March 10, 2021
Designer Spotlight: Tallulah and Hope
Launched in 2010, each of Tallulah & Hope's collections focuses on beautifully considered dresses and separates in art-inspired prints and bespoke embroidery designs that celebrate women at their most joyful and free-spirited. Designed for women with strong personal style and a keen interest in the art and power of self-expression, they use high-quality natural fabrics designed to be worn for years.
We love that the brand only produce limited runs to minimise waste and work with a small, second generation family run factory in Mumbai that prioritises the fair pay and treatment of workers in a safe working environment.
www.tallulahandhope.com
We spend 10 minutes talking to Lisa Ispani one of the founders of the brand.
What were the origins of Tallulah and Hope
Originally we started as a ‘resort-wear’ brand and were inspired to design pieces that avoided holiday wardrobe cliches and also celebrated our love of print. Our first collections focused on fluid, kaftan inspired shapes in beautiful prints. As we evolved we wanted pieces that were more relevant to our customer (most of whom are UK based) so we started introducing more ready-to-wear styles.
Where do you draw inspiration from when you are designing new pieces?
Our styles are typically quite classic in cut but elevated by our use of print, embroidery and design details. Artists, textile designers and the great outdoors are the main source of creative inspiration. Zoe (T&H co-founder) studied fine art before attending Central St Martins and all our prints and embroideries start off as hand drawings. We also like to collaborate directly with artists; for SS21 we’ve collaborated with British artist Tom Shedden the Lovebirds embroidery motif was taken directly from his hand drawings.
How would you define sustainability and how much do you consider it in day to day business?
Meeting your needs without comprising the needs of others to meet theirs. We’re a small brand so can produce in small volume and we really focus on timeless pieces that can be worn for years. We work directly with a small family-run factory in Mumbai, we’ve visited the factory and spent time with the owner, his family and the people who make our clothes. We use digital printing methods because this reduces water waste as the fabric doesn’t need as many wash/rinse cycles and there are no screens or colorant baths that require cleaning. For forthcoming collections we’ll be including dresses designed in collaboration with artists in Jaipur, we’ve actually set up our own work space in Jaipur with our India based production manager.
What fabrics do you like working with most and why?
For Autumn winter we love heavier cottons, velvet and needlecord, we try to use natural fabrics. For summer all types of cotton weights and we’ve also found a great quality viscose which as a plant-based fibre, is not inherently toxic or polluting. Although you have to be mindful where the viscose is actually sourced from.
How has the last year been for Tallulah and Hope?
A bit of roll-a-coaster! In September / October 2021 we launched our first ready-to-wear collection and with the back drop of the pandemic we weren’t sure what to expect but actually our UK customers have been brilliantly supportive we’ve practically sold out of every piece so we’re feeling thankful.
The Corona virus has highlighted our need to change the way we do business is this something you have found with Tallulah and Hope and have you consequently had to change anything?
We’re already an online brand and we try to deliver great customer service, I think its definitely been more challenging for independent boutiques. It’s a really interesting time to be in fashion as the whole industry is going through a lot of change, much it very needed, so it feels very positive. We’re endeavouring to keep paying close attention to what customers are looking for and responding to.
What are you looking forward to most coming out of lockdown
Spontaneity, being able to jump on train to visit friends, travel, eating in restaurants, hugging!