Natalie Chanin has found a way to apply principles from the slow food movement to her fashion designs.
A garment designed by Natalie Chanin (BEDA 1987) from her sustainable fashion company, Alabama Chanin, was featured on the January/February 2010 cover of FiberArts magazine. With her studio based in Florence, AL, Chanin is a pioneer of the “slow design” movement, which parallels the slow food movement in using local materials/ingredients in a way that is socially and environmentally responsible. Chanin’s pieces are made-to-order in her studio as well as by artisans working in their homes, with every single scrap utilized. After graduating from the College of Design, Chanin honed her skills by working in New York City and for over a decade in Vienna, Austria, as a costume designer. She started Alabama Chanin in 2006, about the time that she was inducted as a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Chanin is also the co-creator of a documentary, Stitch (2001), about traditional quilt-making and cotton production, and is the author of the how-to sewing and design books Alabama Stitch Book and Alabama Studio Style, published in 2010. Her work and story can be explored more at alabamachanin.com.
Photos courtesy of Alabama Chanin
Photos courtesy of Alabama Chanin
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