MALVAR = STEWART

MALVAR = STEWART is a non-seasonal line of women’s clothing and accessories produced from salvaged vintage fabrics, and wool from local farmers. With a focus on unconventional design, STEWART does not compromise beauty, quality or integrity for environmentally considered production. One-off designs are meticulously created, with unique details and sound construction, using natural dyes that don’t follow seasonal color palettes. Intrinsically zero waste by design, MALVAR = STEWART utilize one hundred percent of all textiles, construction materials, pattern paper and thread remnants.

With their beginnings in 2003, Celeste Malvar Stewart was approached by a friend who wanted ‘something special’ made from salvaged, unwanted fine menswear wool textiles. The vintage fabric was liberated from a Hollywood tailoring store, that closed it doors in 1960, and was coincidentally called Stewart’s. The find included homespun Scottish tweed, and double shrunk British wool, and so began Stewart’s intrigue with salvaged materials, and a practice of mindful design.

Launching MALVAR = STEWART in 2010 after a Masters thesis on independent US designers working with post consumer waste, the collection focused on beautiful accessories. 2013 saw the addition of women’s clothing from vintage wool, and hand felted fabrics from local farms. Materials are sourced with intriguing provenance, such as the hand tooled belt buckle made from copper found in an abandoned mine in Colorado. Working alongside Fresh Cut TEXTILES founder and natural dyer Amanda Cinco-Hoyt, the collection includes naturally dyed silk, wool and hand spun yarn. The collection is an exploration of natural textures and colors, combining the traditional with the unconventional. Each piece takes many laborious hours of deconstruction, construction, hand dying, meticulous detailing and hand finishing.

Website: http://malvarstewart.com

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