Our Process
Our focus is on sustainable and conscious production, we make in small batches and only as much as we can sell so we never have any wasted stock. In our small way we are tackling the global glut of discarded fast fashion by producing season-less garments on a small scale. We are totally transparent in our production (we literally have an open curtain policy between the shop and the studio) we hope that you can trust that we are doing everything we can to uphold the highest ethical standards.
Design & Production
Our collection is designed to be "season-less", meaning any piece of our collection can be worn all year round and will last you a lifetime. We love versatile items that can be worn in different ways and for different occasions, believing that with the combination of these elements we are giving our customers the opportunity to get longevity from the clothes they love.
Tailoring To Fit
We make 80% of our clothes in our studio and by doing this we can cater specifically to customers when they do not fit our standard sizes, no one should ever enter a shop and feel that there is nothing there to fit them or that they will be demeaned for not fulfilling an ideal stereotype. Any of our team will be able to help you in our stores if you have any queries about the fit or you can contact us directly regarding online orders.
Sustainability
Sustainability is a vital part of the ethos at Les Animaux. We produce our collection with the environment in mind. In order to reduce opportunity for wastage and increase sustainability we make the vast majority of our collection is made to order in our studio in Margate. This means we limit our stock, wastage and environmental impact.
We are very conscious about reducing wastage and therefore strive for make as much usage out of each fabric. We cut all of our fabrics by hand and are always thinking of new ways to use the tiniest pieces of fabric and the small offcuts are used to make business cards and labels. Read more about us here
Our Fabrics
All of our collections are made in the UK from Organic fabrics. We only use fabrics from certified organic suppliers that are either GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certification. or Oeko-Tex certified fabrics and we don't use any any animal fibres or materials.
We have some core fabrics that are a constant in our collection as they can provide garment longevity and the season-less versatility we look for and provide the "Artfully Rumpled" aesthetic that is signature to our collection. In addition we have fabrics that add extra texture and functionality to the collection.
Organic Cotton Fabrics
Our core fabrics are cotton drill in different weights and a cotton poplin. Both fabrics are certified organic and are imported from Turkey. We have textured fabrics and some hand woven fabrics that are sourced from a womans collective in Kerela, India. Our lighterweight cottons are a voile, lawn and a an Indian cotton. Another core cotton for us is an organic 14 corduroy from India.
Bamboo Jersey & Sweat
Our sweat fabric is a an organic recycled cotton poly blend fabric that when dyed gives a heathered marl appearance. In addition we have a 100% organic premium cotton sweatshirting and a 100% organic cotton velour. We have two weights of t-shirting including a soft and breathable eco friendly bamboo jersey and a 300g premium weight jersey.
Denim
All of our denims are organic and indigo dyed. We have a lighter chambray weight for blouses and dresses, a stretch denim and a raw denim for a workwear look. All of our denims are from Turkey. Our styles made in the chambray weight are all garment washed whilst our other denims have the unwashed finish.
Specialised & Limited Run Fabrics
To compliment our core cotton fabrics we source new fabrics to compliment the collection. We have several different weights of organic linen to cover the different product categories including a heavy textures linen. These linens come from Turkey and Eastern Europe. Our other fabrics include satin viscoses and a bamboo woven fabric that is made from 2-3 year bamboo and produced in a closed loop system with Chinese certification.
Outerwear Technical Fabrics
For our outerwear pieces we have a vegan waxed heavy weight cotton. This fabric is backed by cotton drill due to the oil that comes through from the cloth. In addition we have a lighter weight vegan waxed fabric that is waterproof. Garments in this fabric can be single layer as the fabric has been treated to prevent the wax from penetrating the fabric. We use these fabrics for Mens and Womenswear for trench coats and jackets.
Organic Cotton Fabrics
Our core fabrics are cotton drill in different weights and a cotton poplin. Both fabrics are certified organic and are imported from Turkey. We have textured fabrics and some hand woven fabrics that are sourced from a womans collective in Kerela, India. Our lighterweight cottons are a voile, lawn and a an Indian cotton. Another core cotton for us is an organic 14 corduroy from India.
Bamboo Jersey & Sweat
Our sweat fabric is a an organic recycled cotton poly blend fabric that when dyed gives a heathered marl appearance. In addition we have a 100% organic premium cotton sweatshirting and a 100% organic cotton velour. We have two weights of t-shirting including a soft and breathable eco friendly bamboo jersey and a 300g premium weight jersey.
Denim
All of our denims are organic and indigo dyed. We have a lighter chambray weight for blouses and dresses, a stretch denim and a raw denim for a workwear look. All of our denims are from Turkey. Our styles made in the chambray weight are all garment washed whilst our other denims have the unwashed finish.
Specialised & Limited Run Fabrics
To compliment our core cotton fabrics we source new fabrics to compliment the collection. We have several different weights of organic linen to cover the different product categories including a heavy textures linen. These linens come from Turkey and Eastern Europe. Our other fabrics include satin viscoses and a bamboo woven fabric that is made from 2-3 year bamboo and produced in a closed loop system with Chinese certification.
Outerwear Technical Fabrics
For our outerwear pieces we have a vegan waxed heavy weight cotton. This fabric is backed by cotton drill due to the oil that comes through from the cloth. In addition we have a lighter weight vegan waxed fabric that is waterproof. Garments in this fabric can be single layer as the fabric has been treated to prevent the wax from penetrating the fabric. We use these fabrics for Mens and Womenswear for trench coats and jackets.
Tools Of The Trade
As we hand make all of our patterns and garments in our studio we use many new and traditional tools in our manufacturing process. Many of our finishes are very labour intensive traditional techniques as we feel it's important to keep using these as commercial garment production cannot accommodate them.
Sewing
80% of our collections made by ourselves in our Margate studio supported by talented local makers with additional manufacturing support for higher volume items from a small family run factory in the Midlands which are then hand finished by us in our studio. When we make to order the cutting, construction and finishing is all done by hand in our Margate studio.
Fastenings
We do not use zips in our collection. Components such as plastic teeth are often derived from non-renewable resources and can be difficult to recycle. We prefer to use more sustainable fasteners such as buttons and our fabric covered poppers.
Our buttons are made from coconut shell and they are not only lightweight but the shell also provides strong rigidity. They are considered as a sustainable material as the outer shells are generally a waste by-product of the food industry, and thus eliminates waste whilst providing further income for local communities.
We make and apply each popper by hand prior to dyeing to achieve a perfect colour match and because the poppers are applied by hand they are extremely robust.
Hand Dyeing
We make our pieces using unbleached cotton fabrics and hand dye them in small batches in our studio in Margate. This allows us to offer an extensive range of colours. We use low impact dyes from an independent UK manufacturer and don't use any chemicals for fixing. Instead we use natural substances such as salt or bicarbonate of soda. Unfortunately there are currently no natural dyes available that are robust enough for commercial use. We also offer a re-dye service, we will either re-dye a garment in the original colour or we can over dye to an alternative colour incase you fancy a change. Read more here.
Pressing & Finishing
Our collection is designed with a finish we call "artfully rumpled" and during finishing we we only lightly any collars, pockets and cuffs. We appreciate that you may prefer the option of a more pressed appearance if you prefer something more crisp. We are happy to offer this finish, please just add a note onto your order.
