Jeff Garner

Jeff Garner is a man for all seasons with Southern manners and a poet’s soul. 

He looks like he just stepped out of a film from the golden age of Hollywood after doing something incredibly heroic or fabulously dastardly. Jeff cuts an impressive figure across the world of ethical fashion. 

Prophetik was set up eight years ago in Jeff’s hometown of Franklin, Tennessee to produce romantic wearable clothes for both women and men. The brand is sold in more than sixty outlets all over the world including Livia Firth’s Eco Age and Sex in The City stylist Patrica Field’s New York shop. Loved by celebrities as diverse as the Jonas Brothers and the Kings of Leon, the label uses materials from organic cotton to Greenspun which is made out of recycled bottles to produce the range. 

In the run up to Prophetik’s show at London Fashion Week, I interviewed Jeff about the brand. 

How are you feeling about showing during London Fashion Week?
Loving every minute of preparation…This is the first season I really have a strong team around me to help support and carry the line to a whole new level, plus we have ambition towards a better tomorrow being a catalyst for change in sustainable fashion and production. Plus I get to ride horses in Hyde Park…missing my horses. 

Is London more open to ethical fashion than the US?
I don’t know if more open is the term to describe it but more programmed towards it. If you really analyse the cultures, America was based on expansion, land, and free trade. We have taken that to a very commercial societal level of fast food chains and wholesale discount stores. It’s not about quality but quantity with big companies, unlike European nations that understand the value of goods, knowing that space is limited and waste is next door to them, not an ocean away. Mentalities are more sustainable naturally based on the environment they were raised in. 

Prophetik has become incredibly successful. Has being an ethical brand made the journey more difficult?
Anything worth doing is a challenge and struggle. With being ethical you have limited choices when it comes to production, fabric, etc., so unlike mainstream design, your options are limited making you a more precise designer knowing that every decision you make has an affect, hence accountability in a creative medium, which I believe is the most beautiful marriage, for there is no co-dependence. One gives to another creating a loving relationship to environment and people. 

What is your design process and what are your influences?
I wish it were a process. It seems more like a thought that gets on a speed train and does not stop until it runs out of steam. Basically, I have a vision, a dream, it is vivid and visually shows a scene, then it continues to happen and comes to life in my daily life confirming to me that I need to focus on it. Then I begin to research and study…in the library or on the streets in Bosnia or in the jungles of Costa Rica. I am influenced by passionate individuals in life, serving a purpose and recognising their destiny…it’s a beautiful thing and becomes a muse of sorts. 

Who is the Prophetik woman?
She is classic with an inner beauty of strength and boldness not defined by the world, yet wise enough to choose her battles. She walks with confidence and needs no affirmation yet she is sweet to the touch and melts to the poetic word by the fire of romantic life, but her sword is near by as she sleeps until the early morning light beneath the canopy of a glistening oak tree. 

Has celebrities wearing your clothes helped challenge the perceptions of ethical fashion?
Anytime someone of influence can partake in a positive energy I believe it helps drive the cause further. When given influence, I believe one has the responsibility to give back to the universe. The artists and celebrities that we dress or that purchase our line hopefully connect to our spirit and cause, and without voice can challenge others to be conscious, for in this society they are the leaders to so many. 

What is the future for Prophetik and ethical fashion?
The future is created, so I plan to keep driving forward until I end up back with Mother Earth. I will strive to help engage others in this quest. I am currently working with Griffin Technologies on designing a soft goods line for Apple for the iPhone and other products that biodegrade. If you analyse the consumer electronics market, soft products outlast the use of the technology creating massive waste, so we’re aiming to change that through our initial design. I am serving the best I can in a society that does not recognise the importance of changing consumer wastefulness, for the sustainability of our future. One generation plants and the next receives the shade. 

www.prophetik.com