About Wolf & Mishka
Wolf & Mishka is a Melbourne-based design label passionate about creating unique hand illustrated printed fashion and accessories.
Our approach when designing and producing each collection is slow, with small local production runs while staying waste conscious. We think very seriously about the amount of fabric we order, print and how many styles are made. Meaning we don’t overproduce, instead, our focus is on quality, not quantity while designing for transeasonal and wardrobe mainstays as opposed to fast, trend-driven fashion.
Wolf & Mishka pieces are made with love, are unique and designed to be treasured for years to come. We hope you find your must-have item; when you do, you’ll know you’re one of a small group of people in the world who has it.
Made In Melbourne
Meet Natalia
Hi, I’m Natalia 👋
I’m the owner and designer of Wolf & Mishka, thank you so much for visiting us here!
Since launching Wolf & Mishka in 2014 it’s been my pleasure bringing you locally designed and locally made wears. With every collection I think very carefully about what goes into each garment. Making sure the fabric will wear well, our prints will last and be vibrant for a long time, and of course, focusing very strongly on the fit. Ensuring that our customers always feel great wearing them, every time, no matter what shape or age you are, or what season it is!
Slow Fashion
Did you know fast fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world?
Our approach when designing and producing each collection is slow, with small production runs while staying waste conscious.
We think very seriously about the amount of fabric we order, print and how many styles are made. In some cases, this could be only 10 in total!
This helps in the fight to prevent large amounts of unwanted textiles being dumped into landfill, and ensures your item stays one of a kind.
Recycle. Re-use.
Our intention when producing all garments is not to waste anything!
We try to use every scrap of fabric in
production. We often use deadstock and end-of-the-roll fabrics that other, larger producers have left unused, allowing us to divert material from landfill, giving them a new life and reducing environmental impacts.
Our larger scrap pieces of fabric are saved for later ranges, using them for other smaller accessories like scrunchies, face masks, or for garment trims, binding and or facings. And smaller scrap pieces are collected and given to Textile Recyclers Australia.
Transparency
We endeavour to always keep bringing you more about our brand, who makes our garments, where our fabrics are bought and printed, and where our fabric scraps go for continued craft and educational use.
Currently we are trying to grow this area, so if you are a school, craft school, sewing school etc, please get in touch we would love to hear from you!
Aiming for a healthier fashion industry is top of our list!
Make sure you follow us to find out what sustainable materials we're switching to, and what procedures we endeavour to adopt for our business in order to reduce our carbon footprint. It's important we share this with our customers, and try to encourage others to support the make small, shop small community.
The new denim!
This year we've introduced a new denim into the Wolf & Mishka family.
Made from pre-consumer waste regenerated denim and produced within a completely circular model, The New Denim Project created this range of woven fabrics by collecting and sorting post-industrial cotton waste from local garment factories and grounding these scraps back into fibre.
These fibres are then spun into new yarns again, to weave and upcycle into our collection of upcycled cotton fabrics. This upcycling process minimises water and energy consumption and uses no dyes, chemicals or synthetic fibres.
The lack of dyeing gives these fabrics a truly special finish which we love. You’ll see a little speckle of history visible in the texture and colours of this fabric! This sanforized, easy-care, non-stretch, machine washable fabric is a dream choice for any denim lover, ideal for everyday wear.
Keeping It Local
We love to support local businesses, and that’s why all elements of our supply chain, from pattern makers to graders, cutters and makers, are right here in Melbourne.
We have strong personal relationships with our makers, and by taking a hands-on approach we can ensure the quality and integrity of our garments. It also means we can be certain all our production practices are ethical.
W & M Prints
All our prints are exclusive and designed in-house by designer and owner, Natalia.
Our Fabrics & Trims
It is important to us that our fabrics come from trusted sources.
That’s why we purchase our deadstock fabrics through Australian textile agents, which allows us to support local businesses and the fashion industry here in Australia.
Aside from our printed fabrics which are designed in house and printed using GOTS, all our plain fabrics are deadstock fabric. Meaning fabric that has been left over by larger companies, often only having small amounts left on the roll, which is perfect for us as we only do small production runs.
All our printed textiles are digitally printed overseas using Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) approved water-based inks and dyes.
We limit the use of unnatural fabrics such as polyester, acrylic and nylon. Instead, we focus on natural fabrics such as linen, organic cotton and silk, and also use regenerated wood fibres, which are much more environmentally friendly, such as Tencel and viscose.
We also use all recycled hemp and Forthorn recycled poly buttons in production.
There are still elements of our production that we need to improve and are working on to become more sustainable, like zippers, elastic and even thread, which usually includes polyester for strength.
Our Packaging
All our packaging is completely compostable, recyclable and reusable.
Our mailer satchels are from ComPOST by Better Packaging and are made entirely from corn starch and are completely biodegradable.
This year we've also started using mailer bags made from 100% Ocean Bound Plastic pollution.
These magical bags not only help clean up the environment but also help break the cycle of poverty and plastic pollution at the same time.
Better Packaging Co. is working with coastal communities that are impacted by the compounding effects of pollution and poverty to remove plastic pollution from their beaches and riverways before it reaches the ocean. They then recycle it into packaging. 100% plastic pollution.* No virgin plastic.
These bags are Recyclable with soft plastics. 200% Carbon offset. Traceable to source. Packed with impact.
We also use Sellotape’s biodegradable sticky tape, which is made from regenerated wood pulp.
Our garments are wrapped in paper tissue and then folded into a cotton canvas drawstring bag. Which is great to use for travel, laundry, or just for keeping bits and bobs in!
All our swing tags and postcards are also made from recycled paper stock.
Meet Steven
Our amazing pattern and sample maker!
Steven has been an integral part of our business since the very beginning. Working from his home studio in Melbourne, Steven works closely with any new designs we may have and helps to create beautifully made patterns for production.
Steven's fantastic eye for detail and remarkable problem solving skills makes us feel very lucky to have him on board with us!
