Just two years ago the Malaysian raised entrepreneur decided she wanted to join the world of eco-friendly fashion and today she sits at London Fashion Week exhibiting a stylish range of sunglasses made from a quick replenishing weed – bamboo. Charlotte Marland writes.Meet Jamie Lim.
Jamie Lim stands as one of so-rarely heard of role models who went from dull office worker to hugely successful designer and did it all the ‘ethical way’. Just two years ago the Malaysian raised entrepreneur decided she wanted to join the world of eco-friendly fashion and today she sits at London Fashion Week exhibiting a stylish range of sunglasses made from a quick replenishing weed – bamboo.
“It was just that I looked at the market and realised there were no eco-friendly eyewear. And bamboo is great cause it grows twice as fast as trees and it is hard to shape, but in China it is a common trade”, Lim states while passing me her first pair.
The collection does more than provide a fair wage in commonly exploited countries, it also provides treatment for cataracts where patients go blind because they cannot afford treatment. This means that for every pair bought, KAYU funds one sight restoring surgery in the developing world.
Regardless of the positive impact the range has though, these glasses are beautiful, commercially valid accessories in their own right, having been handcrafted in a comfortably light material with 100% UV gradient lenses in five styles. Smiling as she talks through her collection, it is evident how much pride she has taken as she discloses that she has even named each style after a tropical island in the South China Sea. On closer probing about the five styles she remarks without pretence, “I just carefully considered different face shapes and which shapes would look good on them”.
Whilst this is Lim first major UK exhibition, having grown her business in the US and expanded internationally through the web, she is already preparing for the next step. Amongst her collection are four shell-like intricate bags ready to launch in May, which again show a similar intricate craftsmanship apparent in her glasses range. When asked how it feels to be moving forward so quickly, Lim is not scared to fall into a clichéd truth stating “I just wanted to give something back”.
To find out more about Jamie Lim at London Fashion Week and her other international exhibitions, find her blog online at www.kayu.com .
Jamie Lim stands as one of so-rarely heard of role models who went from dull office worker to hugely successful designer and did it all the ‘ethical way’. Just two years ago the Malaysian raised entrepreneur decided she wanted to join the world of eco-friendly fashion and today she sits at London Fashion Week exhibiting a stylish range of sunglasses made from a quick replenishing weed – bamboo.
“It was just that I looked at the market and realised there were no eco-friendly eyewear. And bamboo is great cause it grows twice as fast as trees and it is hard to shape, but in China it is a common trade”, Lim states while passing me her first pair.
The collection does more than provide a fair wage in commonly exploited countries, it also provides treatment for cataracts where patients go blind because they cannot afford treatment. This means that for every pair bought, KAYU funds one sight restoring surgery in the developing world.
Regardless of the positive impact the range has though, these glasses are beautiful, commercially valid accessories in their own right, having been handcrafted in a comfortably light material with 100% UV gradient lenses in five styles. Smiling as she talks through her collection, it is evident how much pride she has taken as she discloses that she has even named each style after a tropical island in the South China Sea. On closer probing about the five styles she remarks without pretence, “I just carefully considered different face shapes and which shapes would look good on them”.
Whilst this is Lim first major UK exhibition, having grown her business in the US and expanded internationally through the web, she is already preparing for the next step. Amongst her collection are four shell-like intricate bags ready to launch in May, which again show a similar intricate craftsmanship apparent in her glasses range. When asked how it feels to be moving forward so quickly, Lim is not scared to fall into a clichéd truth stating “I just wanted to give something back”.
To find out more about Jamie Lim at London Fashion Week and her other international exhibitions, find her blog online at www.kayu.com .