Aoi Project
The fabric shop and compendium Indigo Indigo was iniciated through an other projects evoloution – Aoi Project.
Aoi, which was originally launched in 2018 as a sustainable clothing brand, had a period of reflection in 2022 which resulted in the development of Indigo Indigo. How could Aoi Project contribute more to a sustainable fashion industry?Could Aoi Project do things in a different way than a traditional clothing brand? What else could Aoi Project offer their customers to encourage to a more sustainable lifestyle?
2017
Solveig worked as a photographer and stylist assistant, and had after a few years in the fashion business gained more insight at it's affect on the environment. The interest in more sustainable clothing and accessories was continously growing, and the search for more environmentally friendly and ethically responsible options became more and more immersive. It was not easy.
With an inherited Elna sewing machine, Solveig began sewing her own clothes. The search for sustainable fabrics was not straight forward either, but the feeling of having more control over what the clothes were made of and where they were made was better than buying them in the shops.
2018
With an entrepreneurial mind and an insatiable desire to create, the inevitable happened - In the summer of 2018, the Aoi Project was launched.
Aoi Project was really just supposed to be a branding project for the design studio of Solveig and her husband, a portfolio project to show what the design studio could offer in terms of branding and photography. But it would turn out that Aoi would steal all the attention and it was the design studio that evaporated.
2019
The first clothing collection was launched the summer of 2019 – after another year behind the sewing machine and of fabric research.
SS19
AW19
2020-2022
Aoi sold made-to-order garments and accessories internationally and also accuired stockists – in South Korea, Japan and Great Britain.
Aoi was published in More This – Sustainable and Ethical Brand Directory and Considered Magazine.
The collections of 2021 and 22 were focused around the use of vintage textiles in combination with the sustainable fabrics.
SS21
AW21
SS22
What else could Aoi Project offer their customers to encourage to a more sustainable lifestyle?
Solveig was now working full-time with Aoi Project, and felt she had more to give. The goal for Aoi was never to become the next big fashion brand, or to sell the most clothes possible. It was to offer a more sustainable alternative in the fashion industry, and to help engage more people to a more environmentally friendly lifestyle. What could Aoi offer their customer group to support this?
The idea of offering the textiles by the meter was born - Why keep that value to yourself, when so many out there could benefit from it. Solveig reflected back on the year she started sewing clothes for herself and how much she wished it was easier to find more sustainable fabrics and accessories. Being able to offer this to other home sewists seemed very valuable.
At the same time, it would make the Aoi Project even more transparent - the customers could learn even more about the textiles they where used to seeing in the collections, and they could also be bought by the metre. And the patterns that had been designed for Aoi collections over the years could be published, which would then allow the customers to sew their own Aoi clothes at home.
Indigo Indigo opened in the summer of 2022.
This would also become the platform to share more information about textile production, materials and environmentally friendly alternatives - To contribute to increased engagement around sustainability in the fashion industry.