Zoica Matei

Timeless, elegant fashion for women that combines style with social conscience and sustainable fabrics, while embracing simplicity of form and focus on detail.

Designer: Zoica Matei. Made her first dress when she was 13, using two pieces of plaid fabrics that she believed would match beautifully — and they did. Inspiration is tunics, as well as men’s woven shirts made feminine through added detail and length, extra buttons on the side, piping and cuffs.

Eco-background: With no fashion schools in her country, Romania, she followed her next love, nature, and went to horticultural school in her hometown of Craiova, earning an engineering degree.

Quote: “Being eco-friendly is a hard task but I’m on the road. It’s hard because of all the steps from seed to manufacturer to keep it 100 percent eco-friendly. I think the industry is moving in the right direction by having designers work with the factories as a team. If we work separately, it will not work.”

Designer background: Earned a fashion degree from American InterContinental University (AIU) in Atlanta after coming to the U.S. in 1995, thus blending her loves for nature and fashion. Went straight to manufacturing, working in bridal first, to learn the foundation for making a product and selling it. Started her business in fall 2007.

Brand identity: Opts for a factory based in South Carolina, so she doesn’t have to worry about wages, working conditions and quality.

Textiles of interest: Hemp because it’s durable and takes dye better than many fabrics, but in a blend, like silk.

Textiles on her radar: Recycled fabrics. Bamboo but it’s primarily for knits and she works with wovens.

Brand inspiration: Creating versatile garments that can be worn casually but also in the evening with the right accessories.

Brand history: Started selling on her website, then on eco-friendly websites. Last year she began selling in Beehive Co-op, an Atlanta boutique that carries lines by local designers.

What’s new: Summery looks in tunics and shirts, as well as woven bottoms. Will be featured in a fashion show at Stanford University on Earth Day (April 22), in an eco-friendly trunk show with Laura Turner Seydel in Atlanta and an eco-friendly event at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens this spring.

Quote: “Apparel is so polluting. On Patagonia’s website, you can test the carbon footprint on a garment from Asia to here (U.S.) and it’s such an eye-opener for such a simple product. We need to slow down and make better quality garments that last longer. Does a garment have to be made thousands of miles away?”

Web site: http://www.zoicamatei.com F

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