Our story
"My mother always loved beautiful quality fabrics, laces, embroidery, tapestry, crochet, looms, and anything made by hand in the old way. She taught me a lot about materials, fibers, fabrics, and the value of handicraft.
My father sold home-textiles and haberdashery. He was also a very conscious consumer and always reminded me of how important it is to buy local products, respect the limits of mother earth, and appreciate all the great things it gives us.
In 2018, my siblings and I had to take over my father's business. The experience was very awakening to me and made me understand how important it is to buy from small businesses. Dealing with everything was overwhelming but rewarding. It felt right to sell a national quality product and to have that close contact with the costumers and suppliers.
Soon after that, I started toying with the idea of starting a project of my own. After fashion school, I wanted a chance to explore a different approach towards fashion, a more hand-crafted way of making clothes, and this was my opportunity. I started to experiment with the materials I had at home and eventually designed the "Things Remote" upcycled collection. While developing it, I was shocked to realize how much time is needed to make a garment from scratch and how costly the materials are. I knew that I wanted to work with sustainable fashion, but this just made a lot more clear how much we need to change our consumer's behavior, especially when buying from one of the largest polluters in the world - the clothing industry.
I wanted to offer a more sustainable and slow-paced alternative to fast fashion, so I decided to start my label.
With Pandã, I want to make you feel an open and deep connection to the clothes you buy. A garment goes well beyond the final product. It is the result of months of planning and dedication, so I want to share its journey and my creative process with you. I want to talk to you about the fabric choices, the pattern making, the construction of the pieces, the atelier where everything happens, and the people involved. (check @pandan_atelier on Instagram for updates)
My goal is also to bring you unique sustainable apparel that is exciting to wear, gives you positive energy, and makes you feel empowered.
Costumes and vintage pieces, art, fabrics, tailoring, and nature are some of my biggest inspirations. I also love to draw and play with patterns, colors, and textures. You will find a little bit of all that here. Welcome to my world!"
-Inês
Process
The research, design, and sampling is carried throughout several months in the atelier until the final prototypes are approved.
We work on demand with deadstock fabrics which means that only when you place an order, we buy the fabric and send it to the atelier, located in Leiria, where Célia and her team of five other experienced seamstresses will iniciate the process of making the garment spcially for you.
To follow the creative process up close, check us out on instagram (@pandan_atelier).
Sustainability
The efforts to reduce waste start at the workshop where our prototypes are made from old fabric scraps. The final designs are hand made to order from deadstock materials and the leftover final fabric is repurposed to make buttons, buckles, and others to prevent excessive stock.
The fabrics used are carefully selected, high quality, mostly made out of natural fibers and prodiued in portuguese factories.
As we grow, we aim to work with other sustainable solutions such as recycled fibers as well and always improver our overall enviromental inpact.
