Liapure. A dream. My dream.
What is the right approach when you work in an industry that has become the most polluting industry in the world. What if you are confronted daily with the fact that creative input is increasingly being replaced by mere copying. What if craftsmanship is receding more and more into the background and fashion is no longer fashion but clothing. Basically a means to an end. When all appreciation for it is lost. When longevity no longer counts for anything, but rather the lower price is our motivation and has a decisive, if not 100% influence on our final decision.
So we have mutated from coarse knitted sweaters we inherited from our grandparents, old handbags that told stories through their traces of use, shoes that we brought to a cobbler to be resoled, to a throwaway society. Things are no longer passed on from generation to generation, they become unimportant in the blink of an eye due to the acute fast pace of life and there has to be something new immediately. Timelessness is missing and so is longevity. Quantity has not only placed itself above quality, but has even almost replaced it. It is the mass that counts. To have everything, every trend, every color, every new design. False prosperity is conveyed to us and the feeling to own a lot with little money. It is a vicious circle.
I have often been conflicted about how well I can work in this industry, how well I can combine this mentality with myself and my attitude and above all whether I can stand behind it with a clear conscience. It was clear to me that I could not do this. It has eaten me up inside. Why should I accept what happens to fashion when my heart is so burning for it?
My name is Leonie Isabel Appels, Lia for short. I am a fashion designer, creative person and today also founder and designer of my brand Liapure Design Studio.
My mission is simple, I create timeless fashion, which involves a long and complex development in terms of patterns and fit, but which can and should be worn season-overlapping. Fashion that is durable with the demand for the quality that guarantees this durability. Pieces that will be passed on to generations and designs that never go out of fashion. Of course, I am driven by the idea of sustainability and it is firmly rooted in my principles, including the timelessness of my products and the awareness of my customers themselves.
I produce locally in Germany: Yes, in a country that has virtually no say in the fashion world. After all, we are not New York, Paris or Milan. So we are not worth mentioning, but we do not only have Karl Lagerfeld and jil Sander among us, but many creative and above all great people, who go exactly this way to make a difference. So I did some research and found some great small production companies in Germany, which were huge years ago, but which all the big companies bailed out because they went abroad and why? Of course, because the prices there shrink by half. And how can that be? Through inappropriate wages and inhuman working conditions? That’s not of their interest. It must be cheap. Profit is the goal. Driven by money.
With Liapure, I have NOT done exactly that. Because producing sustainably does not only mean using sustainable materials, it is a principle, an attitude. Not marketing. That is very important to keep in mind. Although I work with sustainable and above all pure materials, such as Tencel and Modal, also cotton, silk and cashmere and much more, I see this as a basic requirement and not as something that should or must be carried strongly to the outside world, because anyone who hasn't yet noticed what fashion and mass consumption is doing to our environment today is turning a blind eye. That is my opinion.
Shop consciously. Make a difference. Liapure Design Studio stands for timeless design with highest quality standards. Made in Germany
