Faustine Steinmetz

Summary

London-based French designer Faustine Steinmetz is acclaimed for her haute couture hand-crafted repurposed denim. The young designer uses handloom production processes that have a low environmental impact, be it spinning, dyeing or weaving fabrics in her studio in East London.

Vision

The vision of Faustine Steinmetz is rooted in combining hand craftsmanship and environmental consciousness. Steinmetz uses hand-making textile techniques stating that each fabric is handwoven by a single person using traditional handlooms. Steinmetz uses sustainable practices in her studio including spinning, dyeing and weaving fabrics with a low environmental impact. She also uses recycled thrift-store jeans and explores new fabric developments such as micro-pleated denim. The brand’s commitment to environmental sustainability is evident in its choice of production methods and materials.

Mission Statement

To establish the brand as a pastiche of a typical denim label.

History

London-based French designer Faustine Steinmetz graduated in Fashion Design from Atelier Chardon Savard in Paris- undertook Masters in Fashion Design at Central Saint Martins London- cut her teeth with Jeremy Scott and Henrik Vibskov- and then launched her own fashion brand in 2013.

Her entrepreneurial story and rise to fame is very inspiring. The young designer taught herself hand-making textile techniques from YouTube and craft books. When she was just fourteen she began recycling her jeans. So when she launched her label she was interested in reproducing jeans because they are a common piece of clothing- usually made industrially- which is the complete opposite of what she does. This contrast is what makes the final piece interesting.

Rooted in sustainability- she uses handloom production processes that have a low environmental impact be it spinning, dyeing or weaving fabrics in her studio in East London. “We reproduce iconic pieces, the kind everyone has or has had in their wardrobe at one stage, except we make them all by hand. Each fabric is solely handwoven by one person using one of our traditional handlooms” she explained when she was shortlisted for Young Fashion Designer at LVMH Prize 2015.

Retailing her eponymous fashion label at Browns, Dover Street Market and Selfridges, Steinmetz showcases at London Fashion Week. Her debut made headlines as she re-cast denim with powerhouse craftsmanship. Per Vogue- “Faustine Steinmetz turned the idea of denim inside out with her first collection and the intricate hand-loomed pieces she created from recycled thrift-store jeans were anything but basic… Micro-pleated denim is among the new fabric developments in her repertoire… Her couture-like weaving expertise showed up in the hand of a striped polo shirt, which, like the pieces of her first collection, took a week to make.”

WWD took note of her debut showing. “Crafty Faustine Steinmetz, who to date has only used fabrics she wove herself, expanded her range for spring with high-waisted jeans, accordion-pleated denim skirts and raw-edged jean jackets… Her labor-intensive creations, displayed on models partially embedded in walls at the Institute of Contemporary Art, are marvels of artful shredding…”

As a part Diesel’s Denim Lab, a newly created space where Formichetti can champion young designers who are pushing the boundaries of jeans, Steinmetz created a capsule collection of surreal denim pieces.  Steinmetz also debuted a range of competitively priced basics on her e-commerce site. Her star continued rising and the young designer was named winner of two prolific awards in 2017 — PETA Designer to Watch and Swarovski Collective Award where she received 25,000 euros as prize money.

Steinmetz told WWD: ‘It gives you opportunities to do things as a young designer — with, obviously, the money as well. That’s so important… At the moment, we are working on setting up production in different countries that have fair trade.’ So it is no wonder that Faustine Steinmetz received sponsorships from British Fashion Councils NewGen Initiative, Cotton USA and Centre for Fashion Enterprise.

Products and Services

Handcrafted repurposed denim and other apparel made using the methodology of slow fashion.

Awards and Services

Founded in 2013 Faustine Steinmetz has been recognized by top professional organizations. In 2015, the fashion label was one of the seven finalist for Young Fashion Designer at LVMH Prize 2015 and was also nominated for Emerging Womenswear Designer of the Year at British Fashion Awards. The label was also named winner of two prolific awards in 2017 — PETA Designer to Watch and Swarovski Collective Award where she received 25,000 euros as prize money. It was also selected by Selfridges- in collaboration with the Centre for Sustainable Fashion- as part of Bright New Things scheme: an initiative to promote innovative sustainably-minded approaches to design. Steinmetz has also received sponsorships from British Fashion Councils NEWGEN initiative, Cotton USA and Centre for Fashion Enterprise.

References

• Facebook account of Faustine Steinmetz Facebook
• Travel In Style With PETA’s 2017 Fashion Winners Forbes
• Faustine Steinmetz Fall 2018 RTW Vogue
• Faustine Steinmetz in the run-up to LVMH Prize LVMH
• Who is Faustine Steinmetz- LVMH Price finalist? Elle
• Twitter account of Faustine Steinmetz Twitter
• The New York Times reviews Faustine Steinmetz The New York Times
• Faustine Steinmetz Londres Primavera-verano 2018 Harpers Bazaar
• Instagram account of Faustine Steinmetz Instagram
• Designer To Watch Design Scene
• Faustine Steinmetz profiled The Cut
• Parisian Flavour: Faustine Steinmetz Clash
• LinkedIn page of Faustine Steinmetz LinkedIn
• LVMH reveals final cut for LVMH Prize Fashion Network
• Faustine Steinmetz featured in Vogue Vogue
• Official website Faustine Steinmetz
• Faustine Steinmetz profiled Metal
• Faustine Steinmetz Fall 2017 RTW Vogue
• Faustine Steinmetz RTW Spring 2016 WWD
• Faustine Steinmetz Spring 2016 RTW Vogue