Many Layplan fans know that although the company officially started in 2019 – it has actually been around a lot longer. It was in 2013 that friends  Lavinia Ilolahia and Talia Soloa started their instagram page which essentially documented what they were making for themselves and their outfits of the day. The result? “We just found that people flocked towards us,” says Lavinia.

“Both Talia and I were full time students at that point too so we were baby designers – it was quite nice to have the validation of that.”

Aside from embracing a made to order model, one aspect that has always set Layplan aside from other fashion labels is their dedication to using deadstock fabrics – essentially the end of rolls of what designers don’t use anymore and what manufactures often discard.

“So we come to that end point and it’s our starting point,” says Lavinia. “We design with that in mind – we start consciously.” 

“Deadstock is quite important to us – both Talisa and I come from Pacifica backgrounds and so we were always taught from our parents to use what’s already out there – [we paired] that with what we were learning at university – Massey was quite big on sustainability and how you can be more conscious about your fashion brand.”

Naturally though, using deadstock fabrics presents a challenge for the designers as they often don’t have the luxury to choose what fabrics they want and have to use what’s available. 

“You use what’s there. Now we’re at a point in our career where we want to choose fabrics that are quite luxurious. We are a bit more picky. We take the linens we can get, all the silks we can get, and the cottons.”

The label has one running collection a year (outside of their holiday collection which is for the beach) which consists of their favourite styles, cuts and silhouettes. Within that collection they offer different colourways – so during winter they offer a black collection, but currently their spring summer offering has a more colourful palette of crisp greens and pops of pink.

So how can we as customers buy garments with longevity in mind? 

Lavinia says it starts from the beginning point of a purchase. 

“Buy something you’re going to wear over and over again, and keep for a long time. Once you take your garment home, washing less is actually better for your garment, and also spot cleaning on the go. So if you get a random stain the best way to make sure you can keep your clothes nice is to work on that stain straight away.” 

While she recommends a bit of baking soda or baby powder as a trick to soak up any oil stains, she also talks about Miele TwinDos detergent which has two phases – one to work on the cleaning and stain removal, and the other which contains the bleaching element. She also advises to always follow the washing instructions on the label.

“It’s so simple but so efficient. You don’t have to think about it,” she says. “But what I love about Miele is that they act as a tool to take the guesswork out of it – they have a wool cycle and you pop your garment in there and it does the thinking for you. They also have an impressive silk and delicate cycle.”

FQ’s managing editor Sarah Murray talks to Lavinia Ilolahia about her approach to design, how to buy more mindfully, and the best way to care for your clothing. Watch the video to discover more.