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Dea Baker
“I don’t follow trends. I create classic and contemporary styles.”
Aqua & Rock’s founder and Art Director Dea Baker talks about changing the sphere of sustainability one hand-printed dress and trench coat at a time.
To say that Dea Baker’s 2021 had been an eventful one would be an understatement. From winning awards to welcoming a new London flagship, and independent boutiques in New York stocking Aqua & Rock pieces, she is fast paving the way in the world of sustainability.
Whilst several businesses didn't quite make it into the new year, Aqua & Rock, on the other hand, has thrived. Established in 2019, the brand marries luxury and sustainability with its ethical practices and use of its own sustainable material, AquaTriblend, which reuses plastic, and bio-circular leather, which comes from agricultural waste.
The award-winning entrepreneur who took home the ‘Innovator of the Year’ award at the Drapers’ Independent Awards 2021 in September, made her start in the financial, business and marketing industries. “I’ve seen and been part of the fashion industry, but from the other side,” Dea recalls her daughter one day exclaiming that her generation would have to fix the problem of plastic pollution that her generation had created. “I had an epiphany at that moment to move from talking about it to taking action, and from my kitchen, I decided to look into the industry and launch a brand that could be fully sustainable,” she tells WOTC. “At the time, it didn’t exist. It’s one thing to be sustainable, another to design and a completely different thing to scale and produce it. I was taking it a step further.
Daughter to her Croatian mother and Dutch father, however, growing up in Switzerland, her Swiss accent could be clearly heard as she spoke. “We launched and went onto the Pure London trade show in March, and two weeks later, Covid stalled everything,” she recalls. The global pandemic inevitably affected the brand, which was flourishing at the time, leaving Dea devastated but reluctant to give up. “I had to stay strong and adapt my strategies, looking at how I could grow and scale-up.” Using the unique materials that she had discovered, she branched out. She began cultivating other products like the brand’s unique Art Trainers, which are made out of chrome-free leather and come in 3 beautiful designs. Interiors was an area the sustainable brand also explored, offering an exquisite range of lamps and vases perfect for making any house a home.
Dea considers sustainability as the only way to move forward. “We need to protect nature. It’s where we source all our living. It’s not our inheritance, but our future. To continue down the path we were going was affecting climate change and health. For instance, cheap trainers with chemicals and alloys cause allergies and health problems people are not aware of. We need to revert to safe options.” The Aqua & Rock brand incorporates ecotone leather which is natural and organic, driven by a bio-circular economy and can later be used as a fertilizer. “I don’t follow trends. I create classic and contemporary styles. [..] the bio-circular leather I created will be durable for the next ten years, because your garments are an investment and should not be disposable.”
As far as sustainability goes, the industry has only just begun to catch up in the last 18 months, whilst for Dea, it has always been at the core and she also remains uncompromising when it comes to style. “Sustainable brands are not always attractive and well designed. They're swarmed with the reputation that they are frumpy and are not captivating to women who want to feel confident and beautiful. Young women want to feel gorgeous and so your clothes should reflect that.”
The brand’s dresses are hand-printed and drawn by an artist, and Dea’s personal favourite; the Blue Thetis Trench coat with wooden buckles are made in Slovenia by a community. “Each piece has its own story,” she shares.
At WOTC Fashion Week, Dea showcased pieces from Aqua & Rock’s SS collection, at their sustainable runway show. “You can wear the pieces in different seasons, hence why we showcased the clothes and decided to layer them,” she finishes.
In the new era of fashion brands and any other industry, women have adopted a new mindset, focused on collaboration and it’s exactly what Dea wants Aqua & Rock to stand for.
Customers are able to shop Aqua & Baker’s vast collection at their flagship Covent Garden store and online at aqua-rock.com. Select pieces are also able to be personalised. Sustainable fashion lovers should also look out for their nearest Aqua & Baker store in Switzerland and the South of France soon.