Our story
The concept of resilient craftsmanship
Edie Lou Studio exists to create garments that embody connection - between people, their inner selves, and the world they inhabit. The studio addresses a global, cross-generational audience of independent thinkers guided by human values of respect, care, and mutual recognition. People who are intellectually curious approach learning as an ongoing process, valuing reflection, cultural literacy, and engagement with ideas that extend beyond the familiar. ELS aims to extend beyond clothing by integrating design with its editorial platform, PULP - Paper Unites Labyrinthine People -, making space for intellectual exchange and shared knowledge.
At the heart of ELS lies a belief that fashion should be regenerative: a practice that restores rather than depletes, and a process guided by circularity. Every piece is born from intentional design, crafted from sustainable and deadstock materials, and shaped with respect for ecological limits. Our collections reject overproduction and embrace slow, enduring creation.
Each garment carries a story - of courage, dignity, and authenticity. It is made for those who refuse to see fashion as surface consumption, but instead as an expression of identity, human connection, and our interdependence with nature. By weaving empathy and responsibility into every seam, Edie Lou Studio aspires to show that fashion can be both meaningful and transformative: a space where integrity is preserved, and a future of renewal becomes possible.
The studio’s practice includes interdisciplinary collaboration with scientific partners and artistic approaches, exploring questions beyond garment production. ELS uses fashion as a medium for communication and connection, enabling complex research outcomes to be shared in accessible terms. This practice extends to research-based projects such as the Underpants Dress developed in collaboration with the Proof by Underpants project and research partners from the University of Zurich and Agroscope.
All garments are designed and produced locally in Switzerland, with production based in Zurich and Mendrisio, Ticino. The studio follows a made-to-order model that aligns production with actual demand, reducing overproduction, excess inventory, and unnecessary resource use. This model supports lower CO2 emissions by avoiding speculative manufacturing, minimising transport distances and enabling precise production planning.
We believe business has a responsibility beyond profit. As we grow, we commit to reinvesting at least 2% of our annual profits into social and environmental projects that align with our values. This commitment will evolve as the studio grows, and we will report it openly each year.
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In a world that often feels as though it is moving too fast, Edie Lou Studio chooses to slow down. Each garment is developed with care and attention, valuing the act of creation. The studio believes in intellect - in fashion that questions rather than conforms, that invites reflection and challenges habitual ways of thinking. It believes equally in humanity: in the shared experiences of growth, struggle, and transformation, and in designing with those realities in mind.
The studio works with deep awareness of material responsibility and planetary limits. Production is based in Ticino, Switzerland, allowing for close collaboration, reduced transport distances, and lower associated CO2 emissions. All garments are produced on a made-to-order basis, aligning production with demand and avoiding overproduction. Design decisions are informed by planetary boundary science, recognising the finite nature of resources and the need for long-term ecological restraint.
Material choices are made with equal care. ELS works exclusively with deadstock fabrics, extending the life of existing materials and avoiding the use of newly produced textiles wherever possible. For leather applications, ELS uses sourced plant-based alternatives. As these materials do not yet exist as deadstock - plant based leather textiles are still emerging and are produced in small, controlled quantities - they are sourced directly from specialized producers. The selection process prioritizes alternatives to animal leather and oil-based synthetic substitutes such as PU, reflecting a clear refusal of extractive and petrochemical leather systems. Current plant-based options, including pineapple and cork leather, are used with full awareness of their limitations, particularly the presence of synthetic binders that complicate end-of-life decomposition. In response, the studio is actively seeking collaboration with producers of next-generation materials such as mushroom-based leather, with the aim of advancing alternatives that are materially coherent, biodegradable, and aligned with long-term ecological responsibility.
Beyond garment creation, ELS actively seeks collaboration with scientists, researchers, and artist in order to move beyond design alone. These collaborations aim to translate research outcomes into tangible, accessible forms - using fashion as a medium to raise awareness around environmental realities, material innovation, and planetary limits. Conceptual pieces such as the Underpants Dress function as research-driven statements, designed to communicate systemic question rather than to serve purely commercial ends.
Artistic collaboration is equally integral to the studio’s practice. Selected garments, including jackets and plant-based leather accessories, are developed in dialogue with artists, allowing to operate as a collective practice, where garments become a shared language. Art functions as a direct form of communication - one that reaches people beyond explanation, argument, or instruction. Since the founder of ELS, Edie Lou, works itself across design, art, and photography, with her own artistic and photographic work directly integrated into the studio’s output too. In this way, collaboration enables garments and projects to communicate values that cannot be reduced to product or data. Art creates access points that are emotional, intuitive, and human. This makes it possible to engage people not only intellectually, but at a deeper level - through recognition, resonance, and empathy.
At the core of the studio is a belief in connection - not just as a concept, but as a lived practice. The design process is shaped through close collaboration between everyone involved: from manufacturers to artists, models, show production teams, etc. Each stage is grounded in mutual respect, care, and shared responsibility. This human connection informs not only how garments are made, but how the studio understands value itself.
ELS creates garments with depth and intention - pieces designed to move with the wearer, to adapt over time, and to remain relevant beyond fleeting trends. The aim is not to dress the body alone, but to acknowledge the inner life of the individual: to create clothing that supports presence, confidence, and authenticity. This is the foundation of ELS: a practice rooted in courage, dignity, and care - for people, for production process, and for the planet. The studio understands fashion as a responsibility as much as a creative act, and designs with the belief that beauty and sustainability are not opposing forces, or buzzwords, but mutually reinforcing ones.
Welcome to Edie Lou Studio - where thoughtful design, human connection, artistic and scientific exchange, and material responsibility come together, and where every garment reflects a commitment to a more conscious and enduring life.
©Edie Lou Studio