From a country that prided itself on the class of old classics, Britain has transformed itself into Europe’s premier fast fashion nation. The grip of the high street and its ultra low-cost clothes, where a dress can cost less than the price of a cappuccino, is a challenge for people who believe that slowing down is the natural way to success.

So it is laudable that Monsoon, considered a boho version of high street style, should have been quick to latch on to an important trend: sustainable fashion.

As sponsors of Estethica, a loose group of “green” suppliers, Monsoon helps small companies display their goods at the Designers’ Exhibition, the British fashion trade show. And through its Accessorize brand, Monsoon has gone one step further. It sponsored in 2007 the Turquoise Mountain project, supporting a workshop for Afghan female embroiderers in the old city of Kabul. Working with the Iranian-American designer Sarah Takesh, Afghan embroidery is entering the fashion universe.

But the most striking thing about the displays at Estethica is that there is so little to suggest the ethnic, the worthy or the overtly ecological. To put it another way: The clothes are stylish and could have come from anywhere.

Or “From Somewhere,” the name that Orsola de Castro, the curator of Estethica, gave to the company that she and her partner founded to use lengths of fabric that manufacturers discard.

“We were bored by the pre-concept that sustainable fashion was hemp sacks and uncomfortable itchy socks,” she says. “We knew that there were more exciting things coming along so we approached the British Fashion Council, saying, ‘let’s do it as fashion.’ ”

“Traditional recycling has more to do with reconstructing old garments,” she says. “We went to the source. We thought how to get the most beautiful fabrics at the cheapest price so we can afford to have a fashion business. Hence we found the best way was to use pre-consumer waste, meaning we use everything everyone abandons after their production.”

Katharine Hamnett of Britain was the founding mother of politicized fashion, using T-shirts in the 1980s as an anti-Margaret Thatcher and ant-war statement.

A hooded sweatshirt with the words “World Peace Now” is a typical example of the Katharine E Hamnett range of organic cotton T-shirts displayed at Estethica. But for many designers, the aim is not political or didactic, but rather practical.

The focus is from head to feet, including the well-known Terra Plana shoe brand that uses vegetable-tanned leather and sustainable construction. Veja’s fair trade sneakers are made from organic cotton and natural latex from the Amazon – a big leap from the sweatshop and child labor situations rife in the sports shoe market.

“Green” fashion also encompasses underwear and high fashion. Elena Garcia wanted to make the most glamorous of garments to show that sustainable clothing can have couture quality. Chosen by Estethica as one of the promising new contributors in the field, Garcia and her partner take the view that people will be prepared to pay a high price not because something is organic nor because it helps women who might otherwise struggle to find work – but because it is beautiful.

“We do silk organic garments and we control every part of the process in the making of these garments,” Garcia says. “We buy them from India and China and they have no pesticides at any stage of the production of silk.”

“We do all the making and embellishment in the U.K.,” she says. “We work with the Hera Women’s project on Brick Lane to do all the kind of cut work where we use all our scraps to apply the satin panels onto the silk chiffon. We embroider and cut around it and we do the whole thing using metal-free, low-impact dyes.”

“People are not just going to spend money on something because it’s organic. With the cheap fashion people have a mental price in their head about how much they’re prepared to pay for a T-shirt,” Garcia added. “We can’t compete with China and the big money factories, so we’ll make something so beautiful that people will want to buy it no matter what.”

Now that the concept of fair trade has been established and taken up by mainstream stores with ethical stands, like Marks & Spencer, the focus from small producers is on vacuuming up the industry’s multitude of waste.

Mark Liu has created a new way of pattern cutting to eliminate the usual wasteful process of fitting arms, collar, back and front on to one flat piece of cloth.

“I basically turned the whole of tailoring upside-down to make garment that fit together like a jigsaw pieces – nothing is wasted in the end,” Liu says. “There is about 15 percent waste created in every garment made if you think about industrial production where they are making thousands of garments.”

In its fourth season, Estethica has achieved its ambition of making the products look streamlined, modern and a fit with the rest of the fashion fair – rather than garments that scream “vegan” or “worthy” – and de Castro thinks that is just how things should be.

“We basically felt that the time was right to present sustainability as it could be – rather that what it has been,” she says. “As a major design force within the industry rather than camping gear. What we showcase here aren’t just brands that are here to save the planet. We are here to sell clothes. We aim at the same wardrobes as other traditional designers.”

Suzy Menkes, February 14th 2008, International Herald Tribune