r.l.e is a conscious womenswear brand founded in London in 2021 by creative director Cici Qixin Zhang. The brand name is inspired from the word ‘rule’ without the letter ‘u’, stands for r.l.e’s unique brand core: Being Your Most Inner Self.
'We challenge the existing definitions and embrace those who express their inner beauty and creative mind amidst the intricate modern society, celebrating their modest yet unwavering presence'.
Drawing on inspiration from Mother Nature and insights from the ego, soul and love, r.l.e has formed its own unique and romantic aesthetic, and conduct a deep understanding of the sustainability practice. In r.l.e production chain, we recycle every cut piece fabric and remake them into r.l.e signature 3D yarns and fabric flowers, and then use them in our accessories design; we also recycle cut off pattern papers, use natural plants dye and hand-make them into new sheets papers, brand labels and envelopes. We believes that sustainability is not just about wearing an organic t-shirt: it must be a way of life.
While expressing the conscious mind of the slow fashion mode within r.l.e, hand-making techniques such as crochet, knitting, couture silk flowers and embroidery are also used in garment and accessories design, allowing for loving touches providing inimitable humanity whilst simultaneously limiting mechanisation and ecological impact. For Zhang, handling the resources the natural world provides carefully, respectfully, and preciously is in-line with a wider spirit of existing in harmony and balance within our world.
r.l.e places great emphasis on the sensations and connection between the wearer and the garments as clothes are our "second skin” and it carries experiences, sensations, feelings, and memories. Not only choosing the natural fibres, we also process internal sample wearing test firsthand to ensure that every design provides a comfortable, soft, and practical feel and fit. r.l.e collections offer a warm embrace shared between designer and wearer, fostering a serene sanctuary where designer and wearer can pause, reflect, and connect amidst life's moments.
Running through the veins of r.l.e in peaceful circularity, flows a connection, physical and emotional, passed between the atelier and wearer, wearer and the garment, garments and the natural world with a deep sense of harmony and balance, inward and outward, affording and all-encompassing feeling of warmth, security and calm.