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CRAFTSMANSHIP


THE MISTRESS OF SEAMS


Once known as SA’s premier corsetière, Arwen Swan and her business partner, Ben Skinner, broadened their offering in response to the demand from a growing number of clients who are turning their backs on an increasingly bland fashion scene – and Arwen Garmentry was born. Arwen eschews modern production


techniques. Lamenting the fact that today’s designers are more au fait with computer programs than traditional pattern-making protocols, she’ll spend up to 28 hours making a pattern by hand. It may take as many as 30 fittings before she’s satisfied that a garment fits and feels as it should, depending on its complexity. The items themselves are usually embellished by hand, as in


and skirts they created wouldn’t be replaced for several years. Instead of overlocked seams,


you’ll find French seams; her fabrics are lined with organza, rather than iron-on backing, while the handmade embellishments mean that all the pieces are unique. She learnt these


the case of a hand-beaded corset that carries a special piece of history in the form of tiny blue sequins manufactured during the 1920s. “These things are precious,” she notes, “because once they’ve gone, that’s it.” Arwen admits that her pieces aren’t


for those seeking a quick wardrobe update. Far from it: many of her lines have been created to last several years, with occasional new additions. She’s currently working on a range of once- off creations in one size, which can be worn and enjoyed over a lifetime. Her confidence in her garments’ longevity is borne out by her use of 19th


-century


techniques, practices employed by seamstresses who knew that the dresses


35


techniques from other artisans, many of whom engage online and are keen to counter the world’s slide into homogeneity. “The flipside of our disconnected


society is that it’s given rise to a movement which is attempting to pull us back together,” says Arwen.


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