Linen is generating so much excitement as a beautiful and natural fabric. We wanted to share that it’s kind to our skin and to the planet, it’s a pleasure to wear and easy to care for. It has so many surprising uses too – look out for it knitted into t-shirts, giving them a crisp, cool feel and a beautiful texture.
Did you know that linen comes from a plant, flax, and that flax fibre is produced in northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands? Linen is thermo-regulating and helps you keep cool in summer and warm in winter. Linen makes the best sheets to sleep in as they are naturally hypoallergenic. Linen is strong and improves with age.
First, it’s local. Flax only needs rain water to grow and doesn’t need additional water on its journey to become a fibre. Plus, all parts of the plant can be used so there’s no waste. As it is entirely natural, it can biodegrade at the end of a long life.
The flax plant takes three months to grow. The crops are harvested and laid in the fields in the open air and during this time, they take on a rich golden colour. After separating and combing the fibres into hanks that resemble blonde hair, it goes to the spinners where they are blended (mixing flax from different fields for optimal quality, similar to the way in which different harvests are blended to make champagne and cognac) before they become yarn. Then it can be woven or knitted into many different fabrics or blended with eco-plastics to become, for instance, parts for a car or stereo.
Linen is sourced from the flax plant which likes the soft European climate – you can see the blue flowering fields from the Eurostar as you enter France. Linen breathes and wicks moisture. Linen moulds to the body and with age, it only gets more beautiful.
Linen is tough stuff! You can wash it without any worry, shape it as it dries, and you can wear it off the washing line. A hot iron is good if you prefer a clean line – it’s easy and you get the best results ironing when still damp or with a wet cloth between the iron and the garment.
Linen blends or knitted linen give us clothes that do not really crease. But for the iconic linen items like the summer shirt, I say: love linen’s creases. They enrich a garment with personality and character. Creases are beautiful!
The Versatile Summer Edit by Anna Murphy
Blaze a New Trail: Behind the Scenes at the SS19 Shoot
How to Clash Colours and Prints
Clothes for Life, our fashion recycling initiative, is part of our ongoing commitment to look after the planet, help prevent unwanted clothes going to landfill and give back to causes that we care about.
