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Lily Marthe Ebener

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Inspired by the colors, sights, sounds and tastes of different countries and cultures, and shaped by her work as a vogue editor, Lilly Marthe creates a beautiful handmade collection.  With a focus on rich, elemental colors and textures, all the pieces in the collection are exquisitely hand-crafted, with a single piece taking a master knitter as much as forty hours to complete. Working exclusively with one hundred percent natural fibers, chosen for quality, uniqueness and character, Marthe produces a collection that is as instinctual as it is poetic.  Recovering the mastery of the past, Lilly Marthe works with a team of master weavers and knitters in Germany, while training the next generation.

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The journey from Peru, for the highland alpaca collection, is the story of transformation from fiber to yarn. Alpaca fleece from the highlands is hand sorted for fineness, color and length.  After scouring and washing the fiber with a bio-degradable solution, the fiber is carded and combed, a process that rids the fiber of short hair as well as natural debris.  Gilling and blending the fibers together multiple times, the fiber is finally ready for spinning and spooling into yarn, when the master artisans take over, to dye, tint, knit and weave the yarns into the finished product.

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The collection also incorporates traditional Loden wool, a textile steeped in rich a tradition and heritage, based in practical artistry as well as functionality.  Employing methods that have changed little over the centuries, Loden wool is a testament to enduring precision and cultivated mastery by Austrian mountaineers, some five hundred years ago.  On guard against exposure and an unpredictable environment, the mountaineers processed wool fibers for clothing that offered more than a basic barrier against the elements, keeping them warm as well as cooled, equipped and protected. This tenacious textile is both versatile and enduring.

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Infused with the spirit of transcendence and the ambience of a daydream, the Lily Marthe collection signals a revival of the true artisan. The haunting imagery of the collection is echoed in the stark snow covered peaks it is photographed in, and punctuated with poetic reflections of the landscape the collection was born of.  Eye popping color carry a punch, coordinated with classic understated styles, with slightly exaggerated proportions, creating an almost surrealistic vision.  Washed out colorless Loden wool fades into snow colored landscapes, like a snow leopard, having taken generations to perfectly adapt to the environment.   Richly draped and textured, each piece is unique and full of character.

The Lily Marthe Ebener collection is no longer available.

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