Committed to local manufacturing practices and sustainable, long-lasting products, A Bronze Age reimagines traditional timeless pieces created by women for the modern woman.
Celebrating feminine and traditional silhouettes, the lifestyle brand strives to create hand-made goods that are fueled by intention, innovative classics and are “everyday garments that women will return to again and again.”
Founded in 2016 by Renee Power, A Bronze Age initially specialized in importing artisanal goods from Morocco, but they have since grown their collections to include dresses, bows, and bags. Their rapid expansion has also moved the brand’s smaller pieces into over 50 different retailers in the world including notable names like Holt Renfrew and Nordstrom.
The secret to this brand’s success, however, lies in the made-to-order system they operate under. In an effort to create sustainable pieces that contribute to a zero-waste lifestyle, all pieces are handmade to order. Once the order has been placed, the company asks for a 2-3 week wait while the garment is produced in-house. Then, it is shipped out of their local Vancouver warehouse.
The brand also prides itself in the family-led production team that is powered through three generations of women; working with a team of 4, Power produces the pieces with the help of her aunt, “an amazing seamstress”, and her 3 cousins. “I started with a more traditional model, and bought huge amounts of fabric upfront and, because I didn’t have a big following, it took a while to sell. So I was like, ‘OK, that was expensive’”, Power says in a Toronto Star interview. Understanding this financial hit, she adds, helped her understand the risks of entrepreneurship.
Creating sustainable fashion comes at the cost of mindless consumerism and overproduction for many brands and waste is just one part of the bigger problem. Every year, approximately 10.5 million tonnes of clothes and textiles are disposed of in North America; 85% of which ends up in landfills.
“Instead of producing hundreds of pieces that maybe aren’t fitting so well or the fabric doesn’t feel good, we’re able to be way more resourceful as we go along”, Power adds. Brands like A Bronze Age have come to re-shape the meaning of fashion and sustainability for many women across the world without the guilt of buying into fast-fashion practices. “We’re physical beings, and we’re meant to create and experience things.”
All images in this article are courtesy of A Bronze Age.
