Hemp. My absolute favorite material for making bodices. I adore the contrast with silk, the way the smooth, sheer, impalpable chiffons contrast with the rough grainy antiqueness of the vintage hemp.
I collect these one of a kind pieces at vintage markets across northern Italy, they are old, sometimes dating back to the mid 1800. They are handwoven, hand spun, the perfect shade of natural ivory.
After carefully soaking and washing these, we roll them up and store them for future use. They are precious, as no one makes these anymore and will one day be gone.
Category Archives: Process
Vogue UK has recognised the attention and effort we put into designing and creating eco-friendly wedding dresses in a careful, sustainable way.
They chose us among the top wedding dress designers who “… adopt an ethical and environmentally friendly style to the bridal industry, with initiatives that include the recycling of vintage fabrics, using natural dyes and championing local craftspeople…” and included us in a top eight list that collects sustainable wedding dress brands worldwide.
We have chose to sell wedding dresses at a distance: here you can read why we did that, and we share some interviews with women who chose to purchase their wedding dress from us in the past.
I’m leaving for a short vacation in Madrid tomorrow, yay! So today, I’m sewing up some clothes for myself. A couple simple floral dresses along the lines of this grey floral one, and some tops and cardigans.
We just finished a version of the Amaryllis dress that is designed specifically for breastfeeding, and are quite excited about it! Because we make dresses to measure, often each dress is one of a kind, with elements designed and made specifically for the wearer.
My in-studio photo setting is finally complete! It’s taken quite a few months and a lot of research but it’s finally all set up. Today I tried it out for the first time and I am so happy with what came out! I cant wait to experiment some more, and get some of those new pieces I have been working on online!
Aaand…. it’s made! The custom wedding outfit, that is.
After I draped out the pattern for the blouse yesterday, getting the v-neck and shoulder folds exactly the way I wanted them, marking everything out and drawing out a nice armhole, I proceeded to remove the muslin from the dress form.
I ironed it out flat, and traced the shape and markings on to paper, smoothing out the lines and correcting the curves as I did, and then I added seam allowances.
Today I did a quick drape of a custom wedding blouse I am going to make tomorrow.
I am back to dyeing cloth this week.
There’s something in this process that brings back childhood memories of mud pies, grass and rose petal soups. As if making princess dresses weren’t enough.
I can’t describe the feeling, work and play mix into one as I brew the potion-like concoctions necessary for extracting the color from the plant.
When hearing about my job, the first thing people ask me is how do I manage to get the sizing of my clothing right, without ever seeing my clients in person.
Well, here’s a peek in to my process, and in to how it works for me!