Tucked away in the wilds of East London is a Studio with a difference.  It’s where Faustine Steinmetz works her magic spinning, dying and weaving her own fabrics, up-cycling old textiles and turning the ordinary into the curiously exotic.

Her work isn’t about re-defining the silhouette into dramatic statements, instead she wants her clothes to have a grounded reference point. Each piece is chosen from the iconic element of our wardrobes – the pieces you reach for without thinking.  It’s then the re-construction that gets taken to a whole new level.

Choices are made – like the denim will be made from mohair – and from that point, everything is handmade and hand dyed, right down to familiar red tabs and labels which are hand woven on looms in the studio.

These jeans were tapestried by hand to create the illusion of aged denim using hundreds and thousands of tiny stitches. The process took ten people 3 months to complete.

The idea behind this jacket was to create something that looked as if it had spent years floating in the sea.

(All pictures by Sanna Helena Berger)

Her concept is as far away from fast fashion as you can get, but it also challenges the thought processes of luxury brands.  Many of the pieces she chooses as her inspiration, like the 501 levi jeans, were originally designed for labourers –  made out of necessity rather than for beauty for the ordinary person on the street.  But for Faustine luxury is not a glittering ball gown made from rare pleated silks and worn once,  ‘luxury’ means somebody spending the time and talent to create something unique using pride and passion to create with integrity and heart.

Laters, Kate x