I’m Alison, the founder of the Sustainable Fashion Party and AllyPally Vintage, a gateway for those who want to make more valued choices and be part of a social and life-style movement.
Originally from Derry, I moved to Manchester 26 years ago to study Media Performance at Salford University whilst immersing myself in the city’s arts & culture scene. On finishing University I went on to carve out a successful career in sales and business and developed a wealth of experience in connecting people and businesses together.
Using this passion and my creativity I wanted to make my own mark and play a role in encouraging people to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Merging my worlds, the Sustainable Fashion Party was born. This event brings citizens together and meets people where they are on their journey to becoming a more conscious consumer.
Incredibly passionate about clothing and the ethics that surround the industry, also led to setting up a vintage page online ‘Ally Pally Vintage’
Here I sell handpicked vintage items selected from clothes markets and secondhand shops from around the world.
The journey has now brought me to Camilla and the formation of the Manchester Fashion Movement CIC. The movement is to create a world that works for everyone and to spark valuable conversations on sustainability with varying audiences. We want to spread the message and attract the critical mass we so very much need to make a difference. If we want to take a different path we need to realise we are powerful; we being a community, a street, an individual. Forming MFM has made me much more aware of the importance of giving back to Mother Earth more than we take and raising awareness to push us closer to the future we want. The MFM platform is there so we can work together, share learning and be catalysts for broader and transformative change.
Fashion and style have always been very personal to me as it relates to the skin condition I have eczema. Always feeling I needed to cover up I’ve used fashion, styling and customising to detract from the condition over the years. This is the spark that caused my own revolution, creating unique outfits was a way for me to have a place on the dancefloor and not have to shrink back into my skin. Through the power of hiding my skin condition I began as a teenager dragging my mum around second hand shops in Derry, Belfast and Dublin to buy vintage. I’d then get her to up-cycle the garments to look like things I’d seen in Vogue; I’ve pretty much continued this my whole life, just not dragging my mum around as much anymore!
I’ve always been at the heart of the arts and culture scene so have become a good connector. I’ve partied from the day I arrived in Manchester – I was on the hacienda dance-floor that very night. To innovate we must connect with people from a range of different backgrounds to create a nice mixing pot of ideas.
Everyone involved in the Sustainable Fashion Party event whole-heartedly got behind it so it enabled me to produce a hugely successful event in 7wks. The buzz around the event cemented it for me that there is a massive appetite for change. I’m now firmly playing my part in the turning of the tide with a personal authenticity which is helping people find their community.
Over the last year we have been able to reflect on what’s important, what we need to survive and what we don’t; it’s an opportunity post Covid to rebuild a world we really want for each-other. One where voices are heard, one of trust, transparency and new standards and one that is cleaner and greener, one of sustainability, creativity and products that we value, respect and cherish.
My journey is now taking me from spreading the sustainable spotlight on the dancefloor to spreading the MFM message “future-proofing our world thru’ fashion” and I’m fully dedicated to making a difference for our collective future. Who wants to move with us #movewithmfm