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My first hat was made as an "isolation creation" in the early days of the pandemic having a couple of vintage towels remain unsold from my vintage shop. I have always been inspired by the garments made by women in the 60s and 70s from towels they bought at department stores like Sears, but I really wanted to think outside the box in terms of what I made with those materials! As a textile nerd, what keeps me inspired is the textures and richness of the towels I source - they were all hand-loomed and each one is incredibly unique. Just laying out the pattern pieces and determining what portions of the textile to highlight gives me such satisfaction. Having worked in the fast fashion world for a decade, designing new product was something I had to do quickly and often. It has been a welcome challenge to learn to approach things slowly and with more intention. Creating fewer designs producing fewer items all together.

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I have been so lucky to see my brand grow during this abysmal time, but I take such joy in being able to market Picnicwear as a slow fashion brand made by hand in NYC (almost) entirely from vintage and deadstock materials - I now work with a team in NYC that employs skilled garment workers to sew our pieces and I take pride in paying them over minimum wage.

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Dani Des Roches