This is us. This is our Parlance
From a project of passion to a brand with a purpose
I still remember so vividly when it first dawned on me…that there wasn’t a place in the world where I could buy what I thought would be the most luxurious and beautiful leisurewear ever; that made of Liberty prints…
It was a sunny afternoon in the first lockdown in 2020 and I was fed up of having no casual clothes to wear - I just hadn’t been the ‘casual type’. I had built my career around woven textiles and woven dresses in particular and I had never felt the need to dress casually, in joggers and jumpers. But here, in the heat of lockdown, with nowhere else to go day in and day out but your garden (and yes we were incredibly fortunate to have one) I really felt a shift change. I went on search for the most gorgeous casualwear I could think of. At my age where I really don’t want to be carrying slogans on my clothing, all I could think of was cashmere knits - but in that heat, it just wouldn’t have worked. I went on a search to find a t-shirt and joggers printed in Liberty of London iconic prints, but to my shock and amazement there wasn’t anywhere that sold it. Frantically typing into google, only the odd old collaboration would pop up or a tee with a woven part sewn onto it, but a brand selling exclusively Liberty printed casual jersey, and only that - simply did not exist. That was the moment for me
Since then its been hard to think of much else.
Here we are three years later launching the collection that has only existed in my head most of these years (until I saw the rolls of fabric and sampling) and I couldn’t be happier the way it has turned out. There is obviously a lot that happened in between that special day in lockdown and today; if you would like to read the rest of this magical story, and all its wild twists and turns, continue below…
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After many lengthy conversations with the iconic British printhouse Liberty, and countless swatches later it started to become very clear to us just how rare our project was. Compared to their hugely successful Tana Lawn, the jersey path was much less trodden. Rather than seeing a red flag and worrying this simply means that jersey wont sell, instead I got more and more excited about the journey we were about to embark upon. The innovation that we can perhaps become a part of.
So I went and spent all my savings on a huge amount of Liberty jersey in my two chosen bases and in my three favourite prints. It was too late to turn back now (though there were times when I doubted myself) and I had to start sourcing a factory who would be willing to join us on our new little journey. I knew the challenges I was going to face - over a decade as a fashion buyer had taught me all of that - there wouldn’t be many factories that were able to work with our tiny production, small units and a brand with zero history. These guys were going to have to trust me.
After two failed attempts with factories, we struck gold with the third one. A gorgeous family run factory in Portugal agreed to help me and see this little dream of mine come true. I had the joy of visiting them last year and after lockdown-style communication via zoom, meeting the makers face to face was a real catalyst for me to really drive this project to completion.
My sincerest thank yous go to the Liberty fabric team and our small factory in Portugal - for trusting me since day one, Also to the Liberty fabric mill in Italy - you can see the magic of this place here - and last but not least to my partner James who from day one thought following my instinct made nothing but perfect sense, even if it meant I wouldn’t be talking about much else from then on.
James has since joined me in this wonderful journey in our quest to turn Parlance into something truly meaningful. After all, he was the one to coin the name to reflect his passions and to encourage a renewed dialogue with nature. His experience as a landscape designer and artist, and through his work with Greenpeace he possesses an unfaltering appreciation for the Mother Earth. Our biggest hope is to ignite a much needed re-connection with nature.
