Paolo Carzana’s studio is just a tiny room above Smithfield Market, London’s main meat market, on the edge of the city’s financial district. Commuter trains rumble in and out of the tunnel underneath the space, which is crammed with clothes. Since starting his brand in 2022, the 30-year-old Welsh designer has made every garment himself here by hand, using intuitive and time-consuming draping techniques. “Each piece is like a life,” says Carzana, whose nails are bitten to the quick. He uses deadstock, organic, and antique fabrics that he dyes with natural ingredients. “I work with logwood, madder, turmeric, red onion skins, avocado stones.… A lot of the time, I’ll mix ingredients. Or I’ll work on a layer, then layer on top, then layer on top.”

So far, Carzana has shown six collections, all

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