Craftsmanship meets effortless chic
Our Craftsmanship
lemlem is known for its exquisite craftsmanship, blending traditional weaving techniques from Ethiopia with modern designs. In addition to its Ethiopian origins, lemlem collaborates with partners in Kenya and Morocco to responsibly produce swim and ready to wear collections.
Our commitment to exclusive in-house designs, African craftsmanship, and sustainably sourced materials brings a timeless elegance and authenticity to each piece. Through these partnerships, lemlem upholds ethical fashion practices and promotes local expertise.
100% Made with love in Africa
From Ethiopia with Love
Liya Kebede’s homeland, Ethiopia, is at the heart of lemlem. It is here that local traditional expertise in cotton hand weaving techniques make their way into iconic lemlem designs.
Cotton has been cultivated on Ethiopian farms since ancient times. Hand-spinning and weaving of cotton cloth is an important family tradition passed through generations, with intricate patterns that often tells a story. Traditional clothing is handwoven using white cotton with a finely decorated ‘tibeb’ pattern – which means embellishment in the Ethiopian language ofAmharic. This Tibeb pattern is a key part of many lemlem looks.
Yarn Spinning
Before the fluffy cotton fibres can be woven, they are cleaned to remove any imperfections, then gently drawn out &twisted into yarn. The artisans then load the cotton yarn onto spools and the weaving process is ready to begin.
Hand-weaving
The weaving process can begin only after the weaver has completed the intricate process preparing the vertical 'warp' threads. This involves stringing individual threads across the whole width of the loom. The weaver can then pass the yarn spool between hand selected 'warp' threads to create the 'weft'. With each pass, the patterns are created.
Washing & drying
Woven fabrics are finally hand washed and dried in the sun next to the studio, to preserve their quality, softness and vibrancy
Garment making
Artisans can then bring our designs to life, cutting and sewing each piece individually with love & care from the hand-woven fabrics into our unique silhouettes.
Made With Love In Africa
lemlem hand-woven-fabrics
When you travel to Ethiopia, the first thing you notice is unexpected color combinations everywhere: people wearing patterns & colors in a way that you had never seen before, the random vibrant colors against the natural colors, those big bowls and containers, bright and luminous, fruits and vegetables set out for sale on vibrant cloth. A visual feast we wanted to capture in lemlem's fabrics.
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