Our Values

All our designs are either modular, upcycled, zero-waste, transparent and eco-friendly, and small batch.  

Modular: Modular fashion refers to clothing items that have detachable pieces, so that one can easily alter the clothing item to suit changing needs and tastes over time. Modular fashion can incorporate zippers, hook and eyes, and drawstrings to allow users to add or remove facets of the Couca piece, or change its silhouette, length and functionality. We did this with the hope of encouraging consumers to buy fewer clothing items, given the versatility we offer. Enabling our customers to affect the design of a garment intends to make them feel more emotionally attached to the garment, delaying its psychological obsolescence- thus making it last longer in their wardrobe. 

Upcycled: With the aim of reducing material waste in landfills and emission burden, as well as slowing down unnecessary virgin textile production, Couca recovers and recycles textile and fashion waste. We love the innovation challenge that accompanies this: taking something that is stained/torn and refashioning a wearable product from it with higher environmental value.

Zero-waste: We believe in giving life to every scrap piece, because every piece contributes to carbon emissions and leaves a footprint on our planet. Therefore by saving our scraps and saving other fabrics from landing in landfills, we are upcycling and reviving pieces of fabric and thinking of creative ways to give it purpose in a beautiful and luxurious way. Our patterns are all made with minimum waste in mind initially. Couca believes in a regenerative system in which its designs are circulated for as long as possible, and we encourage our customers to do the same. Therefore we have set up this care page (link) with tips and advice on how to care for your Couca piece, fix it if it gets damaged, clean it and alter it if needed. Couca makes modular pieces and upcycled pieces using antique fabrics such as lace and hand-embroidered lengha fabrics. 

Transparent and Eco-Friendly: We believe in transparency in the fashion cycle. As a customer, you have the right to know exactly where your clothes were made, what they are made of and who made them. Making our customers aware of the journey of their garment so they make an informed choice about the clothes they buy is our responsibility.  You can track your fabric composition, the impact of your piece on the planet, and get to know more about the history or journey of your Couca piece, including who made it and where with most of our pieces. We are working hard to become more and more transparent on our page and in our garment labels. 

Small batch: Couca couture promotes slow fashion, meaning the processes and resources required to make our pieces are very carefully considered. We advocate for and prioritise better-quality that will last longer, and we value fair treatment of people, animals, and the planet along the way.  Some of the dresses are made-to-order to avoid stock waste, and others are made with limited stock, with some exclusive upcycled pieces that are one-offs. This makes our customers feels more special and unique in their Couca piece. 

One off pieces:One off pieces are made from unique fabric pieces, or from antique fabrics that cannot be replicated. These pieces are usually made to the standard M size, with a slight flexibility in sizing, unless the fabric piece used is scarce and thus could only make a size XS or S piece.