting, and Fashion Illustration. Further studies include Balinese Feng Shui and Hotel Interior Design, Web Design, Film Editing, Teaching & Training, Photoshop, PR, and Social Media Strategy. 

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Higher Education Additional Courses.

Further learning best practise practitioner courses completed:

Sustainable Business Lead - Cambridge University.

Teaching and Training NCFE Diploma, GBMC. Brighton.

Photoshop Goldsmiths London. Diploma

Graphic Design/ Web Design, Brighton University

Hotel Interior Design Chelsea College of Art - Diploma

Fine Art Photography Diploma GBMC

Film Editing Diploma GBMC 

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Pro-Bono - Consultancy

• COP26 - Climate Conference COPtimism - Sustainable Fashion Panel Host and Moderator 2021

• Advisor Fashion & Interiors - Forests without Frontiers 2020 - 2022 (ongoing)

• Consultant Fashion Forum Africa - Ghana / UK - 2018 -2022 (ongoing)

• Consultant Fashion Africa Conference - Moderator 2019 City Hall London. (onging)

• Consultant Super Looper - Brighton 2019

• Consultant Assessor for the European Environment Business Awards 2011

• Consultant Environmental Justice Foundation - Ciel, Katharine Hamnet, Lulu Guinness, Luella Bartley, Betty Jackson, Campaign T-shirt 2009 

• Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts FRSA - 2007 - present.

• Consultant Asian heritage Foundation - Karnataka India - 2005 - 2009

• Consultant designer Traidcraft - UK - 2005 - 2009

• Consultant designer Tear Fund - UK - 2005

• Consultant Pesticide Action Network - 2003-2009

• Consultant Soil Association for Global Organic Textile Standards - GOTS 2003 -2011

• Co-Founder of the Ethical Fashion Forum [EFF], where she was Chair for 5 years she has extensive experience in sustainable design theory and practices.

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