The Art of Glove Making
Britain’s new fashion icon, the Duchess of Cambridge, has at least ten pairs of them and the Queen has also added them to her wardrobe. The subject of their interest are leather gloves by the award-winning Belgrade designer, Evica Milovanov-Penezic.
Evica practically reinvented the ancient craft of glove-making using traditional techniques. Skilled craftswomen work individually, cutting each pair of Evica gloves from a single piece of leather and stitching them by hand. The process is so meticulous and Evica has such attention to detail, she uses a magnifying glass to ensure quality control.
The European fashion media wax lyrical over Evica’s gloves. It is the exquisite quality designs and colour palette that demand attention. Classic colours such as black and cream are featured together with bold shades of purple, blue, orange and yellow in both plain and patterned styles.
Evica’s big breakthrough came in December 2006 when a pair of her gloves were worn by Kate Middleton at Prince William’s passing-out parade at Sandhurst. Since then, gloves have become must-have accessories – they’re on catwalks everywhere – and they’ve certainly brought work to many women in Serbia where the craft of glove-making was almost lost until Evica launched her label a decade ago. It’s now a thriving cottage industry.
Gloves are a key part of the Spring Racing Carnival outfits. In recent years many Fashions On The Field entrants have featured a pair of leather gloves to match their outfit. As her gloves are made in small series, it’s unlikely you will see your pair of Evica’s on someone else on race day.
To really care for your gloves, it is important that they are slightly stretched after every wear, finger by finger, since leather breathes and changes. If you crumple them and leave them in a pocket, they will remain crumpled. So with a gorgeous accessory like this, taking care of your gloves is a pleasant routine to obey.
Visit www.willowsinbloom.com.au
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