Kristina Viirpalu’s couture creations pay a deep homage to historic Estonian embroidery and knitting techniques. Romantic patterns, styles and ornaments are playfully mixed with contemporary sources of inspiration to meet the needs of a modern woman.
The highlights of the brand are the exuberantly intricate hand-knitted dresses created by the masters of this unique craft. These exquisite gowns and detailed couture pieces are inspired by the Haapsalu shawl, a preferred accessory of the Estonian upper class ladies of the 19th century. The shawl was knitted so fine it could be pulled through a wedding ring. This delicate and fragile technique remains a living source of inspiration for our designer.
Kristina Viirpalu’s hand embroidered bodies are additionally inspired by the motifs and patterns of various Estonian folk costumes. Most of Kristina Viirpalu’s elaborate pieces can be worn in multiple ways for different occasions, giving the wearer a chance to create a personal couture style many times over.
MATERIALS
All Kristina Viirpalu’s luxuriant knitted couture pieces are made from silk, fine wool or cotton yarn. Our delicately embroidered bodies are hand embroidered and -embellished with high quality pearls, laces, ribbons, beads and sequins. Most excellent yarns, gems and beads are used for creating all embroidered and knitted works.
Our craftsmen always work with the most outstanding fabrics. The wool for our coats, jackets and trousers gets chosen from the highest quality sources in the world.
Because of the intricate way the materials get used in the creation of our knitted couture pieces, even some of our most sumptuous dresses and bodies can easily fit into a small handbag.
THE PROCESS
The patterns and technologies used for Kristina Viirpalu’s knitted and embroidered couture pieces are unique and unknown in the rest of the world. This makes our lusciously detailed garments also into precious pieces of art, and into living mementos of Estonia’s amazing folk culture.
Kristina Viirpalu’s embroidered bodies are created one pearl and stitch at a time, and take up to a couple of weeks to finish. When the designer has come up with the design and pattern, she hands it over to our masterful embroiderer who creates the custom pattern using various laces, wool, beads, pearls and ribbons.
Each of Kristina Viirpalu’s couture dresses is unique. One exquisite gown usually takes 2 -3 months to finish and three masterful craftsmen to give them their final, delicate form. At first, the gown gets hand-knitted by the craftsmen of this unique craft in Haapsalu. The dress is then sent to Kristina Viirpalu’s Atelier in Tallinn where the seamstress shapes it into the required shape using the finest fabrics. The last person to work on the dress is the embroiderer who adds the necessary amount of pearly exuberance to the gown.
Kristina Viirpalu’s jackets, coats, trousers and skirts are the pinnacle of meticulous tailoring. All items are unique luxury garments that are handmade in our Atelier in Tallinn’s Old Town.
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