Accidente Con Flores, an ethical fashion brand that constantly evolves

Accidente Con Flores is a creative studio based in Mallorca. Ola and Adrián started their clothing line spontaneously, without any plans or calculations. “After graduating, we both knew that we wanted to stay creative and to work for ourselves,” explains Ola and Adrián. They design, cut, and sew everything in their studio on the island and collaborate with many local artisans to support their art and craft pieces.

Ola and Adrián believe that this is a way to offer better choices and transform the fashion industry from being the second largest polluter in the world. “While studying fashion design in Antwerp and fine arts in Tenerife, we became aware of the consequences and environmental impact of the fast fashion industry. That’s why Accidente Con Flores only makes sense for us if it is completely honest and transparent in every aspect.”

“We don't work according to the pace and restrictions imposed by the fashion industry, such as collections or seasons, we prefer to create each piece separately. Our pieces are, therefore, not dependent on the trends imposed by outside influences.”

They both enjoy the process of creating — from the first decision to the final product. They don’t limit themselves with ultimate goals, visions, and long-term plans. In their eyes, Accidente Con Flores is constantly evolving. They have the freedom of learning something new every day and to be able to go in any direction that feels right for them. Ola and Adrián sum up this approach: “There is never a definite beginning nor a definite end.”

Mallorca immediately felt like home to them. “We wanted to be surrounded by nature, animals, creative people, and endless possibilities, that’s why we decided to create a peaceful place here. Mallorca is incredibly rich in traditional crafts. There are so many old techniques, such as weaving palm leaves, glass blowing and textile weaving that are still being preserved at the highest quality.”

While Mallorca has become home, a priority for the duo has always been to design products locally and use nearby resources. For example, their entire wool clothing line is made on the island using local sources only. They do this by cooperating with Eugenia and Gemma, who are working with local shepherds to turn the wool into a beautiful, high-quality product. And with another local shoemaker, Toni, they’ve created handmade espadrilles.

Once they realized that there was not an online platform that would show the work of all these local artisans that they enjoyed meeting, they created one called “How They Work”.

“We wanted to present some rare, behind-the-scenes insights into their life and work. We hope this website will serve as a useful guide for anyone interested in discovering and supporting them and to be the beginning of many beautiful relationships and creative connections.”

Supporting local artisans gives them a sense of belonging and the joy of contributing to change. “It fills us with satisfaction. Moreover, we feel like being a part of a very big family.”

Getting to know Ola and Adrián a little bit better

Their favorite Accidente Con Flores pieces: everything really :)

The best thing about living on Mallorca is: nature

If you weren’t designers, you would be: musicians or bakers

If you had five minutes to teach someone something new, what would it be: breathing techniques or baking bread

Andrea Juckem is a writer and co-creator of the bi-lingual online magazine NIKA (which means niche in English). She has always been attracted to people's stories and communication but it was not until recently that she decided to put it all in words that have an impact: Andrea now uses her (Czech and English) writing to express emotions and share meaningful thoughts and stories.

Images: Valentina Riccardi

Images featuring the Accidene Con Flores espadrilles: Nùria from Isla et Nomade

Indigowares: founder Lisa Reddings introduces her slow fashion brand

Please introduce yourself:

Hello! I'm Lisa, founder and creator of Indigowares. I live in Hertfordshire and I’m a 47-year-old mother of two. 

When did you start Indigowares and what inspired you to do so?

I started Indigowares in 2016 after working in fast fashion for 20 years. At the time I had taken a break from the industry to have children, but when I went through a divorce I had to find a way to make a living and be there for my children at the same time. Since then, Indigowares has become the perfect intersection of following my dream to start an independent ethical brand, and a way of working from home and being able to bring up my kids.

The idea for Indigowares initially came because I had taken up indigo dying as a hobby. I fell completely in love as I learned about its magical dyeing processes, as well as the cultures that did and still do use it. I grew really disillusioned with the fast fashion industry after working in it for so long, and this brought the focus back to making pattern – which was always my passion – and the traditional processes and history behind it. 

This evolved into a business through Etsy first. Then I learned to build a website and slowly started adding products there. And as I grew my knowledge of how to run an online business, Indigowares grew alongside that. The goal is always to create something that is timeless, seasonless, and keeps traditional processes alive with a contemporary twist.

What steps go into creating your pieces? 

It starts with the design, which has to be tested in order to come to life. We create sample garments, I indigo dye on different fabric contents to see how they take, test different patterns and natural dye techniques – everything needed to land on the perfect combination of things for production.

Production is split between my home studio here in Hertfordshire and our collaborators in India, so the process of creating pieces also looks different depending on where the resources are coming from. For garments like our Kantha Jackets, the process starts by working with our collaborators to source kantha quilts to be repurposed, then created in our classic styles.

Are you in charge of all the steps or do you have a team that supports you?

I design and oversee all the steps, but I have a number of people who collaborate, input, and help throughout production and running the business. So here in England, I work with a seamstress called Caroline, who helps with sewing and general day to day running. Then I have Kay, my virtual assistant who puts together our blogs, newsletters, and different bits of content. 

Then we have a number of really close relationships with our collaborators in India. There’s Kiran Sandhu, who owns and runs the farm where our Indigo is grown. Kiran is a fantastic indigo artist and samples pieces for us as well as collaborates on our Seed to Closet designs, which are made on her farm and are 100% traceable straight from the earth.

Our kantha quilts are also sourced from vintage bedding and materials in India – I work closely with a few suppliers in Jaipur to select these for each design.

What is special about choosing these techniques over chemical dying?

Water consumption is lower, for one. Natural dyes prevent the pollution that chemical dyes cause. Chemicals dyes are also harsh against your skin – they can cause allergies and irritation that you may not even think about when buying something chemically dyed. Our indigo dye is certified and tests at over 50% pure, which is an amazing amount for natural indigo. You can even see pictures of where our indigo was grown and the process of harvesting on our website. This models the cyclical process fashion can take - materials that come from the earth and can be returned to the earth.

But aside from all the environmental and person benefits, natural dyeing keeps alive traditional techniques. It allows us to celebrate history, culture, and artistry. 

What is your favourite Indigowares piece and why? 

I fall in love with each one at the beginning when I’m making them. Then stay in love until the next piece comes to mind, and the process starts all over again!

I think with designing something, it's like having children in some ways. You develop it and grow it and love it and nurture it. And then you set it free into the world and hopefully it does well. You're always there to support it – to share it and keep trying to sell it. Then to enjoy when customer reviews come in and other people fall just in love as I did! 

I think a lot of artists, at the beginning, you put all that time into your creation. And that’s why you love what you do, but nobody can love one thing forever. We’re always evolving, finding new fibres, new processes, more sustainable methods. That’s what I'd love more than anything – the evolution.

You worked in the fashion industry for about 20 years. What is different now that you work for your own brand?

So many things. We don't work into seasons. We don't work under pressure. We don't have to follow trends. We can be flexible and more human with suppliers, flexible with timelines and the creative process.

The biggest thing is that when you run your own brand, you are in control of your own destiny. Which hopefully means that we can help shape the future of the fashion industry, if we’re the change we want to see. 

Indigowares is only a little brand, but if the bigger brands see what we’re doing and the huge positive impact on the environment it can have, then maybe they’ll also start doing what we were doing. Maybe we wouldn't be in this situation, and maybe we can really reduce the pollution of the fashion industry. At the end of the day, the biggest thing I can do through Indigowares is take care of the earth, and help others do the same.

How can people find your beautiful designs?

On our website and on Instagram.

Images: Indigowares