What silk says about quality

One of the strongest influences behind starting Eleanor Leftwich is this: I believe the word ‘luxury’ has a problem. It got hijacked a long time ago by logos, markup, and the idea that something can only be special if most people can’t have it. Anecdotally, I think of my early childhood in the ‘80s, when logomania was introduced into the ether and luxury brands started to license their names in excess. (I also have a few deeply embedded memories of Paris Hilton in Uggs and Juicy Couture sweatsuits from my youth that I am actively trying to erase.)

At Eleanor Leftwich, we think luxury has lost its meaning in the marketplace. And our entire brand exists to challenge it.

With the first collection of Mulberry Silk launching this week, I think this material is a good place to start that conversation. Not because it’s precious. Because it isn’t. At its best, silk is effortless. It’s the kind of fabric you can reach for year after year without thinking too hard about why. It elevates even the simplest silhouette. It travels, it works, and it lasts. In my opinion, when it comes to real luxury within textiles, the materials aren’t fragile. They just need to be high quality.

Honestly, I didn’t come to silk with a romantic story. There’s no anecdote of a grandmother’s blouse, no specific memory attached to it. I just knew it was deemed as fancy. My thinking around that has changed significantly since working with it, though.

When I started Eleanor Leftwich, I kept returning to the pieces in my wardrobe that I actually reached for, year after year – not seasonally – not in a particular mood. By virtue of living through Minnesota winters, those materials are often cashmere. And of course, there is cotton, which is a year-round fabric. But more so than I originally anticipated, they have been silk. We use it in our material blends, and now, we use it as a pure material. Once I started designing collections intended to live together and last, including it felt less like a decision and more like an inevitability.

What I’ve learned since is that silk is one of the most misunderstood fabrics in fashion. Not because it’s complicated to wear. I think it’s because it’s complicated to buy.