The Continuous Collection
Characteristic for Pepavana is the continuous collection Bags, Hats & Gaiters. Men and women who want to make a difference in this world can choose fashion items that are sustainable while exclusive and classy. We use recycled and eco-friendly materials for our designs. We make all products on order.
Pepavanas
Pepavana concentrates on an accessory for high heels, Pepavanas! A niche product, attractive in winter and a fashion statement in other seasons. Women can create their style by choosing from the different models and materials.
Slow Fashion with an edge
When Pepa van Asperen started her label she never intended to take after the fashion system. She decided to deliver her designs on demand as long as materials were around. Personal contact and (made to measure) service is essential.
Creating original and well-executed accessories of sustainable fabrics that will last longer result in a continuous collection of Bags, Hats & Gaiters available for an unlimited time in the materials that are currently available. A line of Pepavana Originals that is continuously improved and completed with new models and variations.
With her operation, she set up to prove that transforming used and biological materials can result in classy and exclusive products. Pepa works and sells her designs from her local workshop, based in Rotterdam North in The Netherlands.
Read Pepavana’s use of materials and her view on sustainability at the next page, Footprint.
Design
To keep the collection edgy she investigates and searches for boundaries of discomfort. As a result of that, object-like accessories take shape.
Inspiration
Pepa gets her inspiration out of classic (work) clothes and folklore and items from her childhood on a freight ship like the typical docker’s salopettes. Tibetan hats, farmers or skippers caps, Zuidwesters, headscarves, gaiters. The small cotton shopping bags made by her grandma for going ashore to fetch bread. Fashion (icons) from the twenties and later.
Background Rotterdam 1963
She learned to sew from both her grandmothers and made her first pair of soul jeans when she was 12 years old. But the ground for her craftsmanship was founded by her dad who teaches her to work properly and accurate on the common tasks on the ship. After working as a theater designer before, she became a full time mother for a number of years. In her spare time she started to design hats and gaiters from vintage blankets and got connected to Studio Hergebruik in Rotterdam.
Pepavana’s Vision
In the brand’s early years, Pepavana presented and sold her designs yearly at fashion and design fairs in the Netherlands, such as Meesterlijk, Object Rotterdam, and Go Fashion Fair. And since 2016, abroad in Italy Milan at Masterly. In Frankfurt at Tendence and Ambient.
Pepa works solely from her Rotterdam Studio and delivers to private persons worldwide and shop owners. Focusing more on her hometown, she is increasing the popularity of her brand by selling her unique handmade items at Rotterdamse Oogst, a farmers market for local quality foods and products. She likes to work on new designs and assignments behind the scenes, meeting her clients at design fairs and in the studio.
The customer for the Pepavanas (made to measure gaiters) is an affluent, outgoing woman who likes art, design, or theatre. She wants to stand out, and this exclusive accessory underlines her independence. She might care about the environment but appreciates personal attention and service.
Icons like artist & musician Ellen ten Damme wear her accessories.