Talking to the student at Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising - Los Angeles

I had the honour of being invited to the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles to speak to the students about Sustainable Fashion. The students were all so enthusiastic about the talk so involved and passionate, it was so inspiring to be in a space with loads of young students that wanted to create change in the fashion world.

I spoke about the realities of being a small brand and trying your best to be sustainable and how it was not fair for a small business to cover all areas of sustainability with out the backing of an investor. I spoke about how the bigger brands were the problem in the fashion industry and their slowness to create change and their greed was what was affecting the fashion industry from being sustainable. They all agreed the pressures of being 100% perfect in every way as a start up brand was a lot and most of them gave up with the pressures. I wanted to let them know that if they strived to be perfect in everything they would kill the creative in themselves and even if they were trying to be sustainable they were doing more than what other fashion brands were, so not to be so hard on themselves.

Many of the students present had ambitions of creating their own brands one day and many already had brands they were building, i wanted to tell them that they were the future and their innovation would pave the way for change in the industry.

Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising

I explained the journey was the most exciting running your own brand and having over 10 years designing for brands in the fashion world was also an amazing experience. We spoke about the different ways of being sustainable in fashion, what new innovations that were out in the world - i wanted to expand their minds that things were already being worked on and there were like minded people who wanted to create change in the industry too. The talk was so well received and i am so happy i was invited, as i walked out very inspired.

New In - One Off Stunner Jackets

Welcome to our page of new 1 of 1’s. The magic of creating 1 of 1 pieces is that they can not be made and you get the most unique piece and nobody in the world will own a replica.

Below our one off wood green denim jacket that has been intricately hand painted, cleverly contouring the jacket with added embroidered and hand embellished with pearls.

Green Denim hand painted floral jacket

We went to Silver Lake Vintage Market in LA and found these amazing plain purple and teal blue Wrangler jackets. Both were brand new from the 90’s with labels on! We hand painted an abstract flower pattern to the front and back of the jacket to give it a bit of added magic. The fit of the jacket is relaxed with raglan sleeves that are all the rage atm. Collars can be worn up or down.

Purple Vintage Wrangler Hand Painted Floral Jacket

The Teal version of the vintage wrangler relaxed jacket has a repeat pattern of hand painted flowers front and back. A retro relaxed jacket that is for men but can be worn by all genders for that relaxed cool fit.

Blue Teal Hand Painted Floral Jacket

Purple floral wrangler jacket

Melrose Avenue - We are here!

Part of the reason to why i decided to move Quillattire to Los Angeles was because we had just been approved to stock in the Wolf & Badger store on the very famous Melrose Avenue!

8500 Melrose Avenue, opposite Glossier

Here i am super excited to be dropping off my stock at the Wolf and Badger store. As amazing of an opportunity this all seems, it was hard work! I got approved for the store and the selection for the stock was made whilst i was in LA, the pieces that were chosen were back in London - Drama! I shipped the pieces over and they only got lost in transit for 2 weeks (cry). So i had to work my arse off and create new designs in a week for the shop! It was intense but it got done, then the parcel turned up- always the case. I I am not complaining i am i just grateful everything got sorted out!

Quillattire x Wolf & Badger

Here are some of my hand painted booty vases, in store :)

Booty Vases

A little snippet of the rail, it was not quite complete as the items had just come in, so i will update when i go in again.

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A Closer Look at Ye's YEEZY Season 9 Ready-to-Wear Collection

What a show that was, i almost teared up. A secret show to top off Paris Fashion Week! The guy is a genius! I think the use of the young children singing was such a vibe! It gave the feeling of new energy, what was going to come from the future. In typical Ye fashion, he went beyond the traditional runway experience and incorporated performance aspects into the event. An invite-only crowd of 50 was treated to a children’s choir all decked out in YEEZY clothing who opened up the show and performed as the models started to gradually walk out and surround them.

Yzy Season 9 giving alien vibes

I loved the forward thinking of Kanye West’s Yzy’s season 9 collection, unorthodox silhouettes, each piece having no trims but made from jersey so could only be put on over the head. Ease of wearing but so much drama in each piece.

Yzy Season 9

I have never seen a bomber jacket, sculpted with oversized shoulders and bulging body into an elasticated hem before. The jerseys were all in different washes and textures which against each other looked fresh. The choice of models was abstract, it gave a sense of contemporary, zeitgeist but normal life.

Yzy Season 9

We were also treated to a glimpse of the new Jamie XX and Kanye West track which will be out soon. I love James Blake and to combine with Kanye West is such a vibe. All in all i was really excited by the show and it was emotional to see Kanye create something so future forward after all the drama that has been surrounding him as of late. It just shows if you focus and believe in yourself, big things can happen.

London to LA - What?!

I made the very nerve wracking decision to move Quillattire to be based in Los Angeles, California from London! Do not panic we ship world wide, so you will get all of your orders :)

After my last 2 week trip to LA in April, i fell in love with this city, it was full of colour, creativity, vibe and relaxation - and sun all the time! I felt i wanted to try pushing Quillattire out into LA as much as i could and take everything as it came.

The decision was not easy as i have stock, sewing machines, paints, all sorts. So it took al ot of logistics to sort this all out. Packed my suitcases with minimal clothes for myself, as i need to get all my stock across to LA, and along with loads of nerves and anxiety to whether i had made the right decision.

The day before leaving i was so scared and thought to cancel the trip! Why was i doing this?! I am almost 2 weeks in, and we have settled in -so many opportunities have come to Quillattire. It has been so amazing!

We organised our very own DTLA shoot, which was so exciting! We found an amazing photographer called Neptune does art and model Savannah and we got some dope pics. A taster below.

Our Green Football Lace Dress

Our Green Cropped Harrington Jacket

How delicious are these pictures! Next week we launch our brand down Melrose Avenue, so please keep an eye on our social medias and here for more information. Please if you are around - pop by! I am so excited for this trip! So many good vibes and creative energy flowing around!!

Young T & Bugsey in our Hand Made Pink Smiley Bucket hat

So excited to have our Hand Embroidered Pink Smiley Hat Featured by Young T & Bugsey x Gaffer Mag.

Our Pink Smile Bucket Hat worn by Young t & Bugsey

"Propelled by the viral TikTok success of 2020’s Don’t Rush Young T & Bugsey soon found themselves sitting at the top table with the best artists in the country, steadily providing hit after hit across a multi-coloured sound of rap, afro-swing and hip hop. 

Accolades naturally followed, with the duo scooping up a MOBO award for Best Song as well as nominations at the internationally prestigious BET Awards and BRITs."

Our Pink Bucket Hat that has been hand embroidered

“A couple of things strike you when you sit down with Young T and Bugsey. The first is the aura of relaxed confidence which the two hold themselves with. There’s a feeling that they knew they were destined to get to this point in their careers, and that making it isn’t much of a surprise to them.

The second is the steely determination that the two take into their professional process. As the two begin to walk me through the journey to get to this point it’s clear that every song, every rollout, every show has been carefully planned. They talk of milestones, checkpoints and goals with the same attitude you might associate with an elite level footballer.

While the main focus of our discussion is on the pair’s upcoming mixtape, it’s only natural that we talk of the journey that got them to this point. The duo met when they were 14, making music with a large group of friends having both been raised in households that played music all the time.”

Our Hand Embroidered Pink Smiley hat.

Click here to get your own Pink Smiley Bucket Hat, which is genderless and all season round wear. For the full interview click here.

Love Day Gifting bits <3

A few valentines gift bits to bless your screen ;)

If you are looking for something a little different to gift your loved one, see our sustainable white, retro love heart sweatshirt. The hearts are hand-painted in different colors all over the sweatshirt. The sweatshirt is unisex, a modern relaxed fit. A very unique piece. Each piece is hand-painted fresh for you.

Hand painted love heart sweatshirt

Next, we have our hand painted ‘Let’s make out’ love heart booty vase. Hand painted in pink and sweet love hearts painted all over! A limited edition, so bless somebodies home with this voluptuois booty vase!

Woman empowering piece of art!

A cool little number we have designed is our symetrical zebra sweatshirt. Again on a unisex sweatshirt that is made from responsible cotton. Each zebra has been hand painted. The zebras front on the front of the sweatshirt which then leads you to the back of the sweatshirt with the rest of the body. A versitile sweat for your year round needs.

White zebra sweatshirt

White pink tiger sweatshirt

2022 the year of the water tiger. We have for you our pink tiger sweatshirt. Symmetrical at the front and the back, and it’s all hand-painted! A limited run of these unisex sweats.

Thats it for a new in valentine's special. We hope you have an amazing love day and an even better rest of the year! :)

Next Stop - St Johns Wood High Street!

After the success of our pop up street last week on Oxford Circus, we have moved to St Johns Wood High Street in the final week to Christmas! The shop is on 5 St Johns Wood High Street and the closest station is St Johns Wood! Shop the best planet friendly designers around, all doing their bit for the world! A very cute and exciting shop!

Our lovely rail of colour :)

Our Booty Vases and Bucket Hats!

Our first Pop Up Shop on Oxford Street!!

It’s been hectic at HQ, I even have a lovely assistant now :) Who is amazing!

I had the opportunity to stock the Quillattire on Oxford Street as I sell on the Lone Design Club platform! Of course, I jumped at the chance, Oxford Street is one of the world’s major shopping streets! To have a little glimmer of the brand on there is only dream worthy but not no more!!

Lone Design Club is a space that expertly curates unique sustainable independent fashion and lifestyle brands.

So the pop-up is located near Winter Wonderland at 500 Oxford Street, the closest station is Marble Arch. If you fancy having a browse of the newest brands, please pop by!

Talk Tech to me : A Fashion designers daily use of Technology

Hey there! I never really talk about technology on my blog, I find it quite boring, to be honest. I would rather create amazing designs for you all but after this very insightful interview with tech expert Innovation Station, I was left surprised at how much I use technology to grow Quillattire. We spoke about how technology is used in the day-to-day running of Quillattire. I mean we must admit compared to five years ago, technology is kind of taking over our lives! There is even a human bot being evolved by tech giant Elon Musk who owns Tesla, which sounds really scary. Will humans be made void by the evolution of technology?

As a designer, I never knew tech would be so important and be the critical vice that would grow my brand!

Zebra Print Short, Shorts & Happy Offline Sweatshirt

Here are a few questions I was asked. For the full interview with Innovation Station click here.

Tell me how technology fits into your daily workflow?

I use my MacBook daily to keep tabs on all my customer orders. I also use my MacBook to store or access all of my research, from the pictures I use on my iPhone via Google Photos, to researching ideas online. All of my designing is done on Photoshop and Illustrator, where I use my Wacom pen from time to time to speed up the processes. So I suppose technology has a massive fit in my daily work life.

Tell me how different that would be without technology?

I mean it would be a hell of a lot more peaceful without the constant streams of information coming through; and the need to keep up with the speed of it all. It helps speed up the design process for me but I do miss sketching on a piece of paper with a pencil as that experience is so much different from sketching on Photoshop or Illustrator. Without technology research would not be as fast, information would be harder to find and access to the wider world would be more challenging. From time to time it would be nice to have the old ways back as it was more like a reward to find something really cool but now everything is so available, it's like an information overload. Technology has also allowed me to have an online store which was so important during the pandemic, so without it, I wouldn't have been able to sell my collection!

Digital Nomad Collection Launching Friday!

Move over Yeezy and The Weekend who are dropping their single and album this Friday 6th August, because Preezy the owner of Quillattire is also dropping her capsule collection ‘Digital Nomad’. Ok, I know the brand is not quite there yet but it’s on its way and I am so excited to bring this to you! Each piece has been designed and made in London which make this capsule so much more exciting!

A collection inspired by the lockdowns we all experienced. The time we all had to think as we were not able to fill our days and nights with plans. A pause, where we started to appreciate nature and going for those daily walks, as this was our only escape. A time where we had no choice but to sit in our homes work and do things. This collection is inspired by nature, it contains hand-painted clouds, sunset clouds, a load of positive affirmations to provoke self-belief. Each piece is Limited Edition & sustainable, made from responsible materials. Launching Friday :)

Green Meadow Matching Shirt, Short and Bucket Hat. Shot by @kidcircus

This piece of amazingness is made using 100% cotton upholstery fabric. It’s soft, modern, and breathable. The print is on another level, made up of images of grass, meadow flowers in pink, yellow, purple, and more. A really cool head-turner piece with all matching Shirt, shorts, and a bucket hat. Everything about this set is modern, stylish, and edgy, even the internals have pops of coral piping, the one button on the front pocket also has a pop of coral threadwork.

Get ready for this digital goodness, which launches at 00:00 Friday! The video has been created by amazing videographer Hannah Fransson @almost_ginger its worth a watch. Please let me know what you think as this collection has been a lot of hard work. All art direction and styling I have created myself. The vision was to showcase resetting our lives and using art and fashion to bring this to life.

Soo... this happened!

After years of working on my brand, upgrading from the working on the floor to organising the spare bedroom into my studio to having my own studiooooo - it feels so surreal! I now have my own studio, bigger then my spare bedroom where i can do so much more with the brand and get some help!!

No more knocking over paints by accidentally hitting the latch on the ironing board which i would paint on! No more manoeuvring around the room like an obstacle course and no more working from home after 5 years! I never ever even imagined the brand would come to a point where i would need my own studio, but it just shows if you do not give up, amazing things happen!

I am currently in the midst of getting bits together to launch a new collection called ‘Digital Nomad’, its small collection but very exciting! Keep tuned :)

🏳️‍🌈Happy Pride 🏳️‍🌈

Happy Pride Month! June is when the world's LGBTQIA+ communities & beyond, come together and celebrate the freedom to be themselves. As a platform, diversity & acceptance is at the heart of our brand. The motto of our brand is ‘I am who I am. Your approval is not needed.’ We strongly believe to be your authentic self and not letting society lead you down a path that is not you. We were lucky enough to have featured in the Wolf & Badger newsletter - see below.

As you may know we try our best to create genderless clothing as it’s great for the environment to make less stock and it’s only fair for all genders to have a choice. We always design colourful to evoke happiness, below a few of our happy styles that are genderless and make the wearer feel confident.

Hand Painted Multi coloured heart sweatshirt

Camouflage hand painted Pride jacket

Leopard Shell suit bottoms - hand appliqued

Green hand painted floral sweatshirt

Happy International Women's Day!

International women’s day should be an everyday thing really, I do not think men realise how hard it can be to grow in a society that can be pro-male and with such narrow mindedness but things are changing! I myself a British Indian female business owner knowing the many struggles of trying to do better, get better, giving myself the strength to aim higher, a constant mind-numbing battle.

My name is Priya Jangda I am the owner of Quillattire, I am of Indian heritage, born in London. My parents immigrated from India and Africa to set up life in England. Life for them coming from a completely different culture and mindset to a more liberal way of life in England must have been hard to get their heads around. I grew up in Southall a huge South Asian society, people from all around India and Pakistan, I suppose for my parents it was easy being located in such an Indian area as getting their Indian ingredients to make their dhal, rice or lamb curry were all local and familiar.

Growing up as a British Indian girl with parents that had not quite grasped giving freedom to their only daughter as they were so overly protective was some what frustrating at times but what made me feel a little better was the rest of the brown girls I grew up around were treated the same by their parents. I suppose our parents just did not know what would happen, they came from a not-so-free country to a place that allowed more freedom to females. I was not really allowed out till late and having a social life till after university but that’s when I started to evolve into the woman I am today. I had more of a social life than my siblings.

I got into London College of Fashion to study Fashion Designer Pattern Cutter, gone were the days of studying with just seeing brown faces. As amazing as it was, the energy growing up around indian girls was somewhat insecure, certain requirements were engrained into our heads of getting married at 24, having children at 26, not wear short skirts, not drink, do not smoke, to just study and get married- to me this was such Bullshiz……all these girls including me were human, so individual but taught by their cultures that they had a certain timeline to follow - I rebelled! I did not want to follow anyone’s rules, I wanted to create my own. I got married to someone of different faith and at 32, it was not easy but worth the battles.

Seeing a mix of North Asian, South, British, people from all over the world at uni,. all from such different cultures other than Indian was such an eye-opener. What I was taught by my culture was not right, I did not want to live controlled, I wanted to be a free spirit, I mean I fought my dad to become a fashion designer because I did not want a white-collar job (no offense to anyone who has jobs like this, you are amazing!). I wanted something creative and something I enjoyed.

I would commute to university into London by train and tube, I would wander around Shoreditch and Oxford street after and before lessons and my eyes opened further - there was so much more to life than Southall. I wanted to be free as a British Indian, I wanted to enjoy my life and explore. I would definitely see the difference in me and my home friends, I would always push more for social events (be free) some just did not bother. I wanted to see more of life, and I had not then grasped the fact I could do it without somebody by my side. That was no fault of there’s, I had just decided I wanted to be a woman who was not defined by religion or culture but by myself. I was beginning to find myself and love the person I was becoming and with this energy, I met so many more like-minded people.

I started figuring out my own style, finding love in new things. I went on to work in quite a few fashion houses which included traveling the world and my eyes opened further. Travelling made me so curious and happy. My story sounds all very positive but I had to fight for the type of life I wanted to live, I had to cut out negative narrow-minded energy, to help myself grow and be happy. I have had many setbacks and people being horrible and judgemental but those feelings are temporary and will be dealt with and my story goes on as does yours. Being a woman is hard, fighting stupid people is hard, but trust me it is worth it. I suppose at least when my story is over I will smile that I made some sort of a difference. As my motto of the brand says, ‘I am who I am. Your approval is not needed.’ It is so worth fighting for the life that makes you happy and evolve, HAPPY WOMENS DAY!

Feel Good Cosy Sustainable Unisex Sweatshirts

Hey guys I hope you’re all well :) Surviving the 3rd lockdown! I’ve been working on a few feel-good cosy unisex sweatshirts for you all, to help brighten your mood whilst at home with a bright array of sweatshirts. This 3rd lockdown has been tough with the weather and the thought of not being able to plan ahead or look forward to anything! So I thought why not design a collection of kind to our planet, feel-good, colourful sweatshirts which you can lounge and look good in going for your daily walk. Minimal effort required!

Each sweatshirt has been made from cotton that is certified by the Better Cotton Initiative who help improve cotton farming globally. This makes it better for farmers and the environment. BCI provides farming-practice training, it promotes things like water efficiency and reducing the most harmful chemicals.

The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) — a global not-for-profit organization — is the largest cotton sustainability programme in the world. They provide training on more sustainable farming practices to more than 2.3 million cotton farmers in 23 countries. In the 2018-19 cotton season, licensed BCI Farmers produced more than 5.6 million metric tonnes of ‘Better Cotton’ – that accounts for around 22% of global cotton production!

Each of our sweatshirts is made from BCI cotton, which means the cotton is responsibly grown. A few of our hand-made sweats are below :)

A few of our cosy unisex sweatshirts, click here to shop

Below are our popular blue cloud sweatshirt and our lilac cloud sweat that have both been hand-dyed from my studio in London and hand-painted by myself. Atm with travel being restricted and minimal movement allowed whilst we work from home, it was only right for me to paint the sky onto a lounge/going out piece. Do keep an eye on our website and socials as we may be introducing a responsible cotton matching sweatpant too! So you can lounge in full on head in the sky attire.

Hand painted Blue and lilac cloud sweatshirts

Below is our Exclusive Valentine’s hand painted multi-coloured heart sweatshirt. If you fancy spoiling your loved one or just yourself as it should be called ‘Self-love day’ especially in the times we are having now. Cosy up in our oversized unisex heart sweatshirt and wine and dine yourselves whilst watching your fave drama on Netflix!

Hand painted Exclusive Valentines heart sweatshirt

We have also been working on a few hand embroidered self-love pieces. Below our ‘Im a Luxury’ white oversized unisex sweatshirt. Each letter is in a different colour and has been hand embroidered, which takes a little time as its so intricate. We like the extra 3-D effect of our embroidery as the machine embroidery looks so tight and neat! We are all so unique in our own way, I though this slogan was perfect for us all to wear with pride!

‘Im a Luxury’ white unisex sweatshirt

Another feel-good number we have been working on for you is our ‘Be a nice human’ black relaxed sweatshirt. Sizes come in men’s and women’s. We also have a matching black tote bag which is made from 100% cotton, imagine both worn together - hot!

Black ‘Be a Nice Human’ Sweatshirt

Last but not least, our ‘Im Speaking’ white BCI approved hand-embroidered sweatshirt! Inspired by Kamala Harris. Growing up I always felt people do not listen as they assume your opinion is not worthy or you don’t appear to fit into their criteria to even stop to listen, but whatever to them as you do not always need to shout to have an opinion but be gracious and classy and have your own way to express the way you feel.

Kamala Harris ‘Im Speaking’ Hand embroidered sweat

I hope you love my new collection of feel-good cosy sweatshirts. I hope the colours make you happy or whoever you’re gifting. I have just introduced some bigger sizes too, such as XXL and XXXL. Please let me know your thoughts and please please send us pictures on Instagram/TikTok of you in these pieces as we would love to see you in them! Stay safe and sending you positive vibes xx

What a year 2020 was - now stocked on Wolf & Badger!

After a year of uncertainty and much pivoting to adapt, I have been blessed with being selected to sell Quillattire on the amazing Wolf & Badger platform (woo!). A move I have been so determined to get to and has not been easy, but even more proud to have done so through such a tumultuous time :)

Wolf & Badger have stores in London and NYC they focus on disrupting the deteriorating high street and solving the problems of physical retail in a digital world. A platform that takes the effort to showcase the worlds best sustainable product designed and made by independent designers (link below)

https://www.wolfandbadger.com/uk/designers/quillattire/

Wolf and Badger now stocking Quillattire

Since the start of the pandemic, I pivoted to giving people options for face masks and am now stocked in two boutiques. This lead to so much interest, which I was overwhelmed by. Wolf & Badger reached out to me a month ago and I jumped at the chance to be stocked by them! 2020 has been the busiest for my brand, and I am so determined to give you more cool sustainable product! I am currently working on the new collection and I know you all will love it :)

Thanks you so much for all your support this year, I know it has been tough for many - myself included. It has been a year of appreciating the small things which are actually huge in life and focusing on ourselves and our paths to being grateful and happy. I hope you are all ok, if you need to talk about anything or just need advice please message me via my socials or my email info@quillattire.com

Happy New Year! :) xx