Photo by Anna Miyoshi
In 2018, Canada legalised marijuana along with Michigan, which became the tenth state to approve the substance for recreational use in the US, join the growing list of places where people are free to light a blunt. The UK on the other hand, barely legalised marijuana for highly restricted medical use last year. Claire Yurika Davis, the woman behind latex label Hanger, created a full-blown green-out with hemp and pot prints for her “High Altitudes” show, to let people know that she is part of the majority in the UK that wants legalisation.
Davis, known for her sci-fi-inspired latex looks, incorporated hemp into her collection for the first time. Although illegal to cultivate in many places, and only grown with regulated licenses in the UK – because of its capability to produce THC, the psychoactive component of pot – fabric made out of the plant is fairly clean compared to the synthetic microfibres in other textiles and very easily grown. It is literally a weed. Instead of serving up crunchy looks in shades of brown, Davis worked with the fabric to give it the sleek texture that the rest of her line is known for.
In addition to the hemp-plant fabrics, Hanger also included a green pot print on her classic latex items, which are also sustainable as latex, unlike PVC, is tapped from a rubber plant. Davis, who is outspoken about her views on pot advocates for personal, medicinal and industrial uses of plants in the UK, which is behind North America and much of Europe when it comes to marijuana tolerance, legally speaking.
The show featured a min-forest of hemp. Photo by Anna Miyoshi. Courtesy of Hanger
Across the UK, any product containing more than .02 per cent falls into the Class B drug category, which can carry a prison sentence of up to five years for possession and up to 14 years for supplying and producing. And while parliament “legalised” medical marijuana – after public outrage that boys with severe epilepsy were being denied access to cannabis oil – access remains low, with non-prescription use remaining criminalised.
“Medical cannabis has not been legalised per se in the UK. The government have made it possible for cannabis-based medicinal products to be lawfully prescribed by specialist doctors”, Kirstie Douse, head of legal services at the UK drug law charity, Release, tells SLEEK. She added that only specialists can prescribe it and that patient groups are taking the lead on educating doctors about therapeutic uses that are already in place in other countries.
Avinash Tharooor, Release’s policy and communications officer says that attitudes of policy makers in the UK remain relatively conservative on the subject of weed in general. “The UK’s ideological abstinence-focused approach to drug policy has hindered progress for medical cannabis, partly due to fears that doing so would be seen as condoning illegal drug use, and also because of successive governments’ refusal to acknowledge the drug’s numerous medical benefits,” Tharoor tells SLEEK.
Still, a recent Populus study, commissioned by Volteface and the Centre for Medicinal Cannabis found that 59 percent of the UK is in favour of total legalisation. For now, Brits have to stick to cannabis-based clothing.
Check out backstage images from the show below:
Photos by Anna Miyoshi. Courtesy of Hanger