Atelier Felis

Fien, the foun­der of Ate­li­er Felis, shif­ted from her care­er as a pro­duct deve­lo­per in the fast fashi­on indus­try to cre­ate her own brand, dri­ven by the desi­re to pro­du­ce eco­lo­gi­cal­ly and soci­al­ly res­pon­si­ble fashi­on. Awa­re of the indus­try’s har­m­ful impact, she now han­d­craf­ts all items in her wor­k­shop in Antwerp.

Ate­li­er Felis uses 100% recy­cled leat­her, recla­imed from dis­car­ded, dama­ged, or out-of-fashi­on clot­hing, as well as from old sofas or lef­to­vers from the leat­her indus­try that would otherwi­se end up as was­te. All mate­ri­als used not only look gre­at but is desig­ned to last.

This appro­ach posi­ti­vely impac­ts the pla­net by redu­cing was­te and exten­ding the life cycle of exis­ting mate­ri­als, thus requ­iring fewer new reso­ur­ces and redu­cing the fashi­on indus­try’s eco­lo­gi­cal footprint.

This brand embo­di­es cir­cu­la­rity by exclu­si­vely using recy­cled leat­her sour­ced from post-con­su­mer was­te stre­ams and indus­tri­al sur­plus. This stra­tegy mini­mi­zes the eco­lo­gi­cal foot­print by exten­ding the life cycle of materials.

At the end-of-life of leat­her pro­duc­ts, Ate­li­er Felis offers repa­ir and care ser­vi­ces, fur­t­her exten­ding the lifes­pan of each piece. 

Thus, the brand con­tri­bu­tes to a futu­re whe­re fashi­on is not only stylish and unique but also res­pon­si­ble and circular.

From start to finish, each item is made in the­ir wor­k­shop in Antwerp. Ate­li­er Felis fir­mly opts for small, sus­ta­ina­ble col­lec­ti­ons in limi­ted edi­ti­ons ​‘Made in Bel­gi­um’. They are com­mit­ted to wor­king local­ly and hand­le all design and pro­duc­ti­on in-house.

Ate­li­er Felis focu­ses on reusing exis­ting leat­her for the­ir pro­duc­ts, acti­vely con­tri­bu­ting to ani­mal wel­fa­re and the environment.

Whi­le they do not spe­ci­fi­cal­ly men­ti­on whet­her other aspec­ts of the­ir pro­duc­ti­on con­ta­in ani­mal pro­duc­ts, the­ir focus on recy­cled leat­her is a cle­ar sta­te­ment aga­inst the explo­ita­ti­on of ani­mals for fashion.

By wor­king exclu­si­vely with recy­cled leat­her, each piece is one-of-a-kind. The­re are only small quan­ti­ti­es of each type of leat­her or colo­ur, making all the­ir pro­duc­ts and pro­duc­ti­on always in limi­ted, exclu­si­ve editions.

By cho­osing recy­cled mate­ri­als and offe­ring pro­duc­ts in limi­ted edi­ti­ons, the brand not only redu­ces envi­ron­men­tal impact but also pro­mo­tes more con­s­ci­ous con­sump­ti­on. Cus­to­mers are enco­ura­ged to invest in quality, dura­ble pieces that stand the test of time, rat­her than fol­lowing the fle­eting tren­ds of fast fashi­on. Thus, the brand con­tri­bu­tes to a more sus­ta­ina­ble fashi­on indus­try, whe­re value is pla­ced on craf­t­sman­ship and authenticity.

Ate­li­er Felis is very tran­s­pa­rent. Fien is very open abo­ut her pro­ce­sses; the enti­re pro­duc­ti­on takes pla­ce in her own wor­k­shop, pro­vi­ding com­ple­te insig­ht into the manu­fac­tu­ring process.