Linen
We are Irena Fashion – manufacturers and producers of our linen products. All our products are unique and made with care and love – we start our job from the very beginning of linen clothes creation. How are our producs made:
First we have linen yarn. It‘s all natural and there are no additional material added.
Second step is creating our unique fabric from linen yarn with old knitting machines. The finished fabric is strong and stretchy.
Then we create designs of our products, carefully cut and then sew them.
And finally you have a chance to wear unique and exclusive design linen products made with love in Lithuania.
Why “Irena Fashion”?
This is a long story, it’s the very midnight and I’m writing after a long day of work. Everybody is sleeping, it is so quiet and this makes a perfect time to tell you how it all happened and how did Irena Fashion appear.
Everything was started by my husband’s mother Irena Ivanickiene. She loved everything made from linen and she understood that natural fiber will always be modern and trending and that knitted, not weaved, linen is extremely unique. She started knitting linen yarn with very old machines and the final result was more than just satisfying – material looked wonderful, was very convenient, air breathing and stretchy. After discovering this method she knitted and sewed linen ponchos, scarfs and blouses for whole 15 years. However, life is not always fair, and she felt sick. At that time we didn’t yet know it was a cancer. I started helping her. Several people were working with us, I began traveling to fairs and exhibitions all around the country. Irena and I were creating new designs and it was the beginning to new products. Our linen coats and dresses were so unique that some customers started ordering linen dresses even for weddings (that’s because linen clothes is a really old tradition in Lithuania). More customers were appearing every day, our brand was crafting more and more dresses, skirts, jackets, and we did them in different sizes, in different colors. We were growing.
Even after all this I still think we are only beginners who’s biggest dream and aim is to introduce our unique knitted linen clothes to the world. I hope that people who come even from Japan and buy our clothes will appreciate our love which was included in every inch of the fabric. Our products had a long journey before they came to our customers hands. At first it was just a yarn. A pure natural linen yarn. Then it’s knitted. We made sure that the knitting is perfect and only after quality inspection the fabric is passed to a very young girl for cutting. This young lady is Karolina, the granddaughter of Irena.
Irena taught me and her (who was 18 years old at that time) how to cut perfect dresses and how to create something new. I started taking pictures of our linen products, Karolina was my model J I loved these pictures with Karolina modeling in them. It was so exciting because we all did it together: Irena, Karolina and I. My husband was fixing these old knitting machines as he is a master of engineering so he is a big helper too.
There are times when we finish our work only in the midnight but believe me – working together is priceless. Our youngest kids play near us when we work and I at these times dream how in the future this is going to be their work, their passion, and their way to express themselves. After all this time our brand is not a work anymore – it is our family tradition. Every wing of a dress is carefully cut from the material we have knitted, it is all handmade and even my smallest daughter Lea has cut a few – she is so sweet and sometimes is pretending to help me J
It was a very sad time when Irena has passed away but she did everything she could to teach me, Karolina and Andrius, my husband, how to work, she gave us the experience and all the knowledge needed to do this work. Now we are on our own, we are growing J and could not be happier about it. The journey and tale how everything begun will never be forgotten, Irena will always stay in our hearts and we will always treasure what she did for us. That’s the reason our brand name Irena Fashion is called for her honor.
Now you know the true reason and meaning behind it.
About Lithuanian tradition
Lithuania is famous for its linen fabrics and linen products all over the world because our country has a long and old tradition in manufacturing and using linen fabrics. You could find linen textile in every home in the past: dinner tables were decorated by linen table cloths and napkins, kitchen towels were made from linen. There is also an old tradition of manufacturing linen garments in Lithuania. All traditional cloths were made only from 100% natural linen fabrics and this happens up until now.
Wool and linen were the most important fibers for clothing and household textiles. Linen, because it is so difficult to process and took up so much of women’s time, became a central part of Lithuanian culture, rural society, and mythology. The “suffering of the flax” is a common theme in folktales and songs, and rituals surrounding the cultivation and harvesting of flax and the production of linen were built into the annual cycle of life. Even laumes, mythological fairy-witches of the Lithuanian countryside, were said to spin and weave with linen and they took special interest in this area of women’s work in the community. If a woman who is spinning calls the laumes, they may come to help her but they may end up spinning her guts and veins, in addition to flax. There are rarely happy endings in these mythological encounters. The realm of laumes is dangerous, just like Faerie in Ireland.
Spinning and weaving, especially with linen, are recognized as important elements in Lithuanian culture and are featured prominently in museum exhibits around the country, as well as in live demonstrations at crafts festivals.