Love Letters Collection

I started designing the Love Letters collection quietly in my mind when I discovered a set of old family letters. My grandfather had passed away in late 2018 and with this came the intimate process of going through all his personal possessions. Among beautiful old photographs and documents were a set of delicate and ageing letters. As we carefully read through them the sentences revealed a story of romance, hope and survival. The letters belonged to my grandmother who kept them safe until she passed away. They were written by her father, my great grandfather Dusan and address to my great grandmother.

During the Second World War Dusan fought against the Nazis until he was captured and taken prisoner. It was while being held captive that he was allowed to write home and over 70 years later these very letters were in my hands. I fell in love with his immaculate writing that instantly reminded me of pinstripes. So, I put my own pen to paper and started designing what would be the Love Letters collection. The black and white print is created from lines taken from the original letters and run down the garments like pinstripes carrying with them a hidden story.

The message of love continues with the Dahlia floral print which was designed with hope and better tomorrows in mind. The Dahlia flower is said to represent a commitment shared forever between two as well as beauty, elegance and strength. I first hand painted the floral design using watercolours before having it digitally printed in the UK. The style and cut of each piece in this collection is inspired by the 1940s. The matching Dahlia three piece in particular is influenced by vintage summer styles worn at the beach during this period.

The beauty of clothes shouldn’t just be in how they look but also in how they’re made. That’s why each piece in the Love Letters collection is made with sustainability in mind. Every fabric covered button in the collection is made in the UK using off-cut pieces of fabric. The headbands too are made from pieces too small to use for the garments. This means that waste is brought down to a minimum and any off cuts that can’t be made into buttons or accessories are kept so they can be used as wadding for future garments. 

The Dhalia pieces are created from cotton that’s woven in the UK and the Love Letters garments are made from ethically sourced silks. Both designs are digitally printed using water-based inks that are non-toxic and no harsh chemicals or dyes are used in the process. The supplier I work with only use non optic bleached fabrics which means less aggressive chemicals have been used. My favourite part of their process is that they re-jigged their printing machines, to recycle inks, which lessens waste and reduces the environmental impact.

With love,

Nina x