VYOSNA

Story
The VYOSNA Label was founded in 2010 after a year or so of intensive designer's work on realizing individual orders by VYOSNA's co-founder and head designer Aga Śmiechowska. First, we started to make regular collections for S/S11 and F/W11 while still designing for individual clients in our studio. It took time to gather a small but dedicated team of fantastic tailors, knitters, graphic designers, and pattern cutters. In 2011, the label was ready to show at international events and was tested at the Projektgallerie Showroom which is a part of the Mercedes Benz Berlin Fashion Week. The S/S12 R-T-W collection presented there was well received, so we assessed the test passed and created an advanced plan for introducing VYOSNA to foreign markets. Our plans for the nearest future encompass launching a men's wear line and the F/W12 collection was the first to include a few pieces designed for men.

Ethical Policy
In 2011, we matured enough to explore the world of sustainable textiles and to gradually make our collections more ethical.
We make sure that our clothes are produced under fair trade conditions which means that no kids are involved at any stage of the process, nobody is made to work after hours, our suppliers, tailors, knitters and other artisans all get fair wages for their services. We want our customers to be sure and to feel that much good has come of creating the clothes they are
wearing and that the least harm possible was made to the natural environment.

Whenever possible, we use certified organic materials. However, we understand that for some smaller producers certificates are too costly. In such cases we check how sustainable they are and whether they live up to high standards we set, and only then we start out on the path to long-term collaboration.

We preferably use natural sustainable fibres (sometimes experiment with recycled or vintage materials). We found suppliers of hand-spun and hand-woven fabrics, absolutely fantastic artisan textiles and genuinely rare materials. We are very much into craft preservation and social responsibility. Having access to the most amazing textiles on the planet, we can do all the right things without losing our smart casual aesthetics.

Approach to style and production
At VYOSNA, we are focused on combining the intriguing smart looks with the comfort of a casual wear. The most distinctictive features of our garments are perfect cut, classical tailoring, creative pattern making, natural sustainable materials, comfort and supportive structure. Each element of our clothes is carefully selected and procured locally whenever possible. We work only with local tailors, establishing lifelong relationships based on trust, mutual satisfaction and attention to quality. Some of our textiles are custom made by us; all painting, dyeing and finishing is done by hand, therefore no two items are identical. Our plan for 2012 encompasses switching all dyeing done in our studio into natural dyeing with plant and mineral dyes and mordants. We also enjoy working on individual, personalised projects.

We are a small brand specialising exclusively in one-offs and short runs of high-quality clothes, and we intend to stay this way. Our slow life approach allows us to maintain a close relationship with all our clients, suppliers and service providers – reforging the quality of work into the quality of life.

Aga Śmiechowska
Born in 1980 in a small town just outside Cracow, Poland into an artistic and artisan family, she long thought she'd follow her father's steps and go into oil painting. Soon it turned out that her creative restlessness was an obstacle to concentrating on one artistic form of expression, so she tried many paths, before finally going into textiles in 2008. She studied screen printing, painting on silk, hand spinning and other hand craft techniques, as well as pattern making, fabric processing and finally fashion design and costumography. She observes nature and art, but what she finds most inspiring are things that escape the eye when looked at, everything that stimulates the senses but remains uncaptured.