It seems that the older I get the more I fall for fabrics, the softness, the way they feel, and I almost don’t care about the design if I fall in love with a fabric.
I find myself touching every shirt in a clothing shop, or looking at the label when I can’t figure out if I’m feeling synthetic or organic softness. I can be very disappointment when a fabric fools me, so soft to the touch, I tell myself this must be cashmere or silk to then look at the label and see it is viscose or a mix of fabrics of which I just can’t figure out what the actual origin is…like modal or Lyocell.
Especially in my favourite places to browse through racks of treasures like TKmaxx ( TJmaxx in the US) or vintage shops.
This coat Lola is wearing is a vintage Dries van Noten - it is soooo soft and warm and in my opinion the perfect combination of FABRIC and DESIGN
Madam Jansen
When I just opened my store I sold a lot of handmade products, mostly curated local. And one day a lady walked in with 2 giant bags of handknitted cardigans. She was 83 years old and told me that she had a lot more if I was interested. This was the start of a very special and never disappointing collaboration. This amazing woman knitted patterns that where so incredibly beautiful an detailed. Madam Jansen was her name and her cardigans that always came with the perfect matching buttons became famous in our city and people on the street would spot an other ‘mevrouw Jansen’ from across the street!
Of course I personally collected a (embarrassing) amount of them. And because Madam Jansen really just wanted to knit, and didn’t have the means to buy expensive wool. She took what ever she could lay her hands on. Some cardigans where absolutely stunning but when washed they would feel like hard synthetic rope. This was one of those exceptions where I did chose the design of her masterpieces above the fabric. And I do wear some of them and every time wished she was still here and I could ask her to knit me one similar with a gorgeous pure wool….
...dont make me choose...
For a while now I follow the Instagram account of lily.eve.store . I did not only fall in love with their designs but also with Michel (go and have a look, you will fall in love too!).
They make absolutely gorgeous jackets and accessories from vintage Hermes towels, scarfs and blankets. To me this is the perfect combination of absolutly amazing fabrics combined with stunning design. Their jackets are an absolute homage to the high-end fabrics and a true example of the difficult frase upcycling. Browsing through their collection I suddenly had to think about the fabric of ‘simple’ designs like a towel, scarf or a blanket, and how it is the only thing that really distinguish a high-end product from a average product. I mean is really is just a square! I remember the first time I got to hold a luxury designer towel, damm it was heavy and so soft!
Most towels in my life where leaning more towards sand-paper then zero twist, double pulled up loops terry cloth.
Fun fact – the word Terry-cloth comes from the French ‘tirer’ which means to pull, describing the pulled loops in the weave.
Below you see some items made by Lily Eve, on the left a jacket made from a Hermes blanket and the two on the right are made from Hermes towels.
I want to tell myself that I choose fabric over design, but you show me an old-school PVC jacket from Fiorucci and I am sold!
Love, Eva
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