Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at a luxury British tennis brand?  EXEAT's Creative Director Laura shares her monthly diary...

2022 is hurtling by and I can't quite believe it's February already, one of our busiest months.  We're deep in production for our beautiful new tennis wear collection (which I cannot wait to share with you) - all made right here in the UK using our signature luxurious sustainable fabric.

It's a race to get everything ready for our Spring/Summer 22 photoshoot in March, and then up on our website ready for tennis season to begin.  Think dreamy pleated tennis skirts, beautifully chic tennis dresses, crisp white polo shirts with hand finished golden buttons and figure loving court shorts... so much newness to share - the tennis court never looked so good!

Here's what i've been up to this month.

I VISITED...

Paris! Despite being mid-way through production for our SS22 tennis apparel collection, we're already picking out fabric, trim and accessories for 2023 so we headed to one of fashion's biggest trade shows 'Premier Vision' and had our minds blown. 

All of our British made tennis wear uses sustainable fabric and the advances in this area are incredible - think biodegradable nylon cloth, yarns made from banana fibres and complete traceability of the very beach from which the recycled plastic bottles that go into our recycled polyester were found.  The range of sustainable textiles used to be minuscule,  but now it's huge! It struck me there's really no excuse for brands not to be choosing more ecological fabrics in 2022.  

I READ...

Andre Leon Talley's memoir 'The Chiffon Trenches'.  The grande dame of fashion editors sadly died last month and I can thoroughly recommend his punchy, poignant and poised autobiography.  A fascinating insight into life as Karl Lagerfeld's BFF, being Anna Wintour's second in command at Vogue and what it meant to be a black man in fashion, all oh-so-beautifully written by Andre.

I AQUIRED...

A set of 12 vintage gold military buttons from E-Bay (£8), made by esteemed English button manufacturer Firmin House... the oldest manufacturer in Britain and button maker to the Kings and Queens of England since the 1600s.  Said buttons will be used to up-cycle my Grandmother's beautiful (but buttonless) 70s tweed trench coat and give it a regal fizz just in time for spring.

I INDUGED...

In a glass of pink champagne at the Paris Ritz.  La vie en rose.

I LEARNED...

All about game-changing biodegradable nylons being developed in Korea - a garment made from this pioneering fabric will take just 5 years to decompose (in landfill conditions...not in your wardrobe!) as opposed to 40. It's the future and you'll be seeing it play a starring role in our next ultra chic English tennis wear collection!