The Brand a o i f e ® – The Thought Process and Colour Palette
Few brands ethically care about the environment and offering sustainable eco products in the same way that a o i f e ® does. From the humble beginnings of dying leftover vegetables to develop an authentic Irish colour palette to create the brand that dances to the beat of its own drum, the journey is just getting started for a o i f e ® and we hope you will join us.
Our Process in Designing for the Brand
Developed by Aoife Rooney, a professional fashion designer with the Council of Irish Fashion Designers and an Artist with the Print Studio of Ireland. She qualified from textile design and print,Dublin and then continued on to qualify in Interior Architecture and Environmental Furniture Design DIT, Dublin, followed by the Grafton Academy of Fashion, Dublin. a o i f e ® approaches the process for all designs in a way without sacrificing style. To achieve the best of both worlds, offering something that looks amazing through the use of sustainable regenerated or natural materials, considerable time is spent sketching, designing, drafting, testing and developing samples to ensure longevity and comfort and we are only getting started.
a o i f e ® is a sustainable, eco brand that works very closely with our partner green companies in Italy, America and Taiwan to bring our ideas to life. With careful research into the needs of the customer in a world which places far greater importance on upholding ethical standards than ever before, along with highly skilled Irish designers and the finest of Italy craftspeople, a o i f e ® is proud of its circular design process.
The Natural Colour Palette of the a o i f e ® Brand
The original palette was made from using organic Irish compost, along with the vegetation in the natural environment of Ireland. Aoife Rooney’s artistic flairs, of which she also uses as an artist at the Print studio of Ireland, were soon called into action as she began to develop a palette from the dying organically the brand’s palette.She wanted an organic colour palette which was original and easily recognisable as the a o i f e ®brand and as the fashion brand evolves organically this palette will develop in depth and become easily recognisable.
To offer a quality of colour so intense in its original form, a dye process was formed using raspberry leaves, cabbage leaves, onions, roots, foliage, nuts, berries and Irish flowers. The process not only helped to understand natural biology and chemistry of the natural ingredients but to also appreciate the beauty it has to offer.
Foresight
We have to have foresight and be ahead of ourselves in terms of development, having faith in you our customers and producing our regenerated eco friendly fabrics well in advance. Our yarns and the fabrics we use in our luxury, sustainable bags are not fast fashion items, our partner company Healthy seas have to spend considerable time to remove ghost fishing nets from the ocean and retains carpets destined for landfill. This takes time, often it is a dangerous process as the seas are rough but its making a huge difference to the clean up of plastics in our oceans, making all our futures brighter and we are delighted to be helping this clean up.
After the regenerated yarn is made, this yarn is sent to our partner artisan mill in Italy who produce the most beautiful compositional fabrics and colours, according to our lap dipped testing. Our designs are created and developed in Ireland on the drafting board and our technical packs are then sent to Milan, we have artisans on the ready to advise and encourage the process, circular design is all about collaboration and the only way forward in fashion. Our regenerated customised fabrics are used to create our designer bags by these skilled craftspeople in Milan, Italy, where the heritage of bag making is prominent and respected, all our luxury bags are certified using the highest of standards in Italy.
A Small Brand Making a Big Difference
By electing for our sustainable and ecologically friendly bags, you will be helping to make a difference in the grand scheme of things. You will also be helping to support a small Irish business striving to make a big difference, but we cannot do it alone. We can merely helping to set the tone for a global interdependence of circular fashion moving forward .
To ensure that we stay ahead of the game, we are already looking into the development of products using coconut fabric, organic cotton mixed with paper, bamboo charcoal, and even mushrooms! Tests are well underway in our lab intending to introduce them in our future collections, meaning that it is exciting times ahead for a o i f e ®.
