What happens when you mix a passion for sustainable clothing, a talented young designer by the name of Lottie Bertello, Peruvian savoir-faire, and a collection of recycled men’s shirts?

The stunning designs of Loti: a new fashion label launching this spring. Above all, it’s a label about upcyling quality fabrics, creating flowy designs, and rethinking how we shop and dress.

The discovery

I came across Lottie’s stunning designs via an online fashion sustainability group and the pictures of her dresses just blew my mind.

When I first came across the pictures of her collection, I had no idea her dresses were made from the fabric of recycled men’s shirts. I was initially drawn to their feminine, flowy style and their dreamy pastel hues ( and the soothing white clouds in the background.) It’s only after doing some research that I discovered Lottie’s terrific concept which amplified my strong impression of her brand. As a result, I reached out to ask if we could talk because I wanted to know more…. And so we did.

I was grateful to speak with the designer: the lovely Lottie, who hails from Peru and currently resides in Los Angeles. She is happy and excited about her upcoming launch and so she should be. I predict a huge success.

I was lucky to connect with her for our podcast interview as she was on the road traveling, enjoying a short respite from the busyness that comes with the launch of her own label.

Lottie studied fashion and textile design at SCAD: The Savannah College of Art & Design and worked for: Paige, & Other Stories, Vince, Banana Republic and Ralph Lauren. After working at many fashion labels, it became clear to Lottie that if she wanted to stay true to her own values around fashion sustainability, she would need to branch out on her own.

The Story

Here’s how the story began: as an avid thrifter, Lottie came across a large section of men’s shirts on a trip to her local Goodwill. There, she discovered a treasure trove of quality shirts made of cotton, silk and linen. She asked a Goodwill employee about the shirts, and why so many were left unsold. He informed her that a big chunk of those shirts end up at the Goodwill outlet and if not sold there, were discarded.

Lottie felt a strong connection to the shirts and decided to pick up 300 of them! She began playing with the idea of creating some flowy designs in her makeshift studio, where all the magic and creative genius first took place.

Made in Peru

Lottie also informed me that her designs will be made in Peru. She’s pretty excited to collaborate and team up with Peruvian textile manufacturers and artisans to create her pieces. Her plan is to use some of their fabric scraps and textile waste to create her dresses.

This piqued my curiosity and after doing more some research, I discovered (via Foursource) that Peru is widely renowned as a leading manufacturer of textiles made from natural fibers such as cotton and alpaca. As a result, Peru has cemented its position as a producer of top-quality garments for the discerning international market.

According to FourSource, Global brands who are already producing in Peru are: Giorgio Armani, Coach, Tory Burch, Chanel, Muji, MaxMara, DKNY, Kenzo, etc.

Sustainability as a priority

Lottie is very passionate about fashion sustainability and she hopes that consumers will put their dollars towards more sustainable brands to teach the bigger fast fashion labels a lesson or two.

She also highlights the importance of having sustainable brands that create beautiful and attractive pieces, as buying something sustainable just for the sake of doing and then not wearing it is ultimately…..unsustainable. By launching Loti, she wishes to debunk the myth that sustainable means bland or boring.

We need to create sustainable pieces that are as good and as valuable as any other item on the market that is not sustainable -Lottie Bertello

This is the dress that stole my heart! Can you hear a choir of angels singing in the background? Ahhhhh, I certainly can!

Join me in wishing Lottie the best of luck with her launch, by following her journey on Instagram and via her website.

And thank you for listening to our interview here or here.