Lifestyle pieces, what they are and why they matter — chatting with Jo Titchener from Humidity Lifestyle
We talk to Jo Titchener about how she conjured up her sustainable fashion brand Humidity Lifestyle and how she manages to keep the brand ethical, sustainable and life-proof.
What is the story behind Humidity Lifestyle?
After a lifetime of working with major brands and gaining a wealth of knowledge, plucking up the courage to create my own brand was the next step. The hubby, and I decided to pack up the kids and make a lifestyle change and move to the beautiful Margaret River region. It’s a very special, inspiring place and due to the lifestyle change I noticed a major gap in the market in lifestyle pieces.
How is Humidity Lifestyle different from other fashion brands?
The brand is not driven by fashion trends. We are influenced by trends; however, our primary focus is on our customers’ lifestyle choices and what they like to wear. We research and design colours, shapes and styles that will ensure they look and feel their very best. The essence of the brand is totally customer focused on beautiful designs, natural fibres, quality, sustainability and comfort.
Why is sustainable fashion so important?
I personally love to buy and wear pieces that I can reach for over and over again. I’m a simple chic and most comfortable in a linen shirt and jeans. My design team and I create easy to wear fashion pieces made of natural fibres where possible, that you reach for year in and year out. The idea is to encourage people to buy less, better quality and wear it all the time, not some of the time. There are too many pieces in people’s wardrobes that they just don’t wear. I love it when customers tell me “Oh I have lots of your pieces and I wear them all the time!” Yeh…. music to my ears.
How does Humidity Fashion ensure that its products are ethically-made?
Prior to Covid I was always travelling and visited each and every maker and their factories. I need to check them out and be sure we are working with reputable makers. We now have long-established relationships with these factories and won’t be changing any time soon. I have found that good quality product comes from really good factories.
How do your clothes ensure body positivity?
Many brands use the same blocks (pattern shapes) which is the signature of their brand and defines their customer’s body shape. We prefer to use a variety of blocks as our customers come in all different shapes and sizes and no one shape, fitting or person is the same. This is an area we work particularly hard as a brand and I drive the design girls a little crazy with my fitting and constant tweaking. However, my eye for detail has developed over many years, and all that tweaking ensures the garment looks great on the body. I want every garment to make our customers look and feel amazing. The design team spends hours and hours thinking about v-necks for big boobs, fitted styles for smaller busts, wider legs and hip room for larger thighs, narrower legs for skinny legs. We are designing for each and every customer to ensure they can find beautiful pieces to suit their particular body shape.
What has been your favourite part of your journey with Humidity Lifestyle?
Seeing your fashion baby grow and having your hubby encourage, support and step in to work alongside me in this crazy paced industry – I couldn’t have done it without him. We are very fortunate to have the same mutual respect for the importance of our individual roles, admiration and work ethic.
What are your three tips and tricks for buying sustainable fashion?
- Think about the piece and how often you will wear it?
- Buy natural fibres where possible
- Buy pieces you can mix and match together, so you are wearing your pieces most of the time and not just some of the time
What can we expect to see from Humidity Lifestyle in the near future and beyond?
We will continue to educate and encourage our makers to research and implement more sustainable approaches. There is always room for improvement and growth, in a rapidly changing world, this is a major focus for the future. We have been growing sustainably for the last nine years, with new customers discovering us every year and that is just the way we like it. Our repeat customer business is our greatest strength. I am happy for people to slowly discover our little well-kept secret. We will grow the brand globally in time, but only with a well-planned sustainable approach.
