Our Story - previous

WELCOME...

We are a small family-run label, carefully crafting ethical bralettes, swimwear and yoga wear for women since 2015. ESSENTIALS FOR ZULA is a collection infused with the spirit of light summer days, healthy living, and travels. 

ESSENTIALS FOR ZULA is about making timeless basics, that are comfortable to wear round the clock. Raised in a family of garment manufacturers, her Viennese father ventured out to the far east and founded a small garment manufacturing factory in Thailand since 1987.

BEHIND THE SEAMS

Growing up in Bangkok, her memories of going to work with her father and seeing firsthand the techniques and artistry of tailoring, instilled in her a love of arts from a very young age. Motivated by her father's drive and compassion for work and her mother's fashionable instincts; she became inspired to test the waters and launch: ESSENTIALS FOR ZULA.

The name ZULA was intentionally chosen for it's unfamiliarity. A unique and alien female name, allowing the concept to be crafted from scratch. Designing essential pieces that belong to every woman's wardrobe. Plus, using only the most comfortable fabrics. Since the birth of the online shop in 2015, essentials for zula was run entirely out of her single room that functioned as a studio, showroom, office and bedroom.

Today, she is based between Vienna and Bangkok, working side-by-side with her father to carefully produce and bring their slow fashion project to life.

OUR IN-HOUSE PRODUCTION

We have an amazing tight knit team of 6 seamstresses and tailors who are passionate about what they do. The average age ranges between 35-40 years old and most of them have been dedicated to the factory for over a decade. There is a balanced mixture of men and women, our cutting team are mostly made up of men (our tetris masters! More about that later). 

We make all our garments ourselves so that we can keep a close eye on the supply chain as the quality of the working environment and welfare of the men and women are pivotal which is an added plus to producing in-house. Our waste, we try to handle it in a number of ways; just-in-time production and economic marker structures to name a few. A lot of material scraps are leftover after cutting the designs out of the fabric. To manage this tricky situation, we treat the patterns like a tetris game. The locally sourced fabrics arrive in rolls and our tailors carefully squeeze in as many patterns on the fabric as possible to reduce any material scraps (see above). Funnily enough, a photographer came in the other week to photograph the factory, he was so intrigued by the way the fabric was cut, he ended up spending over hour just capturing the cutting process. Our workplace culture is a very laid-back one, bouncing around ideas, walking around in flip flops (thanks Thailand) and when times get tough, we invite the factory for a round of doughnuts.

Want to dig a little deeper? Feel free to have a chat with us.  

OUR LOCAL FABRICS

Our fabrics are locally sourced, woven and dyed in Thailand. Since we only produce in small batches, we either buy what’s readily available on the local markets or we turn to our trustworthy mills to weave our fabrics. We are very selective with the fabrics we work with, consciously choosing sustainable alternatives that are uncompromising of quality at the same time. Our cotton is certified with the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). It sets the highest ecological, sustainable and social requirements for pesticide and insecticide free natural fibres. Our modal is made out of a environmentally friendly natural wood pulp, which also has great benefits such as fit, feel, breathability and longevity. Our rayon spandex and nylon spandex are bought directly in the local markets. These markets buy leftover scraps from the larger mills and resell them to people like us. But what we're excited about most is that all of our garments are dyed using 100% AZO free dyes - certain specified chemicals that could be harmful to the environment and your skin are eliminated from the paint pot, giving our garments that extra stamp of excellence.

 We look forward to sending out your lovingly handcrafted pieces.