The first half of 2023 has been busy for Lark & Berry. Our small team has been hard at work for months preparing the launch of Lark & Berry Match, our new platform, which is now live and open for business.

Since Lark & Berry's launch in 2018, we have been a near-permanent fixture in the press and on red carpets at events around the world, including the Oscars, Met Galas, BAFTA events and more.

However, after revolutionizing the diamond industry by being the world's first fine designer brand to use only cultured diamonds and stones, we realised that we wanted to extend our reach beyond jewellery. As a result, we created Lark & Berry Match, a meticulously curated selection of unique and innovative fashion brands from around the world, each with its distinct style and approach to design and production.

We have curated a selection of the world's most disruptive high-end luxury fashion brands, each carefully selected for their unique story and commitment to better and innovative production practices and their dedication to giving back to communities and helping people.

Lark & Berry Match's curation includes high-end fashion items such as handbags, loungewear, casual and formal wear, shoes, and sunglasses. The portal also offers a range of lab-grown gemstone jewellery brands, including Alondra, Simple Diamond, Starry Nights, Colour and Gem, and Noah C.W., catering to a vast array of tastes and styles.

"This is a new shopping portal made solely of MUST-HAVE items. We've sorted through hundreds of brands and continue to do so," explained Lark & Berry founder Laura Chavez.

"We only invite those who exhibit exceptional quality in the luxury goods they produce. Coupled with that, we only want those brands that are creating in unique ways. These are brands that have great stories to tell and whose inspirations will compel customers to wear their items proudly. This type of natural, 100% genuine passion to create shows in the products one produces, and whether the customer even consciously realizes it or not, it's all making for a piece of clothing or accessory they will absolutely love."

Those unique ways in which our Match partner brands are creating their disruptive designs? Well, that's our favourite part.

Over the next two or three months, we are going to share many of these brands' founder stories with you by letting them speak for themselves, both here on our Lark & Berry blog through print interviews we have been conducting with them, and on our Lark & Berry affiliated Diamond Disruptor Podcast, set to relaunch soon, featuring interviews we did in podcast form.

For now, here's just a sampling of some fascinating qualities of how our Match brands are uniquely creating their disrupting designs:

1800 Gallons - 1800 Gallons' commitment to sustainability begins with their name - a reference to the amount of water it takes to make just one new pair of typical, fast-fashion jeans. Made in London, this studio uses only industry deadstock or upcycled denim pieces.

Bastet Noir - This Macedonian-made brand specialises in stylish women's clothing for all seasons, tastefully riding the line between formal and casual. Bastet Noir's selections are made from natural deadstock fabrics, hand-picked by the team, which is comprised of only single mothers being paid a fair wage in an often conflicted fashion industry.

BEEN - BEEN founder Genia Mineeva seeks to rescue materials destined for landfill and turn them into timeless, classically designed handbags. This is a practice that goes beyond zero waste... it's eliminating environmental harm to make something functional, stylish and beautiful!

Benedetti Life - Choosing Benedetti Life is a choice for conscious, unique luxury fashion that stylishly stands out - all while making a positive statement. The brand is reimagining luxury fashion by using only local, non-toxic, vegan textiles to create its Haute looks.

Campo Collection - Ever mindful of a "slow fashion" sustainable design practice, this Miami, Florida-based luxury loungewear label's fabric is ethically sourced, and all garments are consciously produced locally and in support of women artisans employed from surrounding communities.

Emily Westenberger - Los Angeles-based designer Emily Westenberger makes every item by hand - the very definition of "slow fashion." This process is inherently waste preventative, as zero excess clothing items are created in the hope someone will purchase them. Westenberger strives to be transparent throughout her hand-tailored process of creation, educating others along the way and setting standards for a more sustainable and ethical fashion industry.

LOLADARLING - founder Emanuela Giovanardi discovers gems - amazing vintage clothes she reconstructs entirely by hand, combining antiquated artisanal methods and innovative industrial technologies. Taking something old and turning it into something new is the very essence of sustainability in fashion, making LOLADARLING a perfect match for Lark & Berry's Match concept.

OutOfSyncWales - Jackie and her two daughters Kate and Megan use sustainable and rescued fabrics, with limited runs on garments to create luxury fashion that is original and on-trend for wherever you may wear it.

Pala Eyewear - For every pair of sunglasses sold, Pala gives back to eye-care programmes across Africa. This is achieved through Pala providing grants directly to vision centres, dispensaries and screening and training programmes through a partner charity. To date, more than 11,000 sight-impaired Africans-in-need have had their lives positively changed thanks to receiving a pair of prescription glasses or corrective surgery. To top it all off, Pala chooses materials that are better for the environment, which means staying on top of innovation in the materials they use across every part of their product.

Sambar - Sambar doesn't believe in wearing animals; consequently, all their fabrics are 100% vegan. Sambar also uses organic cotton and all sorts of recycled materials to create their many fashionable accessories. The brand also only creates new items when its existing collections have sold out - part of an environmentally conscious "slow fashion" ethos.

ZEROBARRACENTO - Two key aspects of how ZEROBARRACENTO are doing things differently are represented in their name – for the brand, “ZERO” means zero waste, reduction of pollution and emissions and zero discrimination of gender identity. “CENTO%” (one hundred percent) refers to the exceptional quality of the brand’s clothing, which is made in Italy, with sustainable fabrics and full production transparency.

Stay tuned here to our blog and subscribe now if you haven’t to the Diamond Disruptor podcast on any of your favourite platforms. Be on the lookout for the first episode in our Match Founders series later this month!