Paoli’s Fiona Duffy Launches Sustainable Clothing Brand
Soleil et Amis Upcycles Vintage Fabrics Into Super Chic Fashions
by Diane Oliva, style editor
Love thrifting and fashion? So does Fiona Duffy – and she turned them into Soleil et Amis, her new clothing brand that transforms discarded fabric into one-of-a-kind womenswear pieces.
Growing up in Paoli, Fiona had a passion for fashion and was even named “most fashionable” on her grade school soccer team. Fiona’s grandmother taught her to sew and her mother taught her a love of vintage clothing. That winning combination helped Fiona create her brand.
Soleil et Amis does fashion differently. Appalled by the waste and harm of fast fashion, Fiona started a brand that uses materials that were on their way to landfills. She says, “I see life, beauty and potential in these laces, prints and textures, and I get joy from turning these rejected beauties into something unique and wonderful.”
And that she does! Fiona began sewing clothes as a student at Savanah College of Art and Design while studying Fiber Arts and Design. Her ah-ha moment was the creation of The Doily Dress. She found the doilies while rummaging through bins at flea markets. She realized these tiny works of art, while painstakingly handmade many years ago, were now just sadly abandoned. Who made them, she wondered? What lovely piece of antique furniture did they adorn? Fiona knew she had to bring them back to life in a fresh new way. She pieced them together to create her own work of art – The Doily Dress.
The Doily Dress was the beginning of Soleil et Amis, French for Sun and Friends. Soleil et Amis brings new life to discarded clothing, linens and home goods. Every piece is designed and hand sewn by Fiona, creating a fashionable, sustainable, couture garment.
Fiona is passionate and exuberant about her brand. She is as refreshing as her designs, which include everything from dresses that had prior lives as tablecloths or lace curtains to upcycled sweaters and tops.
Fiona does custom work as well. Have your grandmother’s antique tablecloth, cherished but unused? Or a piece of clothing you love, but it just no longer works? She can transform it into something new and fabulous.
For more, visit Soleil et Amis online.
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