Latest / Project Emerald Collective / What if the most sustainable wardrobe starts with knowing yourself? | Lea Klein
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- Lea Klein: Just feeling good in it. No matter how expensive, no matter where it's from, it's just does it make you feel good? Then go for it. And it's funny because I don't own any fashion brands or designers in my wardrobe because I know if I had a very expensive item in my wardrobe I probably wouldn't wear it because I would be so scared of breaking it or making it dirty. so what's the point? I wear clothes where I can, you know, be on the ground with my son, where I quickly can play soccer in if I have to and and yeah. And I don't want clothes to kind of make you feel like you're wearing a costume either. It kind of Eve: Feeling. Lea Klein: it you know, you you should feel confident in going out in the same clothing that you go into the supermarket, that you pick up your son, but that you potentially also could go to the theater later. And it's these kind of items I would like to create for people. Eve: love Welcome to the Project Emerald Collective. I'm your host, Eve McIntyre. Every week I sit down with women who have chosen to live differently. Designers, founders, creatives, psychologists, adventurers and change makers. People asking bigger questions about how we live, work, create and connect. These conversations aren't really about fashion. They're about living with intention. finding the courage to be yourself and discovering what becomes possible when you stop living by expectation and start living by choice. If that's the kind of life you're creating too, you're in the right place. Now let's go. I have the pleasure of interviewing Lea Klein, who is the founder of Systalable Label. Lea and I are both doing the Circular Fashion Festival that's happening in Perth this October. So welcome Lea. Lea Klein: Hi, thanks so much for having me. Eve: Lea, what does living intentionally mean to you? Lea Klein: it's probably not so much about fashion for me, living intentionally. It's really kind of trying to what I teach my son to be in the moment and be kind and be mindful of what you're doing and when you do it and how you do it. And and and kind of try to find your purpose. Find your purpose in life that gets you up in the morning, that g makes you happy, and and then try to live this happiness. And and yeah. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. I agree. And it's so important to bring our children along for that journey as well. So Lea Klein: Absolutely. That's how we almost learn the most through them. We th we think we figured it all Eve: Yeah, yes, I agree. Lea Klein: out and then they ask us questions and all of a sudden we're like, wow, okay, yes, I need to think about that one. Eve: Mm. Yes, they have a superpower of mirroring back to you, I've found. Lea Klein: Absolutely. Eve: you are the founder of Systylable Label, but Lea Klein: Mm-hmm. Eve: this podcast is more about, the woman that you are and the Lea Klein: Yeah, for Eve: moments that have shaped your life to get you to this point. Lea Klein: Hmm. Yes. It's yeah, wow. I think I started my journey of really getting to know myself when I had my child. And and from then on it's kinda like, okay, I'm trying to be the best mom I can be, but to be the best mum I can be, I realised, wow, I I actually had work to do within myself. and I I had to all of a sudden figure out how to be a good mum, how to be a good person. And for me, like I feel like we're we're carrying a lot of intergenerational trauma handed down to us by our parents. Thanks mom and dad and there was there was no awareness about it and and now you have a child on your own and you're like, wow, this is what you did to me. I would never do this to my child and so you're trying to navigate parenting while figuring yourself out and then while starting a business and and here Eve: Yeah. Lea Klein: you write in there and try to do your best. Eve: Yeah, absolutely. It's such a juggling act. Lea Klein: Hm. Eve: so what tell us about your personal journey and what led you to create Sustylable as a Sustylable the Label? Lea Klein: Hmm. I'm a stage and costume designer by trade. yeah. I was always interested in fashion, but the competitive side of it was too much for me. I'm not a very competitive person. I'm always kinda trying to make other people reach their goals before I kinda look at myself. and I was also looking at architecture back in the days and it I wasn't patient enough to kind of wait this. long time to see a project come to life. So stage and costume design was the perfect middle ground for both worlds. I could design fashion without any competition. I didn't have to invent something new all the time. I could even go back in time. And it was there was no shame about it. And and sets would come to life within a week. and it was just amazing to kind of To constantly be challenged creatively over and over again. and I love it, but it kind of you kind of see the other side to it when the project is finished. Now, what are we gonna do with all these elements, with all these costumes, with all these clothing, with all the props, with all the sets? And working for theatre and especially in the Department of Education, which I've done for the last 12 years, For insurance purposes, lots of these sets were just end up in the bin. And it was heartbreaking. And we just couldn't sell them on, we couldn't borrow them on. And it was just like, okay, I need to I need to rethink what I'm doing here. and I've kind of I I started a business in between about sustainable event styling, and it was all about celebrating the big moments in life, weddings, birthdays, baby showers, but without leaving any trace on earth. So all my products were second hand sourced. and COVID happened, I guess, to everybody, different ways, and I realized it wasn't kind of sustainable for myself and my family being doing it all on my own, carrying heavy equipment all day, every day, long hours, and so I kind of I kind of went away from the relying on second hand materials and I wanted to create something that I don't rely on. other people, other industries and other yeah, even like life events, politics and and that's kind of how I invented sustable label to kinda I could do all my own patterns. I found a local printer here in Perth that prints all my designs on organic cotton And the best thing is you can actually design your own. Because the the point is if you invest this money into a garment that supposed to last you a lifetime, it would be great if you could design it yourself. If you can really make sure the sleeve lengths that you've chosen suits your arms, suits your body shape, and you know you you don't always wonder, if the dress was only Five centimeter longer, I would wear it more often. Or if the sleeves would only be shorter or longer. So with this styleable label, you can design your own. So I hope that's where we kind of found our our little niche and and yeah. Eve: Yeah, right. So tell us how the business works. Lea Klein: Mm-hmm. So I'm I I I normally dress from my earrings down. I I find a pair of earrings that I love the on the day and then I'm kinda ooh, okay, what goes with stripes? Why not polka dots? And then I'm kind of dressing down. So I'm I'm kinda like a totally mix, mix match, From head to toe, it kind of all has to kind of fit together. But that's just me. and once you go on our website, you can you can find a pattern you like, you can find a style that you like, and you can kind of really dive into from headbands that are all made out of odd off cuts, from earrings, different style of earrings in the same pattern. You can design your own dress, you can get a blouse, you can get a skirt, you can get a shirt for your for your husband if you want to go all matchy matchy. Eve: Mm-hmm. Lea Klein: and we we even do kids' clothing. Eve: So therefore women can come to you and choose exactly what they like, is that right? Lea Klein: Yes, so we have different options. So once you go on the website and you you pick the pattern that you like, so it obviously it starts with a pattern. You have to fall in love with the pattern or you're not gonna wear the item. If it's you know, so go and choose your pattern and then decide okay, am I a dress girl or am I more wearing blouses for work? am I Am I do I like short sleeves? Do I like my arms the way they are? Do I like short sleeves? Can I do a little flatter sleeve? Or would I prefer it long? Because I'm in an office, the aircon is on all day, and then the the same for the dress length. Am I going short? Am I going three-quarter length? Am I going full length? Or am I adding layers to it? So everything is customizable and we just make people aware. That we are a slow fashion business and that it takes roughly three to four weeks to make this garment. From the moment you choose your pattern and you say, This is what I want, for me to jump on my computer, to send the design to the printer, for the printer to book me in, and then for the pattern to arrive on my doorstep, for then you know it it getting Cut into shape and sewn together. yeah, you just need to be aware we are a slow fashion business and this is what we want. We don't want fast fashion. We want to get away with from it, and we want to make people aware this is actually how long it would take you, if you would start making this dress, for you to make it. Eve: And do you have like sewing classes as well that you offer or Lea Klein: We do we we do as a s as a different project. I started with a friend who's also a an ambassador for sustainability of all sorts of waste and we went we we dived into fabric waste and how bad it is and we are now teaching people we we're teaching the senior centre, we're teaching the youth centre. we've just done a project with the the circular fashion festival that we were in the middle of Perth every Thursday and we we taught people how to repair their clothes, how to look after their clothes and how to give them a second chance. It's it's easy. It's easy. You just need to kind of take the fear away from the sewing machine and I'll I've been teaching sewing lessons for a long time and it's it's amazing. And people go away, walk away with they're so happy that they don't have to get rid of their favorite item that they actually can give it a second chance. And yeah, that's that's kind of where the whole circular fashion really makes sense to me. Eve: Yeah. Yeah, I guess that would feel empowering for women as well to Lea Klein: Mm-hmm. Eve: learn that new skill and to be able to, you know, make a difference to fashion waste, but also Lea Klein: Mm-hmm. Eve: you know, be able to hang on to those items that they really love. And Lea Klein: Exactly. Eve: what about the woman that Lea Klein: Come on. Eve: you know, really l likes the concept but hasn't actually ever questioned what style suits her or, you know, what length she really likes or, you know, Lea Klein: Mm. Eve: arm length or dress length or pant length. Like where does she start? Lea Klein: Mm, yeah, good question. Hazel, for example, Hazel Law is a is a she has a business where she is c curating your wardrobe for you and helping you find confidence in what you already have and how to wear it and how to how to combine things with each other. And it's not about buying more, it's it's about buying less, but making the most of what you have already. And Hazel, for example, is a great person to exactly ask about what actually suits me. What can I wear and how can I wear it? And and sometimes It's so I I'm I'm designing dresses for for women that maybe are not the most confident in their body. So I've I've taken a lot of time to kind of design a shape that is not hundred percent fitted to a body shape. And we we also we're doing sizes in between. So it's an it's an SM, it's an ML and it's an LXL. So it kind of the cut of the dress is so flattering that you don't have to be there is no perfect size. There's only perfect clothing that fits you. and the dresses that I make are designed to fit to make you feel confident and make you feel seen and beautiful without fitting without being a hundred percent fitted dress if that makes sense. Eve: Yeah. So clothing that actually feels comfortable and it's not Lea Klein: Mm-hmm. Eve: a rigid sizing. Lea Klein: Yes, absolutely. But feeling feminine and feeling gorgeous. Eve: Mm. Yeah, absolutely. so tell us about where your fashion journey began. Lea Klein: Wow, okay. it probably began when I was six years old and I made my first Barbie dress. growing up with a single mom in East Germany wasn't something where we could just go and buy new things easily. it were i it they were hand-me-down toys that then I had to look after and I had to kind of make work. So mom taught me how to make tidy little Barbie dresses. and and I guess that's where we started. And from then it just got well okay if if I can make a dress for my Barbie, can I make a dress for myself? And yeah it was always just kind of really looking after the stuff you had rather than buying new. Which we also couldn't have afforded even if if the if if there was availability out there. So yeah, it it began really, really early and it n it never changed. I never questioned what I wanted to be or what I needed to be. It needed to be something creative. There was no doubt about it. And if you ask anybody in my family, they would say, Yeah, Lea, yeah, had to be, had to be. Some form of a creative thing. Eve: Yeah, I love that. so you've explored fashion and then you've gone into architecture and then stage and costume design. What kept pulling you back towards that creative work? Lea Klein: I guess for me it's like breathing. I just that's how my brain works. My brain works in colours, in shapes. I'm terrible with numbers, I'm terrible with names. and it's just it's j that's just how I see the world. in yeah. I just th that's just who I am. I need to be expressing myself. And maybe because I'm such an introvert externally, I need to find my outlet to to kind of yeah, express myself and and what's going on in my head. And I like actually if you look around my house, I like things organized. It's not that I'm this mad painter who throws the colours around. I'm kind of very method methodical about it and but it just needs to come out. It it can't be suppressed at all. I'm not a nine to five girl that works in an office. I tried, I failed, I wasn't happy, I didn't want to get up and even even when I had as a as a student I was working in an opera house and we all had to wear a uniform. a black a blouse But a a white blouse a black blouser on top, a jacket and with polsters in the shoulders and and a skirt. But because I'm so short, it I just looked awful. So I started taking the polsters out and I started making the jacket fit and I shortened the skirt. So all of a sudden I was wearing this uniform that nobody liked, but I was wearing it proudly. And and I was walking around in the brakes from door to door and I felt good. And yeah, this is kind of what fashion is for me. Just feeling good in it. No matter how expensive, no matter where it's from, it's just does it make you feel good? Then go for it. And it's funny because I know if I had a very expensive item in my wardrobe I probably wouldn't wear it because I would be so scared of breaking it or making it dirty. And so what's the point? I wear clothes where I can, be on the ground with my son, where I quickly can play soccer in if I have to and I don't want clothes to make you feel like you're wearing a costume either. you should feel confident in going out in the same clothing that you go into the supermarket, that you pick up your son, but that you potentially also could go to the theater later. these kind of items I would like to create for people. Eve: I love that you kept coming back to yourself and feels like you keep evolving and keep uncovering who you are and living in that truth, which feel that's coming through in your designs as well. what made you realize that you were living a life that you weren't in alignment, Lea Klein: it's just who I am that I don't even think about it. my husband, for example, in the family is the accountant. He's the numbers guy, he's the organizer, he after what we need and I'm more kind of the behind the scenes, I'm the the carer, I'm the supporter, while everybody has their roles in in their little family structure, it's it's always clear that I need to express myself through sitting on the sewing machine, trying to make something new, fix something, That my son, for example, he cannot wear long pants for some reason. So I keep ending up finding these long pants in the op shop that I then all have to chop up and turn into shorts so this boy can actually wear something going to school. Eve: Yeah. Lea Klein: it's a constant little involving sustainable workshop happening out here. I just realized how wasteful it is, how these set designs would end up in the bin for insurance purposes. We just couldn't sell them or hire them out to other schools or other venues. And it just made me realize that I needed to change something. when I started my sustainable event styling business, I loved the creative side of it. I loved setting it up, I loved having photo shoots, I loved the collaborations with other artists that we were sharing little events, and but breaking it down I ended up being this furniture removalist on my own during COVID that was carrying heavy tables and chairs into venues, out of venues, back in the trailer, back into the shed, and it was just not sustainable for my body or my family. and my husband had to jump in and he was tired after work and it was just it was pity because the idea was so good. The idea was so important, but I almost felt like Perth wasn't ready five years ago. Eve: Yeah. Lea Klein: Perth wasn't quite there yet to kinda go away from the white wedding. Everything had to be white and and everything had to be bought brand new and everybody had to just go into the big K shop and and and buy all the white. maybe the style you want. I'll give you five different options. I had various different color options, and even if if the colour that I was after didn't exist, I would just dye them. I was trying to change the way people was were looking at events. Eve: Mm-hmm. Lea Klein: but realizing at the end It's tough, it was tough on me, on my body, on my family. And I feel like COVID didn't help and and people weren't quite ready to give up their big weddings. Eve: Mm. Lea Klein: I needed to get away from being dependent on other institutions to to find what I was looking for. and I wanted to almost go back into my bubble and reassess where are my values? What do I really want? do I want to write emails about three nepkins forth and back for three days? Eve: Mm-hmm. Mm. Lea Klein: or do I really want to know people when they come to me, this is valuable. This is Eve: Mm-hmm. Lea Klein: really one of a kind, or this is different. When they come to me, they they really cherish knowing this is truly important to the environment and for the future of our children. We need to support this. We don't ask silly questions. We don't try to make a bargain. I can offer them something important. I didn't with that business, with the event styling business, I didn't find my people yet, my community. They weren't ready yet. So Eve: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Lea Klein: I feel like while the the fashion industry, because we all need clothes to wear all day, every day. We don't always have Eve: Mm-hmm. Lea Klein: a big wedding or a big birthday coming up. But with the fashion incubator and all these people that I now get to know, it's just To to seeing how passionate they are and how important it is to to feel great every day in the in the clothes we're wearing, it probably is is more my niche. Eve: I love that you recognized that and, took that as an opportunity to go because it wasn't aligned with your values, to then, reassess and then make more aligned choices. Yeah, Lea Klein: Mm-hmm. Eve: that's so important. that's the goal really, Lea Klein: Absolutely. Eve: is living in alignment. so Project Emerald has evolved from talking about secondhand fashion into asking much bigger questions around identity. So I'd love your perspective Lea Klein: Uh-huh. Eve: on what ro what role clothing should play in someone's life. Lea Klein: Really kind of find the style that suits your body and don't try to follow trends, don't try to look like The new trend out there. try to embrace your body and there's there's always a style out there for everybody shape. you don't just because everybody is wearing jeans, you don't have to squeeze into a pair of jeans and then not feel confident and walk around not feeling great. I don't own a pair of jeans because they just don't make me feel confident. They make me question my body if I Eve: Mm-hmm. Lea Klein: squeeze into one. and then I ended up putting so many layers on top of it to kinda like what was the point of even putting that jeans on if you now can't even see it. And Eve: Mm. Lea Klein: I would really encourage people to kind of take some time to kind of really figure out what What suits their body type? and don't question your body. Your body Eve: Mm-hmm. Lea Klein: should be embraced the way it is. It's your Eve: Mm-hmm. Lea Klein: body, it's beautiful no matter what. if you feel like you can't embrace it the way it is go out there and show the world, find ways to get out there and dress the way it flatters your body, it enhances it and makes you feel confident and going out there like a winner every day. And don't hide. Like it's clothing shouldn't be about hiding. and it doesn't take much money. It doesn't take it probably takes patience to to go through op shops, find the items that are simple in a way that you can re combinate with other items that you already have and that you Eve: Mm-hmm. Lea Klein: just keep doing that rather than buying more and more and more just use what you have and just try to change it around if you're in love with a pattern go for it make sure you know you have items that either have the same color palette like your favorite leopard pattern And yeah, go for it. Do a bit of research and live life and stop worrying about your body and the clothes you have or don't have. As I said, I don't wear any designer clothes, I don't have any. and I don't need any. Eve: I love that you know that about yourself and that you are confident in your own skin and the styles that you like and you're living your life authentically as opposed to thinking you should be taking different paths or wearing different clothing just to fit in. Lea Klein: Mm. Absolutely. Eve: So what s what never goes out of style in your books? Lea Klein: probably black. Eve: This is so classic. Lea Klein: And I try not to wear it as much. I like to hide behind it sometimes. and I think it's finding a set of clothing. It could be ten, fifteen different clothes that that can be combined in hundred different ways. So it's the three pair of pants that you need. Maybe a fitted, a non-so fitted, and maybe a colorful one. And then you need a couple of tops that that kind of all go ideally all go with all of those pants. All of these shirts can be combined with all of these pants and then a layer on top like a cardigan or a jumper. So ideally all of these jumpers can be combined with All of these shirts with all of these pens and you can just mix and match, but you have your your your base stock of items that you wear until they die over and over again. And I like to throw accessories at it to to to mix and match it up. I like necklaces, I like banglets, I like earrings, I like a good scarf that just Eve: Mm-hmm. Lea Klein: Maybe if I don't have a yellow jumper, but I feel like a yellow scarf will today kind of bring out the sun in me. yeah, I for me it's accessories that kind of that that bring a bit of pop of colour and a bit of fun. But for my wardrobe it's it's the items, can I combine them? Will I wear them in a year from now on? And I still have items in my wardrobe that I brought from Germany fifteen years ago in my backpack as a as a backpacker. and they they're still with me. So Eve: Mm. Lea Klein: it doesn't need much, it just needs a way to combine them all, to make them wearable every day, again, again and again, without you feeling boring or out of date Yeah. Eve: I think confidence is a big thing. if you love what you are wearing and it fits you perfectly, you naturally feel more confident in everyday life. Lea Klein: Absolutely. Eve: if you could redesign one thing about the fashion industry overnight, what would it be? Lea Klein: wow. One thing. transparency. Eve: yeah. Lea Klein: Yeah, it had to be transparency that everybody, every company out there has to say on a label inside the garment, exactly. How is it possible that this item from the big K cost five dollars? How in the world is this possible? It traveled all the way around the world. It got made by somebody, who did it got made from? I would like the production chain written on the label for you to understand how can this cost five dollars? This is impossible. I would like to change that for people to really see how fast fashion is made and how we need to slow down. Eve: That would be quite alarming, if people were to actually be reading on the label how Lea Klein: Absolutely. We would be shocked. Yeah. Eve: how that shirt can cost five dollars. I'd actually really love to see that, someone do Lea, do you think sustainability starts with what we buy or does it actually start with knowing ourselves? Lea Klein: Yeah, probably knowing yourself first. What suits you? what what do you need? Do you even need more things in your wardrobe? Is that do you want to cover up something? is that an impulse shopping? I don't even ask myself that anymore. if I think I need an item. My first instinct is going on marketplace. Eve: Hm. Lea Klein: On my local community pages, can I find this item secondhand? That's always my first instinct, my first choice. I will not buy it brand new if I can find it secondhand. And if I have to do a a whole day of op shopping and I'll I'll drive to five, six different op shops. Only if I really really can't find this item secondhand anywhere, and I've I've written messages on on all my local buy nothing groups or garage sale or anything out there, then I may consider buying it new. But the next step would really be Where do I buy it from? What's it made out of? And will it last me? Eve: Mm-hmm. Lea Klein: Is it is it just something that I just you know, I I need to it's for a season. Seasonal shopping. my god, is it okay, yeah, seasons they they come again, so you can if you if you feel like you need to buy something new for Christmas and and and you're gonna change your whole Christmas decoration. Is that a one is it a one year thing, or can you use it for the next five years? Can Christmas just be about family and and and being together rather than the colours on the Christmas tree? And your napkins and the plates that you eating from? Or is it about actually bringing everybody together and eat together? Eve: Mm. Yeah, absolutely. And that's a that's a question to ask yourself. Lea, what does taking your power back mean to you? Lea Klein: Therapy. Eve: Mm. Lea Klein: Yeah, for me it's it's kind of really getting down to the nitty-gritty of myself. Why do I do things the way I do? Is this healthy? Is this healthy for me? Is this healthy for my family? Am I just passing frustrations down that are actually to be solved within myself and and to kind of really just kind of get down there, it was everything, everything from from homeopathy to finding a guru to walking the Camino de Santiago twice, doing family constellations, trauma therapy, hypnotherapy, reading various books and send them to my parents and say, ha ha ha Here, guys, you should have been reading this forty years ago and I wouldn't be here today. Eve: that's so funny. I actually my last podcast conversation was with a lady that had also walked the Camino Trail twice. Lea Klein: Yeah. Eve: what advice would you give to your younger self? Lea Klein: it's not you, it's them. it's your parents messed up, nobody there to tell you that they all had their little quirks and traumas. and it's not you. It's you're beautiful and I think we should tell that every child they are beautiful just the way they are. And if we mess up sometimes and and and we're we're getting loud or we're getting unfair, we should acknowledge and we should explain and we should tell them we don't have all the answers. So I think yeah, the advice is kind of like Children are beautiful and important and gorgeous just the way they are, and parents mess up. Yep. Yeah. Eve: absolutely. No one's perfect. Before we finish I'd love to leave you with one question. When did you last feel like most like yourself? Not the version shaped by expectations, deadlines, or everyone else's opinions, but the real you. Maybe that's something worth sitting with this week. If today's conversation has resonated with you, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing the episode with someone who may need to hear it. Every share helps us reach more people and grow a community that's choosing to live with greater intention. Until next time, remember, take your power back, one conscious choice at a time. I'll see you in the next episode.