Shop Sewn

Header Image from www.shopsewn.com

Sewn, a small-batch fine lingerie brand based in Calgary, Alberta, was started by Alesia Alward in 2013. The brand puts an emphasis on the form of the female body with its designs. Their pieces are made by an all-female Canadian team, which speaks to their priority of keeping their designs handmade locally. With delicate fabrics, sheer detailing, and gorgeous appliqués, the brand's designs are a must-have for every lingerie lover.

Alesia Alward has always loved fashion as a form of expression, reflection, and style. Like many others, she was looking at different work before going into the fashion industry- she pursued a degree in socioeconomics and worked in different industries before deciding to plunge headfirst into fashion. While she had always known she’d wanted to work in fashion, it took a little bit of time and gaining more experience and skills from different careers to find where in the industry she’d work best. 

Alesia was inspired to start Sewn out of necessity- she had wanted a new bralette while being tight on money and decided it couldn’t have been too difficult to make it herself (though she’ll be the first to say she was wrong about how difficult it would be). Eventually she came up with a product and design that could be sold en masse, and decided to open up her business in 2013 as a side hustle while she worked full time. About two years ago, she was able to transition the brand into a full time career and brand. While she’s proud of all of her designs, her favourites are those that have stood the test of time, such as this Nude set, a favourite of many Sewn customers. Her current favourite design is the Something Blue set, with the brand’s first version of a full coverage panty.

For Alesia, lingerie is a love of hers especially because it can be worn for yourself, whether as a celebration or an expression of self-love, without anyone being the wiser! Nature influences many of Sewn’s designs as it's one of her biggest inspirations, as you might see from the leaf and flower motifs on different sets. “I’m also very inspired by the female body and all its variations,”  the designer stated, hence her usage of sheer fabrics in her designs, meant to show off and celebrate the wearer’s body rather than cover it up. The brand’s mission is to help women, of any age and shape, authentically express themselves. Although she doesn’t pay attention to lingerie trends in order to not influence or detract her own designs, she believes bralettes, one of the biggest lingerie trends of the past decade, are here to stay. 

Although Covid-19 made the beginning of the pandemic challenging due to delays and lack of access to their suppliers, Sewn managed to stay strong due to the fact that their brand was an online business, to begin with.  “Overall, it's been a blessing for Sewn in a lot of ways.” While Alesia was forced to streamline her processes, the pandemic has also increased consumers' desire to support and purchase from small businesses. As a Calgary-based designer, she’s found that it's a great city to have a small business in, despite what some might think. Because Calgary has the feeling of a small town inside a larger one, it makes networking and connecting with others easier than in larger cities. Like many others, she’s currently waiting in anticipation for the city to re-open again and no longer be isolated from the community.

As a designer and business owner, Alesia considers right now to be one of the best times to be working in fashion due to the accessibility of it all. “All you need is an idea, and a website,“ she says, as opposed to the days before e-commerce where large brands and magazines ran the show. Not only is accessibility to working in the industry changing, she also notes that people’s perception of who belongs in the industry and who belongs in the clothes are really changing.

Alesia’s vision for the future of the brand is that even as Sewn grows the brand will retain its values. Being able to be genuine, connect with customers, make small-batch designs, and work with stitchers starting out in the industry are all unique aspects of her business that she loves and hopes she’ll be able to continue as the brand expands. Right now she’s incredibly happy with the position Sewn is in and being able to send a lot of love and thought into each and every piece that is sent out. One of the things that she’s incredibly grateful about Sewn being a local brand is the huge amount of Canadian support and press during the current social push to support local designers and small businesses. “It's a great time to be a Canadian brand.”

Check out Sewn’s lingerie sets on their website, instagram (@sewndesigns), or contact them at hello@shopsewn.com.

What’s your favourite design of theirs? Comment below!