Introduction

Noir and the organic cotton brand Illuminati II

Illuminati II

Illuminati II is a cotton brand, which aims to produce cotton fabrics of the highest possible quality from organic and fair traded cotton grown in Uganda.-Introduction:...

 were founded concurrently in 2005, and together with the diffusion line Bllack Noir

Bllack Noir

Bllack Noir is a diffusion line from Danish luxury fashion brand Noir.-The Brand:Noir was established in 2005 based on a vision of making meaningful and desirable consumption possible for the modern conscious fashion consumer...

, introduced in 2008, the three brands are owned by the holding company Noir Illuminati II Holding.

Noir’s design philosophy has its fulcrum in contrasts where shiny fabrics are set against matt textiles and stringent lines are combined with voluminous shapes. Inspiration is drawn from the dark side, literature such as Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...

 and the Victorian era

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

, mixed with sadomasochistic elements.

Objective

Peter Ingwersen’s founding vision behind Noir was to set up a luxury fashion apparel brand

Brand

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

 that in all links of the supply chain

Supply chain

A supply chain is a system of organizations, people, technology, activities, information and resources involved in moving a product or service from supplier to customer. Supply chain activities transform natural resources, raw materials and components into a finished product that is delivered to...

 was based upon Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility is a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model...

 principles.
Inspired by the Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist

Zeitgeist is "the spirit of the times" or "the spirit of the age."Zeitgeist is the general cultural, intellectual, ethical, spiritual or political climate within a nation or even specific groups, along with the general ambiance, morals, sociocultural direction, and mood associated with an era.The...

 – or ‘the spirit of the times’ – Ingwersen wanted Noir to be the first luxury clothing brand to incorporate social responsibility into the business model

Business model

A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value...

 and blend organic

Organic movement

The organic movement broadly refers to the organizations and individuals involved worldwide in the promotion of organic farming, which is a more sustainable mode of agriculture...

 and fair trade

Fair trade

Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries make better trading conditions and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as higher social and environmental standards...

 principles with mink, leather and similarly luxurious materials. The founding idea behind Noir was thus to create socially conscious fashion in an industry that is not otherwise known for its commitment to social responsibility. In other words: "We want to be known as the first brand to turn corporate social responsibility sexy”, says Peter Ingwersen.
Noir strives to live up to their objective by using the principles of the UN Global Compact

UN Global Compact

The United Nations Global Compact, also known as Compact or UNGC, is a United Nations initiative to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on their implementation...

, the International Labor Organization and the International Chamber of Commerce

International Chamber of Commerce

The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise....

 as guidelines in all links of the production

Manufacturing

Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...

 process. Manufacturers are selected based on their commitment to quality, respect for social ethics and the environment. All manufactures are audited on a regular basis to ensure that the above standards are adhered to.

Supply Chain

When Noir was founded in 2005, Peter Ingwersen

Peter Ingwersen

Peter Ingwersen is a Danish fashion designer.-Life:Ingwersen grew up on his parents' farm outside of Kolding, then went to study at the Danish School of Design. Today he lives in the centre of Copenhagen...

 experienced great difficulties in finding organic and fair traded yard good, which were of an applicable quality for a luxury brand. Thus, Peter Ingwersen was compelled to establish his own production under the Illuminati II

Illuminati II

Illuminati II is a cotton brand, which aims to produce cotton fabrics of the highest possible quality from organic and fair traded cotton grown in Uganda.-Introduction:...

 brand in order to secure a stable supply of premium cotton textiles. Illuminati II

Illuminati II

Illuminati II is a cotton brand, which aims to produce cotton fabrics of the highest possible quality from organic and fair traded cotton grown in Uganda.-Introduction:...

 supplies organic and fair traded cotton fabrics to the Noir and Bllack Noir collections.
Furthermore, great importance is placed on the origin of the furs used by Noir. All animals for cow hides

Hides

A hide is an animal skin treated for human use. Hides include leather from cattle and other livestock animals, alligator skins, snake skins for shoes and fashion accessories and furs from wild cats, mink and bears. In some areas, leather is produced on a domestic or small industrial scale, but most...

 and goatskins

Goatskin (material)

Goatskin is the skin of a goat.Non tanned goatskin is used for parchment or for drumheads or sounding boards of some musical instruments, e.g., mišnice in medieval Europe, bodhrán in Ireland, esraj in India and for instrumental drum skin named bedug in Indonesia.Tanned leather from goatskin is...

 come from food farming, and all other furs are purchased from “kopenhagen fur”, a supplier of skins from state-controlled productions and OA certified.

Presentations and Exhibitions

Noir presents at Copenhagen Fashion Week, which is held every year in February and August.
In 2009 and 2010, Noir won Ethical Brand of the Year at DANSK Fashion Awards.
Noir has exhibited at Estethica, the eco sustainable initiative by the British Fashion Council

British Fashion Council

The British Fashion Council is a non-profit trade group for British fashion designers founded in 1983.Based in London and currently chaired by Harold Tillman, who took over from friend Sir Stuart Rose, its main goal is to promote British fashion design across the world.-Main activities:The main...

 (BFC), at London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week

London Fashion Week is an apparel trade show held in London, England twice each year, in February and September. It is one of the "Big Four" fashion weeks, along with New York Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week.-Organization:...

.