Our Story
SuKaz Core Values
Collaboration between creatives is at the core of the SuKaz brand, a global team of designer, artists and craftsmen, many of whom have never never met in person. Though spanning divides of culture, language, and physical distance, the team’s individual work comes together to create pieces both beautiful and meaningful. SuKaz’s foundation was built upon the motivation to showcase cultural and artistic needlecraft from around the globe, drawing inspiration from the artistry of individual team members and an embrace of the unconventional. Authenticity, originality, the celebration of a creative collaborative, and a genuine drive to make each detail of every jacket special and of the highest quality is what drives the brand. SuKaz is independent of trends or mainstream influences and offers timeless yet versatile pieces, a luxury brand that produces one of a kind artisan-crafted clothing. Each globally-inspired design is singular in fabrication and artistry and will never be duplicated.
The SuKaz Way
SuKaz jackets are a labor of love between designer, fiber artist and seamstress, a reflection of countless hours spent haunting markets and bazaars from Africa to the Middle and Far East, points along the Silk Road of Central Asia, and the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul. The fiber art panel in each jacket is original, showcasing needle art techniques including embroidery, fabric origami, needle felting, ribbon work and appliqué. An individual panel can take up to 50 hours start to finish, not including the intensive training process each artisan undertakes to learn basic techniques. Buttons are often handcrafted – tatted, kiln-forged (metal) or kiln-fired (glass), and the fabrics themselves might be embroidered, manipulated through smocking and folding, or hand woven on wooden looms. Crafted to the finest detail, SuKaz jackets are one-of-a-kind works of art.
About Susan
Susan Hollingsworth’s life has taken her to places most people only dream about. During her years living in Africa, Europe and Central Asia she was introduced to the cultural practices of fiber art and the techniques employed to turn textile and fiber into visual stories. A subsequent move to London gave her the opportunity to bolster her endeavor with classes at Central St. Martins College of Art and Design, and further study with a private tutor in pattern making. SuKaz wearable art jackets each tell a unique story, with threads of ancient traditions interwoven with flashes of contemporary elegance.
