Sewing in the city – how Antiform and Bristol work together
When a lovely film crew came by the studio to shoot for the magazine A City Made By People, they wanted a better idea of why a sense of place and being part of a city is so important to Antiform and it got us thinking…
Antiform has always been a product of it’s environment, whether back in the wonderful Leeds we were working with Bangladeshi women in sewing rooms to make use of their fantastic sewing skills and encourage much needed cross-cultural links. To looking at ways that the people of Leeds could engage with sustainable fashion when they didn’t have the disposable income to come and spend in the Antiform shop, the big and brilliant Leeds Community Clothes Exchange was founded and good quality second hand clothing was available to all for the tiny entry fee. We were so fortunate to have been part of such a vibrant network of people, passionate about their sense of style and their beautiful surroundings.
And so to Bristol with its ferry into town and it’s hot air balloons and hills and colour. We have met a modern weaving mill run by women with a vision of stunning textile design who have created a 2 tweed designs especially for us. Being so much closer to the south coast has enabled us to make contact with knitters who are used to dressing deep sea fisherman, but through using a batch of waste yarn they are able to create industrial warmth knitwear for us. It is much appreciated in our very own studio where we take advantage of these pink numbers which have become studio winter uniform!
Bristol has also meant sharing our studio with Bristol Textile Quarter including costumiers, upholsterers, print designers, pattern cutters, fashion brands, textile designers and weavers and opening our doors to the public for events – the pop-up shops are SO good, can you imagine?! It has been a wonderful launch pad for Antiform x You with people bringing their beloved fabric remnants or falling apart garments in and we’ve incorporated them into a brand new Antiform piece, unique and bespoke!
We hope you enjoy the simply beautiful imagery and article from @doubleshotvideo and have a look at the film they made for a behind the scenes look at how it all comes together when you order your garments through our website!
Enjoy and thank you for your ongoing support, we feel the love and can’t wait to design, cut and sew your next favourite, talking point of a garment!
See the full article here: https://citinerary.net/1/article/antiform-a-bristol-based-reclaimed-materials-fashion-brand