Inside the Atelier

The Space

Our studio sits on the first floor of a converted warehouse just off Goldhawk Road. It's not glamorous from the outside. The entrance is between a dry cleaner and a phone repair shop. But inside, the ceilings are high, the north-facing windows let in even light all day, and there's enough room for two large cutting tables and a wall of fabric rolls.

I moved here in 2019 with nothing but a domestic sewing machine and a box of patterns. The space has grown with the label. We now have industrial machines, a pressing station, and a small fitting area with a three-way mirror that we picked up from a closing boutique in Notting Hill.

How a Garment Begins

It always starts with fabric. I don't sketch first. I drape directly on the stand, working with whatever cloth arrived most recently from Italy. The fabric tells me what it wants to be. A stiff wool suggests structure. A fluid silk wants movement. I follow its lead.

Once I have a shape I like on the stand, I take it apart carefully and create a flat pattern. This gets cut in calico for a toile. We fit the toile on a real person. Always. Mannequins lie about how cloth behaves on a body that breathes and moves.

The Toile Process

Most pieces go through three or four toiles before the pattern is finalised. I adjust seam placement, dart angles, and ease until the garment sits exactly as I want it. This is the stage where most of the design work actually happens. The initial drape gives you the idea. The toile process gives you the garment.

My assistant Marta handles most of the machine sewing during sampling. She trained in Milan and has better instincts for seam finishing than I do. I focus on cut and fit. Between us, a sample takes roughly two days from pattern to finished piece.

Production

Once a pattern is confirmed, it goes to our production partner in Piedmont. They are a small family workshop that my grandmother used to buy fabric from before they pivoted to manufacturing in the 1990s. They employ twelve sewers and produce exclusively for independent labels like ours.

We send them graded patterns, approved fabrics, and a detailed tech pack. They produce in runs of 30 to 80 units depending on the style. Each finished garment comes back to our studio for a final quality check before shipping.

Appointments

The studio is open by appointment for fittings and to view the collection in person. Sessions run about an hour. I'll show you the pieces, talk through fabrics, and take measurements if you'd like something adjusted or made to order.