Antiform Collection #9 A/W saw us reaching out to businesses in the South West as well as our loyal friends up in Yorkshire for our reclaimed textiles. Discovering where the waste exists in each different manufacturing process or distribution sector is no mean feat but we find it very satisfying! Once we’ve sourced our beautiful textiles (generally from 6 months to a year before the collection is launched), the next challenge is find out the most effective and efficient ways to develop them into a tight collection for the coming season.
Crucial to the process is first deciding which of our snuggly winter fabrics work in harmony within a garment design and whether the pattern blocks fit efficiently on the width of the fabric. Is that plaid warm enough for a jumper? Does the jodhpur have enough stretch for a waistband? The questions, and solutions, go on and on! This process is a surprisingly small element of a fashion business and it’s always a lot of fun, but it doesn’t become less of a challenge either as we never know which fabrics will be available and of course our silhouettes and styles change with the evolution of our customers.
Necks and cuffs of the box jumpers are lined up on the tea trolley ready to sew.
When the pieces are cut, they form the skeleton of the garment and we sew each section of a style in batches as it’s the quickest way to construct.
Here are our new look panelled pencil skirt before it’s been carefully sewn together with all the check lining up either side of the zip.
As we have multiple orders to work on at once it’s important to draw up production schedules to provide an easy to read guide for cutters and sewers – if we’re lugging large rolls of fabric around we don’t want to have to repeat ourselves!
Here’s Niko our studio intern learning to cut the collection in the way with the least fabric wastage…
Making everything in house at our studio in Bristol is a privilege and a challenge, we are very proud that we know exactly how everything is produced and that our working environment is a good one! Hopefully all of our lovely customers share our passion for open and honest production methods and feel the love when they wear Antiform garments again and again!
