Darwin and Unknown

Simple designs in extraordinary fabrics is one of the pillars of COMMON HOURS. French and Italian silks sourced from the most notable suppliers, Italian leathers and transparent Japanese 'Fairy-Feather' (the world's thinnest silk) form a base for extraordinary collaboration with multiple artisans to bring our philosophy to life. A transparent endeavour from beginning to end, from the origin of materials to acknowledging contributing artisans, lies at the heart of COMMON HOURS, allowing each purchaser a new standard in the benchmark of disclosure. Championing integrity as the key to hold oneself against, no finished product is complete without ample respect to the artisans (designers, printers, embroiderers, fabric houses) who come together to form each final piece. For our first collection, we have worked with heritage houses Maison Hurel and Maison Bucol in France, Saiei Orimono in Japan and Bonaudo in Italy, amongst others, to supply some of our key fabrications.

The first Australian brand to do so, COMMON HOURS has partnered with embroidery house Chanakya. They have imparted their unique blend of tradition, know-how and modernity into the making of each one of our garments, employing a level of craftsmanship usually reserved for haute couture and global fashion houses. Known for creating the extraordinary, Chanakya is inspired by timelessness and rarity. Their journey to showcase the age-old heritage of hand embroidery began in India in 1986. There, generations of art aficionados, preservers and advocates of this craftsmanship have worked toward a singular aim: to ensure that the magic of artisans lives forever. Harmonious blending tradition and modernity, Chanakya has been honed with the experience of Made-in-Italy know-how, as well as rapt attention to perfection and quality, artistic sensibilities and craftsmanship.The current generation of this family-run enterprise has been brought up among the arts and has trained and worked extensively in Italy with Europe’s leading fashion houses. Read more about Chanakya's School of Embroidery, and their efforts to empower young women and conserve craft here

Recalling the hedonistic spirit of decades past, COMMON HOURS proposes luxury through details that are often not for everyone to see. Embroidery in heightened sensory places such as the wrist or the back of neck offer each piece as a blank slate, ready for interpretation – sometimes with meaningful, tattoo-like motifs, others with lyrics, poetry or prose. Imbued by a sense of time and memory, each design takes a cue from the ordinary and the extraordinary; designed for the common hours.