Natalie “Alabama” Chanin to Speak At International Folk Art Market "For Natalie Chanin, quality comes first. At Alabama Chanin, her sustainable fashion brand, she runs everything through a 'decision tree' that starts with quality. 'We think quality, organic, local, helping the community, and then price,' she said of the brand’s philosophy. 'Quality is above organic because an organic, sustainably made piece that’s going to fall apart doesn’t really help solve the issue of fast fashion.' The local portion of her model pertains to her hometown of Florence, Alabama, once the t-shirt making capital of the United States prior to the...
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Jess Turner is Helping to Change the World "Jess Turner is a badass. As COO and Studio Coordinator of Alabama Chanin, she has been the right hand to founder Natalie Chanin in building a reputation as a leader in the world of sustainable design for over two decades. Alabama Chanin is in the midst of a revolutionary transition into Project Threadways, a 501c3 that aims to 'connect people, places, and materials through design, making, and education—with cultural heritage, craft preservation, and creative placemaking at the core' of their work. I sat down with Jess to ask about the visionary move...
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Why This Fashion Brand Is Becoming a Nonprofit
"Natalie Chanin helped pioneer the concept of locally made slow fashion in America. To secure that legacy, she’s turning her brand, Alabama Chanin, into a nonprofit."
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Making Things with Natalie
Chanin
"This year, Alabama Chanin is celebrating its 21st year in business with a new book called Embroidery: Threads and Stories from Alabama Chanin and the School of Making, about sustainability, community, artisans and makers, published by Abrams. The book’s preface was written by Natalie’s friend, singer-songwriter Rosanne Cash, who, along with her husband John Leventhal, wrote the 2014 Grammy-award winning Best American Roots Song 'A Feather’s Not a Bird' about Natalie and Alabama Chanin. On this special episode, listeners will get to hear both Natalie’s story and that hit song."
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Fall 2021 Ready-to-Wear Natalie Chanin is easing into her 20th-anniversary year with a collection titled “Soft.” Much of it is made using a lightweight cotton jersey that the designer describes as “very nurturing.” As always, the hand stitching is a reminder of connection and human touch, which so many are craving after the isolation caused by the pandemic. We’re not coming back to the world we knew; much has been lost. Processing this will take time, and, says Chanin, “requires us to be soft and kind to ourselves and to others.” As this collection came together she found comfort and...
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The United States of Fashion "Twenty years ago, Natalie Chanin returned home to Florence, Alabama, to reconnect with her roots and the hand-makers there for what was to be a one-off project. She never left. “Big magic” is how the designer describes the coming together of her brand, which is now recognized as a case study in how to do slow fashion responsibly and right. It was a process that, Chanin says, was like “being led down a road wildly.” And while the pace has become a bit more manageable over time, Chanin’s commitment—to land and hand, community and history—remains...
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Peabody Essex follows a feminist thread through fashion history "From past to present to what feels like the future, 'Made It!' throws, finally, to what that better world might look like with five designers busy breaking new ground: Natalie Chanin, who bucked convention by going home to Florence, Ala., to reactivate dozens of out-of-work textile plant employees left high and dry when the local Tee Jays factory went bust in 2005. She’s presented alongside the Luiseño and Shoshone-Bannock designer Jamie Okuma, with a remarkable dress composed of uncut squares of fabric to eliminate waste; Dutch material genius Iris van Herpen,...
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Live Recording With Natalie Chanin
"In this episode, Natalie shares with us her experience in managing a small business that has grown into something much bigger, and the conversations she has to endure to create balance."
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What We Wore with Laura Vinroot Poole
"On this episode, Natalie Chanin shares her storied career from stylist to filmmaker to designer of Alabama Chanin. And, Natalie gives us a true lesson in sustainability as she explains her unbroken supply chain to Laura Vinroot Poole."
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