NO MUD, NO LOTUS.

Dear friends,

It is my absolute pleasure to be sharing our Spring Summer 2018 collection with you. The line is based around my collection of antique South East Asian textiles, as I have been building a library of pieces that range 50-200 years old. Hunting for rare creatures like these is a never-ending source of adventure. Some are fringed with real cocoons, dotted with random colour thanks to what ever was growing at the time, and tell pictorial stories of nagas (mythical creatures), lions, people at work, and the values of the woman who wove it. These humble textiles teach me the values of grace, and can tell me new stories each time I revisit them. They are real life dinosaurs that stretch my capacity to be true to the values that are woven into them.

Earlier this year I went on a research trip to India to look into traditional Khadi fabrics. Basically khadi is a traditional handspun and handwoven method of textile production that gave rise to a ‘Khadi movement’ in 1918 headed by Gandhi to inspire self-reliance amongst Indians during British rule. He used khadi as a relief program for the poor living in rural villages whom were trapped by a dependence on colonial rule. Today khadi is a certified textile that is proudly all natural, chemical free, and a way of life that is prided upon by Indians. – It’s also a stunning product that sees to so many beautiful fabrics.

This brings me to the title of the collection, ‘no mud, no lotus’. This term was coined by author Thich Nhat Hanh, who uses it to describe the art of transforming the transient suffering that life brings human kind. I think it is a beautiful way to describe the impermanence of both happiness and suffering, two opposing forces that fill our lives with growth and beauty. The saying itself describes the mysterious whirl of our natural Universe as a metaphor that we can all relate to. A lotus is born from the grit of the earth, pushing through thick mud to blossom into a beautiful sort of strangeness – Only to wilt, drop, and decompose back into the ground to nourish the next. Without mud, we wouldn’t have Khadi, we wouldn’t have mystery, and we wouldn’t experience grace. Without mud, I would not have the pure delight of watching W’menswear unfold in front of my very eyes, taking on a life of its own, yet vitalised by the very core values born from within me.

For Spring Summer 18 you will be able to experience the blooms. Expect much Khadi, handwoven Indian Ikats, slow-stitched Wakayama t-shirting (in my opinion the best knitted cotton in the world), deep Indigo developed naturally by my friends Slowstitch Studio in Chiang Mai, slow woven Japanese denims, a giant silk screened bandana, and original deadstock French ceramic buttons from the 40s. These are beautiful reminders of our natural Universe that I hope to grace our world with wonderment.

Below you are first to witness the Spring Summer 18 story, one that I shot in the landscape surrounding my home with my dear friend Sofia Jergner Ekervik. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did watching the collection come to life.

– Lauren