STYLE Edit: luxury upcycling brand Sottes offers eco-friendly, sustainable fashion
Creating handmade looks with minimum wastage, the Swiss brand’s ethos is to have just two collections a year with limited runs per style
Rebelling against fashion world norms, Sottes is all about genderless, size-less, sustainable clothing for all.
A luxury upcycling brand based out of a small village in Switzerland, Sottes believes in disruptive fashion where there are no rules or trends to follow. Its garments promote fluid fashion with endless wardrobe possibilities.
Created by Jeanne Guenat and Elliot Upton, Sottes offers a collection of handmade garments that are sustainable and environmentally thoughtful. From choosing recycled fabrics to making small batches by hand with minimum wastage, everything at Sottes is about the purity of intent. The founders do not believe in creating countless garments season after season; the idea is to have just two collections a year with limited runs per style. Since everything is done by hand, each piece has a distinct character and its own story.
Miles away from the fashion capitals of the world, Sottes’ small workshop in the Swiss Jura mountains relies on the skills of local seamstresses, who meticulously finish each piece from beginning to end in the most traditional way. Even the buttons for the garments are designed and made in-house with the help of laser-cutting techniques. The designers use recycled Plexiglas for the buttons, which are sand blasted, shaped and polished by hand.
According to Guenat and Upton, the best way to describe the philosophy behind Sottes is to imagine a child drawing on his or her mother’s newly painted white walls. From the print to the embroideries and the stitching, one can sense an element of fun in the creativity of these garments.
Sottes has introduced two collections so far and both offer a versatile range of clothing, which be worn in multiple ways to suit one’s size and style. Recommence, the debut all-white collection, used natural fibre fabrics sourced from vintage stores in Switzerland. The clothing featured various fastenings, making the outfit versatile enough to wear on different occasions. The garments come with detachable sections and fasteners, so one could alter pieces – such as the Next Patient Coat and the Packing Mule Vest – anytime.
