Laura Siegel (Q4993)
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Laura Siegel is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Laura Siegel |
Laura Siegel is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
A common refrain in fashion right now is that designers shouldn’t be doing prints and embellishments “inspired” by other cultures—they should be going directly to the source and working with local artisans. The results are better, for starters, but it would also help to preserve those crafts, many of which are at risk of fading out. Plenty of designers are already doing this—Dries Van Noten has worked with Indian artisans since 1987; Ulla Johnson frequently travels to Peru to work with local knitters; and Prabal Gurung manufactures jewelry and knitwear in his native Nepal. For small brands just starting out, Laura Siegel is another example to follow. She spends much of her time in Peru, where she sources alpaca knits, and India, where she works with artisans on embellishments and wovens (often using recycled saris). Each season, she has a new update to share about one of her Indian families; thanks to her consistent business, they’ve become more financially stable and just purchased their first car.Sustainableis the word often used to describe Siegel’s collections, and while her fabrics are organic and her production is slow, the social impact is the bigger takeaway. It’s another facet of the sustainability conversation; it’s not just about sustaining the earth, but heritage crafts and traditions, too. It’s been said that labeling a fashion brand as “sustainable” suggests that fashion on the wholeisn’t—that it’s “normal” to use chemicals and cheap labor, and that sustainable designers are separate from the rest of the industry. Maybe that does do an (unintentional) disservice to their work, but let’s just say Siegel’s clothes speak for themselves, whether you know they’re sustainably made or not. She’s attuned to what women want right now: Her new collection includes a few “hybrid” dresses of clashing printed silks, a big trend from the Fall 2018 runways, and we can think of a lot of women who’d like to live in her drapey jumpsuits. A few pullovers and jackets came in a shaggy, ultra-plush wool that could stand in for fur, and she tried her hand at a few fancier, evening-appropriate pieces in high-shine velvet. The tassel-trim pants in a luminous pale gold velvet would look right at home at a New York party, either with the wrap top seen here or a sharp blazer.
15 March 2018
A few seasons back, Laura Siegel’s collections might have been best described as “earthy.” Now, they just look fresh and relevant, thanks to her refined sensibilities and fashion’s current mood for raw, handcrafted details. Siegel has been prioritizing sustainable, artisan-made organic fashion since her launch in 2011. For her, it’s about more than clothes: She has close relationships with all of her weavers, knitters, and embroiderers, and spends most of the year traveling to India and Peru to work with them.Of course, a good story doesn’t necessarily move product. Wild silhouettes and colors aren’t in Siegel’s vocabulary, but she has a clever knack for mixing artisan techniques with modern shapes and details; the results are easy-to-wear but soulful. A pair of natural-dyed trousers had of-the-moment wide legs, for instance, and a navy shibori dress came in a chic one-sleeved silhouette. The single sleeve was a prominent motif for Spring, lending a new sense of elegance to a loopy hand-knit, gauzy blouse, and tie-dyed silk top. But what felt really new—and city-friendly—was the dip-dyed chambray Siegel used on a belted jumpsuit and high-slit skirt. You’ll probably never see actual denim in Siegel’s collections—she uses a wide variety of fabrications and techniques, but their common denominator is a drapey, weightless ease. The chambray had been washed to a super soft, velvety finish; it should speak to the woman who wants to explore ethical fashion but isn’t quite ready to wear a full-on shibori getup.
20 October 2017
Craft and process were major themes in the Fall ’17 collections, but Laura Siegel got there first. Back in 2012 when she started out, handmade, ethical fashion wasn’t the buzzy movement it is now; instead, it was typically associated with a crunchy, un-luxurious vibe. But Siegel persisted. Her collections go beyond organic materials and sustainable production, too: Artisans in India and Peru are the heart of the label, and she works with them directly to hand-knit, hand-embroider, and hand-weave the garments, which in turn helps to preserve those crafts and traditions. It also lends a bit of warmth and honesty to the clothes: You get an immediate sense of how they were made, what they’re made of, and, perhaps most importantly, who made them.Now that women (and retailers) are actively looking for that sort of thing—different, lovingly made clothes with a story—Siegel’s business is primed for growth. New for her Fall ’17 collection were the super plush, space-dyed baby alpaca sweaters, which she developed with one of her artisan groups in Peru. They used individually hand-spun yarns to whip up both chunky cardigans and hand-looped pullovers, which had a fringe-y effect. Another cable-knit sweater in dove gray had an of-the-moment one-shoulder silhouette; in the past, Siegel didn’t always pay attention to trends, but she was smart to include a few clavicle-baring details. There was a loopy off-the-shoulder sweater, too, and a jersey wrap top that exposed the spine.Siegel also expanded on her signature shibori dresses and skirts, this time with all-natural dyes. “When I started out, I was using natural dyes for everything, down to the threads,” Siegel explained. “The market wasn’t ready for it, so I had to take a step back from using natural dyes for a while. But I’m really excited to be incorporating them again.” The mink-colored separates were dyed with pomegranates, for instance, but you’d never know it from a cursory glance.Process aside, this collection felt particularly elevated and grown up for Siegel thanks to the muted color palette and louche, simple silhouettes. You could picture a cool woman of any age wearing the long skirts and jersey dresses, or the draped jacket that appeared to be black-and-white jacquard but was actually made of tiny strips of recycled saris.
Those pieces would be ideal for a transatlantic flight, which is a selling point Siegel shouldn’t ignore; women need chic, comfortable travel clothes now more than ever, and Siegel’s collections are an ideal alternative to track pants and leggings.
17 March 2017
Earlier this year, Laura Siegel launchedProject 1127, an initiative to aid the families affected by the Rana Plaza factory collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in April 2013. Siegel worked with a family of Indian artisans to make 1,127 scarves—one for each life lost—out of recycled saris and cotton. Since working on the project, Siegel reported that the family has repaid their debts from India’s 2001 earthquake, built a new workshop outside of their home, and celebrated their son’s engagement.Those positive results are the driving force behind Siegel’s ready-to-wear, too. Every piece of clothing or jewelry is handmade by artisans in rural villages around the world in an effort to preserve their traditional crafts and pay workers a living wage. One group in northern India specializes in macramé, another is responsible for the ikat prints, and the knits are made in Peru. The results are stunning:Spring ’17standouts include the mocha-color suede macramé dress, which feels like silk and looks unlike anything else on the market, and the floaty, deep indigo shibori dresses and robes. Even the subtlest pieces have been hand-detailed in some way, often with tiny beads or embroidery. A few items that look quite simple were actually painstakingly made from strips of old saris and recycled cotton, so each is one-of-a-kind.Siegel represents a level of commitment and dedication that other young designers would do well to emulate. Rather than give in to the temptations of trends or faster production cycles, she was on the path toward sustainability long before it became an industry buzzword. She’s not losing steam, either—and the clothes have only become more luxurious. Women who gravitate toward looser silhouettes will appreciate that Siegel’s pieces are roomy, but not overwhelming, and the arty prints and details stand out in a sea of similar-looking, machine-made clothing. Her clothes are desirable whether you know the story or not, which is key in today’s retail climate.
14 October 2016