Journal
Standards of sustainable fashion in Lada Vyvialová's atelier
What principles guide Lada Vyvialová's designs? The article presents the emphasis on local production, the choice of materials and a personal relationship with the garment.
"When I started out in the field, I could not find a single white T-shirt I could put on knowing that no child in the third world had torn its fingers sewing it and no cotton plantations had destroyed the ecosystem of a distant subtropical region. And if I could not find such a T-shirt, perhaps there are more people who go without. So I began looking for a way to create fashion ecologically, ethically, locally and, at the same time, functionally and stylishly. In the lines below you will find the principles I hold to in my work. I do not know whether it is the best route to sustainable fashion. But it is the way that makes the most sense to me."
Lada Vyvialová
A sustainable brand = clothing made IN HOUSE
The whole process of creating a garment, from the production of the fabric onwards, takes place in one location – our atelier in Příbor. Design, pattern shaping, digitisation, sampling, sewing, packing and sales.
Slow fashion
At the LADA atelier we embrace the idea of slow fashion and of creating only clothing that brings its wearer benefits not found in clothing that already exists. Because there is enough clothing everywhere, and if the world stopped producing new clothing now, the stocks would last the next 5 generations for the rest of their lives. That is why we focus on nano material. It behaves like functional clothing, and we describe its characteristics in detail in a separate article on the blog. From nano fabric we sew quality clothing with a long lifespan, multifunctional use and minimalist design. Thanks to these attributes, the clothing lasts many years and remains modern and combinable regardless of current trends.
Quality materials
We use fabrics that make sense to us in terms of their quality, function and sustainability. The main material in our atelier is the certified Czech nanotechnology already mentioned, whose functional benefits are not found in natural fibres. Unlike other nanomaterials, it firmly anchors the silver nanoparticles as the fibre is made, which prevents the nanoparticles from being released. Nor does it release microparticles. The production of this nano fabric consumes no water and no hazardous chemicals.
Some of our pieces are also sewn from natural materials that occur naturally in Central Europe, such as linen or wool. For the part of our clothing where we work with cotton, we use Egyptian cotton exclusively. It is the highest-quality cotton in the world, it has a long life and it is also grown closest to Central Europe.
Local suppliers
We work with local manufacturers and support the local economy. Not only to reduce the ecological burden caused by transport, but also so that we can oversee production and, where needed, consult it and adjust it with the makers to our satisfaction and yours.
Limited production
We sew clothing to order only. We do not build up stocks of clothing and we do not support needless overproduction. Every piece sewn here already knows its customer in advance. We apply the same philosophy to the production of fabric by the metre.
Limiting the use of chemicals
We try to leave out those links in the production chain that can be left out. That is why we increasingly use undyed materials, to shorten the production process and skip its most ecologically costly components, which dyeing is.
Ecological packaging
You take our pieces home hand-wrapped in our original protective fabric bag made of non-woven textile and a beautiful paper box, made by a local printer.
Zero-waste management
A process we are constantly trying to push further is 100% use of our material. We use fabric offcuts to make accessories and to design new products.
Ethical production
Every LADA garment is sewn by Czech tailors directly in our atelier. We care not only about the quality of the handwork, but also about ethical working conditions and fair dealing. In Lada Vyvialová's atelier, management and seamstresses work side by side in a friendly environment.
Certification
LADA end products carry certification Oeko-TEX® Standard 100. It confirms that the garments are safe for adults and children through international testing of pH values, the possible presence of pesticides, preservatives and so on, as well as the absence of carcinogenic and allergenic substances in the dyes.