The creative mastermind, Emily Adams Bode built her namesake brand from designing unique menswear from vintage fabrics. It is a brand that celebrates the past through the tribute of personal narratives and historical fabrication techniques. Being in the intersection of fashion and history, Bode has uniquely built her business rooted in storytelling. Through her beautifully crafted designs, stories are archived so that history isn’t lost or forgotten. Vintage fabrics now have a new life. Patchwork quilts dug out of barns are crafted into jackets, antique tablecloth sourced in France are turned into shirts, reclaimed equestrian show blankets are designed into suits, and 19th century coverlet blankets inspire coat patterns.
“The company is founded on retelling the historical narrative of both textiles and of people who inspire the brand,” says Bode. Each new collection is inspired by individual stories and ephemeral objects.
Bode explains, “A huge part of my brand is archiving. Creating a space to hold stories is so important. Oral histories, sound tidbits, maps. Taking the time to record: ‘This quilt was made from this. It was found at this place. This color was popular at the time it was created, because of these reasons.’ So much is being lost and forgotten.” In order for a small studio to grow and continue to efficiently document historic techniques and narratives of their collected fabric, Bode worked with Microsoft to create The Bode Vault. Microsoft’s Custom Vision AI was used to create this interactive archive of quilts and textiles. The library preserves the sourced fabric and documents all the knowledge traditionally held by craftsmen.
