A fusion between exquisite nostalgia and sleek comfort for a modern lifestyle. Our intimates wrap your body, revealing and concealing its natural curve. Made from fabrics specially selected for their exclusive touch, Anekdot hints at a researched curiosity and unexpected surprise, stimulating the desire to become the best version of yourself.

Anekdot is an upcycle brand

This does not mean you will be wearing someone else’s underwear. It means that we source our superb materials from production leftovers, end of lines, off-cuts, deadstock and vintage trimmings turning them into something beautiful and meaningful for your everyday life. We are in perpetual search for new opportunities to source our materials. This could be a closing down factory, maker’s surplus, production errors or miscalculations. The materials we use have never been previously worn, but we thought we’d give them a new chance to be enjoyed. For the above reasons our products are limited editions and can hardly be reproduced.

Waste isn’t waste until we waste it

Anecdotes

Our fabrics and trimmings have their own interesting story—how they were made, their original purpose, and the adventure behind sourcing them. Anekdot refers to those stories and the stories continuing, knowing that the people who wear and appreciate our products are part of it.

From season to season

In addition to upcycling exceptional surplus fabrics left behind by the fashion industry we constantly watch out for new sustainable material innovations, to be able to provide you with some Anekdot classics from season to season. We currently use certified recycled nylons made in Italy, having the highest percentage of recycled fibres and fine quality that we could find on the market. Saving resources, water and carbon emissions, while making sure that your loved clothes last.

ECONYL® regenerated nylonDown

ECONYL® is made out of 100% regenerated nylon, turning waste problems into fashion. No new resources were harmed in the production, rather it rescues waste from oceans and landfills such as fishing nets, carpet fluff and fabric scraps. Versatile, hyper-resistant, elegant, soft and breathable – we love it for its silky smooth touch and unique mix of compression and comfort. Our swimwear and a part of our lingerie collection is made using ECONYL® fibres. It is Oeko-Tex certified which ensures that there are no hazardous chemicals used in dyeing the fabric.

B.RecycledDown

A new high-end addition to our swimwear collection. Delicately sheer, soft and breathable, with a brilliant floral pattern in the weave. B.recycled is created with premium recycled polyamide with low consumption of energy and water, and another action to reduce the waste volume on our planet. We have a weakness for fabrics made in Italy, here is another reason.

Q-NOVA® with ROICA™ recycled laceDown

Lace is a delicate fabric made of fine yarns in an open weblike pattern. Hunting in the fabric jungle for an eco-friendly alternative, another Italian supplier grabbed our attention with their high quality features and responsible approach. This lace is made from 100% recycled fibres thanks to the introduction of the unique ROICA™ yarn, allowing also the elastic part to be made using recycled fibres. Soft as a dream, sexy pattern and both GRS and Oeko-Tex certified. This lace is made in respect of the planet and people at 360°.

Local manufacturing

Each piece is dreamed up with purpose and produced with love. Anekdot is committed to collaboration with skilled craftsmen, artisanal techniques, and transparent supply chains. Our production takes place in Berlin or nearby Poland, allowing us to oversee the whole production process, dramatically reduce our carbon footprint, ensure fair wages and support local talent. We challenge the industry standard of mass production and value the hands behind our product.

Meet the teamDown

BERLIN

POLAND

We are grateful to have found two small women-owned manufacturers in Poland who we trust, who are skilled working in our wide range of textiles and willing to adjust to small numbers and specific requests. Kristyna & Martii with their teams are worth a great applause; for being able to nail the straightest stitches on the finest silks, caring about reflecting the florals on our beautiful laces to boob perfection, cut around small fabric defects and deliver on demand – allowing us to keep our stock levels low and minimise odd sizes remaining in stock.

Our studioDown

Our studio is located in Berlin-Kreuzberg within Velt Studios, a co-working space with a community of creatives in different fields. Ranging from fashion and graphic designers, photographers, paper artist and jewellers – an atmosphere of fierce, independent people who bring additional light on our daily business. From here our designs, projects and ideas becomes real, and your orders are being processed. You can also arrange an appointment to come by shop the collection in real life.

A passion project

I'm Sofie, founder and designer of Anekdot. Born and raised in Sweden, fashion educated in Italy and trained in London working with pioneers in sustainable fashion. Learning and working in a wide spectrum of positions, from retail to brand management, vintage archives and design, brought me to the realisation that most of the current fashion industry is out of whack and needs dramatic change. A distancing from the manufacturing process has ended up with exploitation of people and nature, and does not longer allow the pure essence of the craft to shine through. My developed skills and knowledge combined with being a sucker for vintage treasures, special textiles and not finding lingerie that triggered my heart in the same way nor with the right fit, the journey making my own started. While relocating to Berlin my passion project was born - a brand puristically designed according to my needs, preferences, ethics and intuition. Since 2015 I implement an intimate relationship with precious materials that the fashion industry leave behind, and collaborate with talented creatives into the identity of Anekdot.

We are on a journey of continuous improvements to reduce our impact, give back to our land and empower our makers, while boosting your daily life with figure hugging style. We believe great things are done by a series of small things brought together. You are a part of that! Thank you for being here.

Peeling the layers of sustainability

Why upcyclingDown

With the expansion of the fashion industry the quantity of industrial pre-consumer textile waste has increased to a tremendous amount. It is estimated that approximately 10-20% of textiles are wasted during standard garment manufacture*. Reusing pre-consumer textile waste within the fashion supply chain offers many environmental advantages, including:

· Directing waste away from landfill and incinerators
· Conserving resources and providing a solution for the shortages of natural resources and virgin fibres
· Delivering a lower monetary and environmental processing cost than virgin fibres

The reuse and recovery of textile waste causes only a fraction of the environmental, health and social damage caused by manufacturing the same amount of textiles from raw materials. Reclaiming fibres from textile waste avoids many of the polluting and energy intensive processes needed to make textiles from virgin materials. As textiles are almost 100% recyclable, in an ideal world, nothing in the textile and apparel industry should be wasted. Recycling and reuse are therefore particularly important and must be addressed along the whole fashion supply chain. Pre-consumer textile waste is easier to reuse than post-consumer waste because it does not have the same hygiene and collection challenges.

The materials we source are perfectly fine, but have been produced in a slightly different colour, elasticity, width than requested from the original client. Or they are remnants not longer fitting into another brands collection, or considered too small amount available to make it profitable to start a production. We source fabrics first and design according to the fabrics sourced. When there are small fabric defects, we cut around them. It takes more time, patience and precision, but we are committed to the motto that waste isn’t waste until we waste it.

Reference:
*Domask JJ: Achieving goals in higher education: An experiential approach to sustainability studies. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education 2007, 8(1):53-68

Zero wasteDown

Besides using surplus as main material for our products, we are committed to make the absolute most of these materials. We cut around small defects, and make our patterns in a way to minimise off-cuts. Materials that we end up buying and not using for one reason or another, we donate or sell to other local creatives, or fully donate to art & education refugee projects located at Tempelhof Airport and S27. Textile scraps from our production too small to use for any of our lingerie and swimwear designs and also too small to donate to any of such initiatives stated above, go to several other projects of our own; from small accessories, special patchworks and pillow filling.

Some products are also exclusively available on our own web shop, to allow usage of small amount of fabrics.

Made-to-orderDown

We keep stock levels low to avoid unsold stock. Some items are made-to-order.

SeasonlessDown

Our product range is not connected to seasons or fleeting fashion trends, which is an industry standard that we want to change since it fuels overproduction and overconsumption. We believe that loved clothes last, from season to season.

VeganDown

Most of our products are vegan. We never buy any new fabric that include animal fibres. The silks used in the collection are factory surplus, that we rather upcycle into something beautiful, useful and meaningful for your everyday life than letting go to waste.

PackagingDown

For our packaging we are using recycled paper and compostable mailers that are carbon negative, biodegradable and partly made from corn starch. No plastic whatsoever – even the tape we use is made from paper. We ship with minimal packaging using only the essential materials. No extra filling, as all material (also sustainable materials) uses our planets resources to produce. 

This goes to everything from shipping your orders to deliveries between our suppliers and production partners – we avoid plastics every time possible. When it happens that we receive plastic we either give it back to the sender to reuse (while questioning their choice of material) or we reuse it somehow in the studio. We are not wasting it.

BrandingDown

Our hang tags are made from recycled paper and printed locally in Berlin. Our garment labels are made from recyc

Garment careDown

Each garment has a care label attached to it giving you the correct instructions. Treat with love and care. Lingerie is made from delicate materials and hand wash using cool water and a mild detergent is recommended for most items. Avoid vigorous scrubbing which will distort the fibres. Rinse well and do not wring to remove water, gently squeeze instead. Do not tumble dry or iron. If ironing is needed for our loungewear items, make sure to use a press cloth between the iron and the fabric.

Loved clothes last. Care for your intimates as treasures and they will last intact for a long time. If defects appear by wear and tear, use your creativity, repair invisibly or visibly, practice your mending skills. For questions and advice get in touch at hello@anekdotboutique.com

No to Black FridayDown

We don’t believe in sales, certainly not on a worldwide scale which is like a huge campaign for overproduction and overconsumption. How and why are brands still profitable after huge discounts? Who and what is actually impacted by these dramatic sales? We believe in fair pricing that reflects the true value of our products, including materials, production cost and sustainable practices.

Normally we ignore Black Friday, but being that this year has been a year like no other, with bigger impact on peoples lives than no other, this should then be a Black Friday reflecting the changes we need to make for a sustainable future. By donating 10% of sales (made during one week starting from 26.11.2020) to Drip By Drip we want to shed a light on the consequences of short-lived impulse purchases and consumption from mass producing, cheap, fashion brands. While doubling our commitment to work towards a new industry standard, valuing the hands behind our products and our beautiful Earth. The money will be used to installing bio-sand filters for communities in Bangladesh to access clean drinking water.

Let’s start a new norm in which we give instead of take.

PartnersDown

Photographers, stockists, printers, suppliers, fairs and events – we partner with like minded people sharing our values.

COVID-19Down

From an early stage we put an isolation work technique into place, meaning that we separated our tasks and only one person worked in the studio at a time, preparing production for each local seamstress working from home and packing/shipping orders. In this way there is no potential of group infections and everyone stay isolated while working. We are staying up to date as Berlin is easing or tightening the rules, still being precautious about enough distance between each others while working.

We are a small, passionated team in continuous conversation with each other to make sure everyone is healthy, safe and has a good workload. We find it extremely important to support each others during this time and stay strong together as a team, and we have not cancelled any existing order from our production partners or suppliers, but rather checked in with everyone to make sure everyone is keeping their boat afloat through these uncertain times.

UtopiaDown

Hey, you made it to the bottom, meaning you are a curious consumer digging into the details. Way to go wo/man! This section is a space welcoming your imagination. Is there anything specific you’d wish to see on our site? Whether it is a new product, a special initiative you would like to see us support or partner with, or another utopian dream of yours – we’d love to hear it! Get in touch and let us know.