Pantie patches.
It’s a problem — you’re looking to refresh your wardrobe for spring, but are conscious of the negative effects of the “fast fashion” industry. More inexpensive clothing produced rapidly, often with poor treatment of workers, creates environmental hazards including toxic chemicals making their way into creeks, rivers and groundwater, as well as more and more fabric waste.
Local artist Hailee Von Haden recommends embellishing current clothing pieces with custom embroidery instead. “Adding little touches to your existing wardrobe is an easy way to bring freshness and the feeling of newness that so many of us crave, especially in the spring,” Von Haden says. “It’s important to find ways to extend the life of your clothes because of the increasing amount of textile waste in the fashion industry. And it saves you money in the long run.”
Von Haden loved drawing as a child and often focused on fashion illustrations. She knew when she arrived for college at UW-Madison she wanted to focus on fashion. After a semester in New York City at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Von Haden returned to Madison for her senior year in 2017. During that year she taught herself embroidery, intending to include it in her clothing collection for her senior project. “Then I abandoned the clothes and focused just on the embroidery,” Von Haden says. “I became aware of the waste and unsustainability in fast fashion and I realized I didn’t want to be part of the never-ending cycle of new clothes.”
Stitching in process. Florals can be embroidered on a shirt, a pair of jeans, or a favorite jacket.
She calls the decoration of existing clothes “slow fashion.” She’ll do full illustrations: “I like being able to paint a picture with thread. It’s textural.”
For her senior thesis, Von Haden stitched an illustration of a Viktor Horsting couture dress, the Dutch designer of Viktor & Rolf. Von Haden stitched the dress on silk organza; the project took 400 hours. “I haven’t done anything that intense since then,” she says.
After graduation, Von Haden set her sights on a much less serious project: the creation of “booty patches.” This collection of patches features fanciful depictions of the Gluteus Maximus adorned in undergarments. She sells these via her website and envisions them sewn onto a variety of items including jean jackets and backpacks. Von Haden can also create a custom booty patch if someone wants to highlight a specific set of buns. “I wanted to create a body-positive collection that celebrates women,” Von Haden says. “The patches are super fun.”
In addition to booty patches, Von Haden has created a set of “flash floral” designs that can be stitched onto existing sweatshirts, jeans, cotton tops or pants. “Flowers are a huge part of the textile industry,” Von Haden says. “ Some are Von Haden’s drawn illustrations of flowers, including poppies and leaved plants, or she can design one based on your favorite plant.
Beginning April 20, Von Haden will be operating out of plant shop Wildewood, which will be moving to East Johnson Street after being part of pop-up shop Good Day Collective before Christmas. Customers can bring clothing to Wildewood and pick a design to be hand-embroidered onto garments from a book of illustrations.
Von Haden will also do monogramming ($15 for up to nine letters) and has recently been working on custom bandana sets. “I love bandanas,” Von Haden says. “You can wear them; your dog can wear them. They’re very versatile.” Von Haden hand-dyes the bandannas and stitches them with whatever people desire. “I’m working on a pink bandanna with black teeth right now for a local tattoo artist.”
Von Haden’s patches can currently be found at local art studios One-OneThousand, 78 North Bryan St., and Communication, 2645 Milwaukee St. She can be contacted for custom projects through her website, haileevonhaden.com. Prices depend on the size of the design.
