Growing up in Craiova, Romania, Zoica Matei designed her first dress when she was 13 years old. She found two pieces of plaid fabric that she saw would harmonize beautifully. They did, and the garment fit her like a second skin — so much so that she couldn’t breathe! (There were a few things to learn about garment “ease.”) Nevertheless, a life-time love affair with fashion had begun. Zoica began designing for herself and her friends, intuitively, developing her own vision and sense of style.
At the same time she pursued her other great passion, the environment and the budding Green movement, studying horticulture at the University of Craiova. Then she moved to the United States, where she received her formal design training at the American Intercontinental University in Atlanta. After just a short time working in the fashion industry, Zoica began to notice the scarcity of stylish apparel made with regard for environmental sustainability. “Fast” fashion cycles were actually designed to insure obsolescence, waste, and a “throw-away” culture. At the same time, “eco-friendly fashion” tended to be relegated to T-shirts with slogans printed on them and designs more suited to hiking trails than to business offices or evenings out. A new vision for fashion was born.
Zoica’s slow fashion philosophy is reflected through our every day conscious choices, while creating timeless pieces, sustainable luxury, which embrace simplicity of form and focus on detail. Being really concerned with the amount of travel that apparel products can undertake, Zoica’s line is made locally, by well-paid workers. Discovering that dyeing, washing and drying processes are using most of the energy, and producing most of the carbon, most of her designs are offered in natural colors and the white organic shirts are bleached using hydrogen peroxide, as an environmentally friendly alternative, since it degrades into water and oxygen. Her line is using also alternative fabrics like hemp because it is fast growing, renewable and does not exhaust the soil, leaving the top rich in nutrients.
The brand is built out of a desire to use responsible and earth friendly business practices. It represents Zoica’s strive for making one look good, while feeling good and inspiring others. For more information about Zoica Matei, please visit: www.zoicamatei.com
