It’s timeless - Wildwood by Artur and Anna
Our magazine will always support those who are so immensely passionate about their art and Wildwood’s creations are definitely to be considered art. Artur and Anna are the designers behind Wildwood, leather outerwear brand from Ukraine. Their main focus is perfecting the all-time fashion staple — the leather jacket. It is made in different shapes and shades, but always with great attention to detail and out of best samples of leather out there. Each of our items is a masterpiece of its own: classic aviator jackets, transformer jackets with detachable sleeves, oversize jackets..
The brand believes in curating a wardrobe full of timeless pieces that will pass on from season to season.
How did you start your brand?
Anna: We launched 6 years ago after facing a trivial problem: we couldn’t find leather jackets for ourselves. We examined the market and back then realized that the leather outerwear niche was empty in Ukraine. Also, we wanted to create something that would endure more than one season, because that’s how we shop. We are a mono-brand and we believe that you have to concentrate on one product to perfect the technology, cuts, and seams.
How would you describe your brand’s aesthetics and Instagram concept?
Artur: Our priority is the timelessness of every item as we believe fashion seasons have shifted and the same item can be worn in winter and in summer. We believe in «slow fashion» when you buy less and wear longer. We create high-quality standard items that are built-to-last for at least 5 years. Our aesthetics involves practicality, minimalism, simplicity of silhouettes, laconic fits. Our palette is composed of natural and deep colors. Apart from outerwear we also have a leather clothing line where all items complement each other and create functional outfits. As a result, you get a wardrobe that is worn all year round without getting out of fashion or getting dated as most trends do.
Anna: We try to transmit our ideas visually through our Instagram profile. We believe that heavily retouched pictures, filters that distort reality are no longer trendy. The world is deviating from the glossy magazines’ perspective, and that is just wonderful. Fake images are now substituted with real pictures with emotions, live frame feel, and simplicity.
What is the concept of your latest collection?
Artur: The collection is dedicated to life at full speed, violation of prohibitions and rules. The color scheme of the collection is neutral: beige, brown, black. As decorative elements, the designers used leather wire ropes with shrink tube tips that reflect the theme of the collection. We shot the lookbook at a cargo container warehouse in Odesa and cast Ukrainian supermodel Tatiana Ruban for the shoot.
What is special about your items?
Anna: We are resistant to trends. Also, we are very conscious of quality. All of our items are made by hand, and we are proud to be working with the most experienced artisans. Materials are also super important for us, and when planning a new collection we always pick leather sheets by hand at specialized showrooms to avoid any imperfections. Sometimes it is a 100 sheets out of 1600, but this way we are sure that our logo will be embossed on the highest quality leather. Our items are interpretation of classics with an ability to transform. Our aviator jacket comes with a zipper cape sleeve and some biker jackets have detachable sleeves and transform into vests. We also experiment with color schemes and leather textures. We also customize our items and offer made-to-measure service. Most commonly we alter the length of the item as well as sleeve length to ensure the customer gets a perfectly fit jacket that they will wear for years.
How is production organized?
Artur: When we started it was hard to find tailors who know how to work with leather. We did a lot of experimenting and had our share of bruises and bumps, but know we know our product perfectly. It is important to pick leather of a certain thickness for the item. For instance, a biker jacket requires 0,7-1,2 cm leather for the item to keep its shape. Trenchcoat or shearling jacket must be made out of 0,4-0,7 cm leather to be more silhouette-defining. Working with leather is not easy, but pretty interesting, you can realize all of your ideas, unlike working with fabrics. Leather is a timeless material and becomes only more perfect with time. We have our production which we improve year by year. We have a goal of purchasing new equipment every year to implement new technology, with one machine costing $3000-5000. There are 16 artisans on our production team.
What do you appreciate most about each other as partners? How do you share responsibilities?
Anna: We were friends in the first place. Professionally I appreciate Artur for his sense of responsibility and thorough (sometimes even extreme) approach to every production detail. We complement each other as a team, because Artur is responsible for the creative part and generates cool ideas for brand development. I am more on the implementation side. We always try to listen to each other even if we have different viewpoints on production. I usually bring femininity to our designs as I love fitted jackets and Artur adds masculine feel to the items, as well as minimalism.
What are you planning for your next collection?
Artur: We don’t have themed collections, we focus mainly on the product. Being a monobrand, we perfect an item even after it had been well received. We believe our intuition, and more than 80% items becomes bestsellers. For Winter 2020 collection we mostly used thick leather that is temperature-proof, as well as pleated and perforated nappa leather, shearling fur etc. We have developed a technology for reversible coats and shearling jackets, which are perfect for European winters. Speaking of spring collection, we are launching slim fit biker jackets, quilted trenches and reversible trench jackets.