Lola Young was awarded an OBE in 2001 and appointed a life peer in the House of Lords in 2004.  She is best known as an artist, author, and Arts and Heritage Consultant, a woman who has described her fashion sense as “funky elegance with a classic twist”.

Baroness Young was Head of Culture at the Greater London Authority from 2001- 2004, where she developed a number of strategic initiatives alongside the, at the time,  Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. Together, they built  relationships with external agencies in order to deliver a range of programmes aimed at enhancing  culture in London.

Public appointments and committee responsibilities have included membership of English Heritage’s Blue Plaques Committee, membership of the board of the Royal National Theatre, the South Bank Centre, and the board of Governors of Middlesex University. She was formerly Chair of the Arts Council’s Cultural Diversity Panel, and has been on the board of Resource, the Council of Museums, Archives and Libraries. She has chaired the judging panel of the Orange Prize for Fiction.

Baroness Young has a real passion for sustainability in all its forms, including in  

fashion. “There is one world and we are sharing it” explains Baroness Young. “As I have become more aware of the issues  surrounding clothing, I’m trying to be a bit smarter about that too. The Centre for Sustainable Fashion is doing a great job of educating fashion students which is really important”.

Baroness Young, who regularly champions sustainable and ethical issues, was surprised to discover that in the Houses of Parliament there was no All Party group concerned with the issues surrounding sustainable fashion, or even fashion in general. This is something the Baroness is currently about to put right with the help of MADE-BY’s industry expertise and secretariat services.

MADE-BY ambassador Baroness Young takes the issue of sustainable fashion and clothing to the very heart of government and decision-making. Thanks to Baroness Young, the people that make the laws that directly impact on how sustainable fashion can become common practice are now a little bit better informed than they were.