Slow Fashion Moves Us Forward: Interview with Delia Brad, Founder of She’s Linen

Photography by Denisa Coman for She’s Linen. Modelling by actress Aida Economu

 
 

Beautiful is a word I don’t use lightly. Because I believe beauty can not be defined easily or stereotyped. Beautiful is not the one blessingly bestowed just with lovely physical features, but the one who projects beauty from within and through what one is and does. That’s the beauty that looks good. And just as inner calm and gentleness nurture outer beauty in a person, a fashion design is as beautiful as the story behind it. That’s the fashion that looks good.

She’s Linen is a beautiful fashion brand. They make fashion that follows its own rhythm. They don’t create a new collection every season, but basic pieces you want to keep for years, most of them made to order in their family-owned studio in Transylvania. Classic, clean, minimalistic, feminine style, with linen as fabric and quality not as an act but as a habit. This is fashion that has a lot to do with style and comfort, clinging to your body like second skin so that you feel at ease and good with who you are. Fashion that is an expression of identity, of belonging, of communicating. Fashion that is kind to nature and celebrates the individual. Fashion that is aiming at rediscovering values that speak of thinking smaller and is embracing a return to making things locally, seeking that much-needed balance where growth is not just about financial gain, but about personal growth, too, and about the growth of the community it mindfully builds around it.

It is the ones who see things differently that move us forward. Good is cool. And She’s Linen is cool like that. Because they don’t show respect for the future just through the way they make slow fashion, but through impacting change on children from a very early age through the riches of film. The Educational Programme for Young Audiences speaks of the powerful connection that movies make with us and between us, and encourages an appreciation of film as an artistic, cultural, educational and historical document.

It is a great pleasure to have Delia Brad, the founder of She’s Linen, as my guest today. We talk about how the brand came to life, the difficulties of a systemic change in fashion, about finding balance every day and the film culture of the future.

 

Photography by Denisa Coman for She’s Linen. Modelling by actress Aida Economu

 

She’s Linen. Why linen? Why did you choose this particular fabric for your collection? And what was the starting point of your brand, what’s the story behind?

Identifying a starting point is not simple, because this brand is actually the result of a years-long search, both on a personal and professional level. Some of us need decades or even a lifetime to get to know ourselves, to identify and prioritise our values. In my case, the search for answers has led to the idea of creating this brand, which was never intended to be a fashion brand, but rather a lifestyle one, with a social and educational component.

It also needs to be said that while She’s Linen is the expression of my creative vision, it is a family-run brand, part of a business my parents started from scratch in the early 90s and which my husband also joined later on.
 
 


“She’s Linen is an invitation to calm, reflection,
and a healthier relationship with our belongings.”

 
 

As for why I chose linen – there were two equally important reasons:

On one hand, because I truly believe the objects around us can influence the way we perceive the world and ourselves, and even help us become the person we want to be. For me, linen is a way of cultivating simplicity, mindfulness, and a connection with the natural world, which we sadly tend to forget about, caught up as we are in our endless ambitions and to-do lists.

On the other hand, sourcing traceable, locally-produced raw materials, with a low environmental impact is not easy for a small brand to achieve. Linen is one of the very few fabrics that can meet these requirements. For transparency and traceability, we chose to work directly with the weaver, an almost 100-year-old flax mill in Europe and a member of the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp, which oversees the fiber’s development from plant to finished product.

 

Photography by Denisa Coman for She’s Linen. Modelling by actress Aida Economu

 

If you could capture the essence of She’s Linen in one sentence, how would you describe it?

She’s Linen is an invitation to calm, reflection, and a healthier relationship with our belongings.

 
She’s Linen is a women’s collection, one that looks so simple and liberating from what’s going on in the fashion world. Who is the She’s Linen woman? Who are the women who inspire you?

Many women inspire me in different ways. Some of them are well-known public figures, while others are family members or people that I happened to cross paths with. Rather than giving you a list of names, I would like to talk about qualities I find inspiring. Kindness is first, and natural, unpretentious elegance – in body posture, language, and gestures. Self-knowledge and self-acceptance. Modesty, generosity, aging gracefully. The way these women dress is merely a consequence and reflection of all that. However, I should say I am not alone in nurturing the concept creation at She’s Linen. In my work, I am constantly consulting with a wonderful lady and talented fashion designer from Cluj-Napoca, Denisa Pitea.
 
 

“A systemic, impactful change is only possible
if more of us decide to play a part in it.”

 
 

As the founder of a socially conscious, slow fashion brand, do you think there is a significatly increased interest in the locally-made, in craftsmanship and mindful shopping? Is change here to stay?

An increasing number of people are becoming aware of the impact of their fashion choices and consumption behaviour in general. And yes, some of us are learning to reshape our habits. But we are still a tiny minority and studies are showing that change is not happening fast enough to counterbalance the negative impact of the ever-growing fast fashion industry. Therefore, as I keep saying, spreading awareness about these issues is one of the most important things we can do to drive fashion to become more ethical and sustainable. A systemic, impactful change is only possible if more of us decide to play a part in it, which is why I encourage people to share the information with their family and friends and recognise that it is only by using our collective voices that we can truly make a difference.

 

Photography by Denisa Coman for She’s Linen. Modelling by actress Aida Economu

 

What does style mean to you personally?

To me, style is about good sense and self-knowledge. It is something you can choose to cultivate and improve. It means figuring out what works best for your body type and lifestyle, makes you feel good, and allows you to be yourself.

 
We live in a hectic world and more and more people are trying to go back to basics, to find a balance, to live mindfully. How do you find balance every day? How do you live life as a conscious choice?

I believe mindfulness starts with feeling rested and emotionally balanced. These are fuelled by getting enough sleep and exercise, eating healthy, spending time with people we love. To me, this doesn’t always come naturally, it’s something I need to be very intentional about, otherwise, I tend to slip in the wrong direction. I find it helps to add all these to my agenda as specific goals in my daily routine. And I am literally checking boxes (or not) at the end of the day to keep track of where I need to try harder. I make time to listen to this great podcast by Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford School of Medicine. He and his podcast guests share scientific-based tools that we can all use to design better, more balanced lives. I also use a meditation app called Waking Up, created by Sam Harris, a neuroscientist and philosopher, who gives me a boost of clarity and calm every time I open the app. Not as often as I should. But I think we are all a work in progress and each small step ahead matters.

 

Photography by Denisa Coman for She’s Linen. Modelling by actress Aida Economu

 

To make a better future, we have to invest in the present. She’s Linen does that not only through the way it makes fashion, but also through the cultural community it builds around its core values and particularly through another beautiful project the brand is part of. Please tell us a little about Cinema Arta and its Educational Programme for Young Audiences.

Once you realise there is a need for systemic change in the fashion industry and in the way we produce and consume goods in general, one question comes to mind: is this a realistic expectation, and if so, how can change be achieved? I can’t say if an impactful change is possible in due time and I don’t think anyone has an answer to that, but I can tell you what I have found while looking for answers.

Simran Sethi, a journalist and educator focused on sustainability and social change, gave a TED Talk saying that “Psychologists have almost no evidence that information changes people’s decision-making. We tend to believe the facts and embrace the facts that already confirm our world view. It’s called confirmation bias. We tend to disregard the facts that do not align with our views.”

Problems like climate change, she further said, are too complex and abstract for us to grasp, which is why they don’t inspire the same need for action as imminent threats. So, anyone looking to get their ‘environmental message’ through to people needs to find creative ways to make these concepts perceivable. We need to provide contexts that people can relate to and understand. I knew from personal experience as well as my readings that art and film, in particular, have the power to do that. It is with this conviction that I knocked on the doors of Cinema ARTA from Cluj-Napoca in 2019 and I was more than delighted to find out that film education was already a part of their vision and agenda. They welcomed me and we’ve been working together ever since. The project was born in 2020 and is growing beautifully from one year to another. More details about it, about the activities and resources available, can be discovered on the Cinema Arta website.

 
 

“The aim is to improve media literacy, creative and critical thinking,
but also raise awareness of social and environmental issues.”

 
 

You have an incredible film selection for young audiences, films you don’t find in mainstream cinemas. The truth is there are fewer and fewer good movies you can go to with your children, because few cinemas bring or show such films. And I think what you are doing is amazing, and it’s something that gives me hope. Hope that our children can find in cinema a safe and enjoyable space (I wholeheartedly believe in the importance of the cinema experience), but also a space that, because of the films offered, can broaden their minds, imagination, culture and, yes, their attention span. How do you make the selection of films available at CineKids and how has the audience responded so far? What gives you hope for the film culture of the future?

Thank you for your kind words, Ada! The film selection is the result of a collaboration with two European projects of film education, but also the work of Csilla Nagy, the Cinema ARTA curator, and Anca Caramelea, an expert in film education. And as you noticed, this selection was intended as a much-needed alternative to mainstream cinema.

We mostly work in partnership with schools, inviting teachers and students to the cinema; they can choose a film from our Catalogue and decide whether they want a cultural mediator to be present. Our intention is to create a safe space, where young audiences can learn and express themselves freely. Most of the films available are accompanied by educational files which are used in the after-film discussions and activities with the children. The aim is to improve media literacy, creative and critical thinking, but also raise awareness of social and environmental issues.

As for the audience response: the films are different and the children are different, with very different backgrounds, so we have seen mixed reactions. But overall, the response is positive and inspiring, even passionate at times, so we feel motivated to keep developing the programme. This is what gives me hope for the future of film… and the future in general, I dare say.
 

Thank you, Delia, for this honest and inspiring discussion.

 

Photography by Denisa Coman for She’s Linen. Modelling by actress Aida Economu

 
 

Website and online shop: sheslinen.com | Instagram: @sheslinen

 
 

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