Our Atelier Approach
How We Work – We are a small and mighty team in Minneapolis. We work together in a true workroom spirit – and atelier approach – to ensure the product comes first. The process is a joyful blend of artistry and technique.
Our Director of the Atelier grew up in a household of seamstresses, and she hails from renowned couture and premium brands. She and her sample hands obsess over every detail. Draping, making patterns, cutting, fitting, stitching, basting, ripping out, trimming, pressing – there is a constant hum of activities in our workroom.
Inspiration – We gather ideas from everywhere and everyone: on the street, in a museum, vintage stores, sketch pads, runway shows, on our many travels, art books, gardens, a casual comment, fashion blogs, tattoos, old photographs, one another, and more. Our atelier is lined with corkboards that are full of tears, scraps, sketches, fabric swatches and trim.
Fit – We invest a great deal of time to ensure a true, consistent fit. Since brand sizes vary, we took the average of well-established, American brands for size Medium. We start by draping patterns on our custom-made Medium dress form. Then our fit model (a real person) gives us a test drive. She strolls, sits, sleeps, swings her arms, walks up and down stairs, checks pocket placement and tells us funny stories. She is brutally honest about what works, what doesn’t work. Then we subject the samples to a laundering test. If they shrink slightly, we add back in the shrink amount to ensure a true, consistent fit. Once we are happy with the fit, then we submit our size Medium pattern to our grader who scales it up for Large and X-Large and down for Small and X-Small sizes.
Fabric Sourcing – We source all of our fabric from fine European mills that serve the luxury men’s suiting market as well as high-end designer brands. We search for breathable, 100% natural fibers such as cottons, silks, lace and cashmere. Not only do they feel amazing, but they also wear beautifully.
Garment Construction – We make all of our garments in the U.S. This is important to us because, well, frankly, we need the work and we take great pride in our artisanal manufacturing. Therefore, once our samples are finished in our workroom, and we are delighted with the fit and details, we move into production. We produce our garments in New York workrooms and in our own workroom in Minneapolis.