The Story Behind Aïla Studio

Welcome to Aïla’s first newsletter! We’re so excited to finally be able to share what we’ve been working on, and to bring you along for the journey. In this first newsletter, we wanted to walk you through how Aïla started, how we make our pieces, and what is in our first collection.

There are four bin bags of fabric in the front room right now, and we still haven't worked out how to get to the sofa. That's roughly how every collection begins. It started with a tablecloth Leila’s mum was throwing away, and a Sunday spent figuring out whether patchwork was actually something we could do, or just something we liked the idea of.

We didn't have a plan so much as a study space and a lot of fabric, and it was months before either of us said the word "business" out loud. Friends asked where we'd got a piece, then asked if we could make them one too, and that's the whole story of how Aïla began. 

Somewhere in there we worked out what we actually wanted this to be. Not a brand that tells you what to buy or how to feel about buying it, but two people who make things by hand and would rather you knew how.

Our garments are cut from second-hand clothing and leftover fabric - pieces that already existed in one form or another. Sourcing it, washing it, working out what can actually be used, then patchworking it by hand: that's most of what we do, most days.

Every piece is one-of-a-kind, which means when it's gone, we can make something similar in spirit, but never quite the same.

Chapter 01

This is the first time we've written down where each piece has come from, so here it is. The fabrics used throughout Chapter 01 are a combination of leftover materials and a generous donation from Leila’s mum Sue, formerly in the fashion scene, who was clearing out years' worth of stored fabric. She gifted us multiple bags full of beautiful textiles from past projects, explaining that many of them would otherwise have ended up in charity shops or gone to waste.

By repurposing these fabrics, we've given them a second life. Some arrived in generous lengths, making them easy to work with, while others were the length of a ruler, which was more challenging to use. That's why you'll notice some fabrics featured across several garments, while others appear only once or twice; each piece is shaped by the materials available.

As of now, the three shapes comfortably fit UK 6-14. The shapes have gone through extensive trial and error around fitting, but we’ve finally achieved our beautiful silhouettes. These will not look the exact same on each size, as that’s impossible, but still flatter each body respectively, which was our main goal. Every garment has technicalities that enable this, such as elasticated components and adjustable straps. 

Aïla is first and foremost about community. Our values are important and have shaped us, how we dress, and now how we want others to feel whilst wearing our clothes. As two girls who understand the difference between saying something and actioning it, we place our ethos at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we have chosen to create handmade, quality pieces that are one-of-a-kind, just like you and I. 

Thanks for being here for the beginning of Aïla, we cannot wait to see what the future holds.

Written By Anna Eddolls