Product Care
Product Care
Design Philosophy endeavours to make great clothes that suit every individual. We want you to love your clothes and enjoy wearing them.To ensure consistent quality across the brand, our fabrics and trims are all personally selected by the designer to ensure this is delivered.
We work with local businesses to produce designs made from the best materials and workmanship. Design Philosophy is happy to support their endeavours in creating sustainable futures for themselves and their workers and we want to help promote their initiatives.
All of our products are hand-crafted in the best of care from local artisans using intricate beading and who sometime use ancient and complicated techniques especially to decorate and print fabrics such as Batik.
Batik is a traditional Indonesian hand technique that uses natural wax and several dyeing processes into fabrics to create patterns. This makes each piece unique, with colour or beading variations being an indication of this process.
To make sure you maximise the longevity of your pieces, and enjoy them for as long as possible, we encourage you to follow the care instructions on each garment and handle with love!
Below is a guide for each material.
Cotton
Cotton is a natural fabric that can easily be laundered. Cotton can withstand higher temperatures: even boiling water does not hurt the fiber!
Wash: Therefore it can be washed at high temperatures using any kind of washing detergent. White cottons can even be gently washed with bleach to keep their pearly white shade.
Dry: After washing, they can be machine dried on a higher temperature. However, keep in mind that cotton tends to wrinkle easily. Therefore they need to be ironed.
Viscose
Viscose is a semi-synthetic material consisting of chemically treated natural fibers.
Wash: Viscose garments can be washed by hand using a gentle washing detergent. Immerse your viscose garments in the water, swirl them gently and leave them to soak for a few minutes. Remove your garments from the soapy water and rinse them carefully with warm water. Do not wring them out; but gently squeeze the excess water out. Although washing by hand is preferable, viscose garments can also be washed in your washing machine. In this case, set your washer to a gentle wash cycle, at a maximum temperature of 40°C and remove your viscose garments from your washer as soon as the cycle is finished.
Dry: Reshape your garments while they are still damp. Hang them on non-rusting hangers or lay them flat to dry. Never tumble dry viscose.
Important notes:
– Always turn viscose garments inside out prior to the washing cycle and during drying. This will protect the soft fiber from deteriorating.
– Fill your machine drums half full with garments. If you wash a full load of viscose garments, they are more likely to crease.
Rayon
Rayon is a strong, extremely absorbent fabric with a soft silky feel. Rayon will wrinkle easily and may stretch when wet and shrink when washed.
Wash: Therefore launder all washable rayon by hand. It is vulnerable to damage when it’s wet, so a washing machine’s agitation could damage it. Although rayon is a strong fabric, it needs some extra care and love to keep its shape and luster. Never wring, twist or bunch up rayon. Just shake it out gently and smooth out the wrinkles with your hands. If you have to iron a rayon fabric always turn it inside out to prevent it from shining. Use low heat and gently press it while the fabric is still slightly damp to ease the wrinkling.
Important note:
– Do not put rayon garments in the dryer as it could damage the fabric.
Suede
Suede is a type of leather that is created from the underside of the hide. The fibers are buffed and raised to give it a velvety touch. Protection and careful cleaning are the keys to keeping suede items looking good. Begin by protecting your suede items by applying a good protective spray.
Stains: Spot cleaning can be done at home using a cleaner designed especially for suede rather than a general leather cleaner. Suede erasers can be rubbed on the suede to loosen ground in dirt and remove some stains. A dry towel also works to scrub away dirt and stains. If necessary, try using small amount of vinegar on a towel to clean stains out of suede, but be sure to spot-test it first. Just rub a small amount and be careful not to soak it. Let the item air out to remove the smell.
Important notes:
– Avoid ironing suede garments; ironing may cause damage to the fabric. Instead, let any wrinkles fall out naturally by hanging your suede garment from a padded hanger. If you must iron, use a cool iron, placing a heavy brown paper bag between the iron and the fabric, and iron very quickly.
– Do not use petroleum jelly (i.e. Vaseline) as a waterproofing agent on suede—it will stain the fabric.
– Do not store suede in a plastic bag, or other non-breathable storage bag as the suede may dry out and crack.
– Suede is a type of leather. Generally, for a thorough cleaning, it is best to have suede garments professionally cleaned.
Spandex / lycra
Spandex is a man made elastic type fiber that can be stretched many times its length and then spring back to the original length.
Wash: Hand wash spandex items in luke warm water. Do not use detergents that contain chlorine bleach on any fabric containing spandex as it will damage the fabric.
Leather
Leather garments / shoes are timeless pieces that can last for years if they are properly taken care of.
To minimize stains, we reccomend that all leather products be coated with a Waterproof spray BEFORE use. This will help reduce dirt and well as prevent water stains in case of those accidental spills.
Repeat this process on a monthly basis, to build up a consistent waterproof coating.
Stains: AVOID rubbing any stains at all costs. Using a lightly damp cloth, gently wipe ( in a circular motion ) the area to lift the stain or use a clean eraser over the area. For more intensive stains, you may use a leather cleaner (which does not contain a water base) and gently wipe the stain off with a soft washcloth. Avoid using abrasive cloths or sponges that may scratch the delicate leather.
Important notes: – NEVER hang any leather product near a heater or direct heat, as this will dehydrate the leather and cause stiffeness of the material.
For best results in stain removal, use a trusted professional dry-cleaner.
Embelishment
Some of our garments are delicately embellished, and whilst we provide you with spare beads it is always best to take extra care when washing beaded garments.
Hand wash them inside out in mild detergent and roll then into a towel to wring out the excess water. Do not use abrasive detergents such as bleach or other oxygenated products that may cause some embellishment to corrode or deteriorate.