I set up Justine Tabak because I wanted to show that a fashion business could operate both ethically and sustainably. In my eyes, fashion should be joyful and life enhancing, it is a celebration of beauty and creativity and a way each of us can express our individuality without causing harm to the world around us.

However, in my early career, I worked for many years in fast fashion and became only too aware that there is a dark side to this industry.  Newspaper reports tell us again and again that fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world, producing mountains of waste and poisonous chemicals. And it’s not just the environmental cost that concerns me, the human cost is huge too; global brands use cheap labour to manufacture these mountains of unwanted, discarded and cheap clothes; it is a vicious circle resulting in a devastating race to the bottom.

Justine Tabak was established in 2018 with the aim of doing things differently. We became part of the ‘slow fashion’ movement, focusing our efforts into manufacturing small batches of beautifully crafted clothes right here in the heart of London. As far as possible, I source fabrics from the British Isles; when that’s not possible, I revive deadstock material that would otherwise have gone to waste.

We also design with longevity in mind. Our styles are simple, charming, practical and pretty with a touch of romance thrown in. We hope you find our styles ‘keepers’, the dresses in your wardrobe that you pull out time and again for years to come.