Summer might slowly be coming to an end, but we’re still dreaming of sunny days on the beach, cocktails in hand and light flowy dresses!
If you’re lucky enough to still be on holidays or would like to build your holiday wardrobe for your future trips, we’ve got a great brand recommendation for you.
Anegada is a luxury beach and resort wear brand founded by two best friends, Joy Timmer and Sophie Quinn, in 2020. Inspired by the luxurious beaches in the Caribbean, each piece is hand-printed by women in India making them truly unique and special.
Dedicated to creating business tailored not just to the customer, but also to the artisans and the environment, all their pieces are made from GOTS-certified organic cotton and shell buttons, meaning that at the end of their life, they decompose naturally and return to soil.
This week, I spoke to Sophie to find out more about the story behind Anegada, their production and approach to sustainability.
How did you come up with the idea of starting Anegada?
Joy and I have always had a love for fashion, travelling and beaches. Back a few years ago, during our summer holiday, we went travelling across India and we both fell in love with all the beautiful clothes, different colours and prints we saw there. We also came across the block printing technique in Rajasthan which was used to make a lot of the clothes we liked.
As we couldn’t really see the beautiful styles that we had seen in India in the UK, we decided to build our own brand by incorporating the colours and the block-printing technique we had seen there to make luxury resort and beach wear pieces. And that’s the story of how we came up with the idea of starting Anegada!
What would you say makes Anegada unique and special?
All our pieces are rather simple, but quite striking. We really want to show off the beauty of block printing by keeping things quite simple and choosing one or two colours for each piece.
I would also say our approach to sustainability is quite unique. We don’t just look at what the product is made out of; we take a more holistic approach by looking at the other aspects of the product as well such as the packaging and even the label inside the dresses. We look at each step of the product lifecycle to see how we can do things in the most sustainable way possible.
What’s your favourite piece in the range?
For me, I would have to say the Isla ruffle dress. It says beach to me in a dress and when I see it, I just think of a luxury holiday on the beach. It’s inspired by the styles you’d see in Ibizia. It’s a got a free-flowing design and is ruched so it’s flattering on all figures.
We briefly touched on your pieces being block printed by women in India. Can you tell us a bit more about that and the production of your garments?
We’ve got an ethical supplier and manufacturer over in India who are compliant with the Sedex 4 pillar and VF Corporation Social Standards. The women who are involved in the manufacturing of our clothes are all trained and taught new skills such as sewing, cutting and packaging. They are paid a fair wage and get a lot of benefits such as healthcare, and scholarship funds if they want to do any further training, and a safe commute to and from work which is organised by our manufacturer.
With regards to block printing, it’s a highly skilled but unfortunately dying craft due to mass production of clothing and screen printing. That’s why it is so important for us to showcase the work of artisans in India while making sure they are treated fairly and ethically.
Block printing technique used to make the Marina Shirt Dress
Contact
Website: Anegadaclub.com/
Instagram: @anegadaclub
Written By: Darya Badiei | Fashion Content Editor
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