A constant goal for us at Sui is to keep learning about sustainability, sustainable fashion and slow craft, so that we can continually improve our processes to build a better world.

After all, our aim as a sustainable women’s clothing brand is to help others create a conscious closet, a wardrobe that helps make daily dressing easy and effortless, that perfectly supports their everyday while also giving them room to play with their styling.

This season is no different.

To kick off the New Year, we wanted to celebrate our 2nd home, Singapore, and design new conscious womenswear pieces inspired by Chinese New Year – particularly, creating a new print inspired by the celebration.

We’re so excited to work with a new Jaipur-based vendor this season too, and tell you more about the art of discharge screen printing.

Inspirations

To start with, we’d like to introduce you to our Year of the Horse print.

Like many green fashion brands, our muse is nature, and we always come back to that calming space of the outdoors, connecting with flowers, sun, soil, and ocean. And so we wanted to connect that with the Chinese New Year celebration.

Vibrant and bold, we focused on creating a pattern that exemplified the energy of the Horse. Within the Chinese zodiac’s 12-year cycle of animals, the Horse (⾺) is placed 7th and is a representation of perseverance, strength, and success.

We translated these notions into earthy, grounded shades - our green shade symbolises growth and harmony - and striking, dynamic motifs - including those inspired by our winter (Shore)  story that brings in ocean and beach elements meant to convey fluid strength.

The result is a stunning pattern that creates festive yet timeless fashion, styles that elevate an everyday look through symbolic textile design, but are also perfect to style up for brunches and CNY parties.

The Process

To start with, this season we worked with Ratan Jaipur, a long-established name among green fashion brands, known for its handmade prints and slow craft.

In their own words:

“Ratan Jaipur's journey began in 1983 as an extension of Ratan Textiles, with a simple mission: to share the beauty of block-printed fabrics with the world… Over the years, Ratan Jaipur has grown into a brand that embodies the rich cultural heritage of Jaipur, seamlessly blending traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design.”

When it comes to the process itself, discharge screen printing, we chose the craft for its ability to create bold colours while still keeping the softness of our conscious womenswear fabrics, from handwoven organic cotton, organic cotton poplin and Tencel.

Discharge printing involves dyeing first with dischargeable dyes - in our case, we use azo-free dyes, meaning they do not contain azo compound chemicals that can release harmful substances such as aromatic amines, which are potentially carcinogenic.

Subsequently, the fabric is then laid out in the workshop to undergo the printing process.

This involves the by-hand application of a chemical-infused paste via frames that effectively removes the color imparted by the dye. 

After this, the fabric is rinsed then hung up to dry.

What makes it green?

Azo-free dyes

• Safer chemicals mean it’s safer for workers to handle, ensuring a better, more ethical work environment.

• The fabrics also end up being safe to wear long-term.

• When it comes to washing and care, throughout the craft process as well as when it’s in your closet, the chemicals that wash off and go back into the environment are not toxic to our ecosystems.

Crafting by hand

• Less electricity is used in the process, meaning fewer carbon emissions are created.

• Craft communities are uplifted because we continue to bring work to them, as well as help ensure traditional crafts still exist.

Smaller systems

• By crafting in low batches in smaller spaces, we are also being mindful of our resources, ensuring less water, less fabric waste, and less overall energy is used to craft than typically required for fast fashion processes.
  

All in all, creating our Year of the Horse print to craft festive yet timeless fashion is done as mindfully as possible. Sustainable women’s clothing is all about making sure steps like these are thoughtful, that we consider exactly how our actions create environmental and community impact.

So, we’re so proud to be able to craft a print like this that’s rooted in community and care, a way to keep the heart of our symbolic textile design strong, and bring conscious womenswear styles to the everyday buyer.