GÖTTIN DES GLÜCKS™

“Goddess of Luck”: ecologically fair, feel-good fashion with flair



The label:

“Goddess of Luck” or ‘Göttin des Glücks’ is Austria’s first ecologically fair fashion label, using exclusively certified FAIR TRADE cotton and conforming to the FAIR criteria throughout its production process. Since 2005 the Vienna-based designer collective has been working on its exceptional feel-good collection under the slogan ‘Thanks, I’m fine’ and has already been successful beyond the country’s borders.



The range:

Soft cotton jersey fabrics, flattering styles and tongue-in-cheek, printed feel-good slogans that promise good luck– fashion with freedom of movement for confident fashion freaks combining lifestyle statement with casual looks and elegance.



Who is the ‘Goddess’?

“Goddess of Luck” is a Vienna-based international fashion collective. Behind it are four young designers from Sofia, Zagreb, Baden and Vienna. We are from a variety of artistic fields (fashion and textile design, performance art, media, film and theatre studies, architecture), and in addition to the GDG range, manage our own designer labels, which range from fashion, via lifestyle, to living space accessories and furniture design. It’s no wonder that the divine creations already transcend the limits of pure fashion: a range of exceptional designer seating has appeared, and pictures, living space accessories and furniture items are also on the drawing board – always created with plenty of humour and joie de vivre. ‘In reality we’re the earthly assistants fulfilling the goddess’ wishes. Her call inspires us to create new products,’ says designer Lisa Muhr. ‘Humour, creativity and diversity are what make our group so innovative.’



How it all started

At the beginning we just had so much fun, when we all first met at a design fair in 2005, that we decided afterwards to pool our resources. The name “Göttin des Glücks” (= Goddess of Luck) popped up and we just accepted it.



By the middle of 2006 we had reached the point, where what had started out as fun had turned into a serious amount of work, but we heeded the call of the Goddess and decided that, for a ‘divine’ feel-good collection, it wasn’t enough just to be content with the appearance and wearer comfort for end users, but that our objectives had to be pursued for materials and production too. ‘A feel-good collection, whose chic exterior is bought at the cost of exploited people in subcontracting firms and production facilities, and with which our environment suffers in the process? That’s just not on’ was our decision.



So then, in mid-2006, we approached EZA Fairer Handel in Salzburg, Austria’s largest and longest-established Fair Trade import organisation. The result has been an innovative cooperation with EZA as our production and sales partner, who guarantees a transparent production and trading process from the cotton field to the retail shelf, production of FAIR TRADE-certified Indian cotton as a biologically controlled crop, compliance with minimum social standards at the intermediate production steps (spinning and fabric production) and sewing and packaging at Craft Aid on Mauritius, a socially committed production facility, which has pledged itself to Fair Trade criteria and maintains a direct trading partnership with EZA. This means: no child labour, no exploitative working conditions, no chemical hazards during cultivation or production. Instead: social responsibility and environmental consciousness – brilliantly packaged in ‘Goddess’ feel-good fashion.



The four artists behind the ‘Goddess’:

Monika Bledl, textile designer from Vienna (graphics and printing)

Lisa Muhr, architect/designer from Baden (PR and marketing)

Igor Sapic, sculptor/performance artist from Croatia (sales and distribution)

Dessi Stoytcheva, fashion designer from Bulgaria (styling and packaging)



The partners:

-Craft Aid: a socially responsible production site on the sunny island of Mauritius with 125 employees, 40% of them disabled (see ‘The Fair Trade Supply Chain’fact sheet)

-EZA fairer Handel: the Goddess’ cooperation partner, Austria’s largest import organisation for Fair Trade. Pays better prices than customary in the world market, if possible by eliminating intermediary trade, sets up direct trade partnerships with the producers (see fact sheet ‘The Fair Trade Supply Chain’)

-Clean Clothes: lobbies worldwide for the interests of workers in the clothing and sportswear industries. In Austria it is supported by union, church, women’s and development policy organisations. Last year’s Clean Clothes campaign T-shirt was developed by “Goddess of Luck”.