BRAND
The Eigenbrötler label, founded in 2022, has an “anti-fashionable” approach to the fashion industry, rejecting any seasonal trends to pursue an ideal of handmade luxury crafted for the single individual.
As suggested by its name in the German dictionary, Eigenbrötler stands for a loner or a highly introverted person who prefers to have peace and be alone. It refers to the designers’ feelings and attitude towards mass production and the will to create a solution-based unique opportunity to respond to extreme consumerism and negative environmental impact.
All production is made in Norway, and the entire business operates from one studio in a small town, an hour's drive from Oslo. Wherever possible, the sourcing is kept close to Norway to reduce the carbon footprint of importing far distances.
Each garment is a unique piece made via a handmade process. The aesthetic attributes may include a slight variation of color, wear, or mending. It is not a default, though a feature we embrace as artistic quality.
ISHARA’S BIOGRAPHY
EIGENBRÖTLER is a brand and creative outlet by Ishara Jayathilake. Having finished her MA at Oslo National Academy of the Arts, Ishara has created EIGENBRÖTLER as a way to make things that stand by her values and offer a slow, local, artistic alternative that is built to cherish.
Ishara Jayathilake was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1991. Ishara graduated with a BA (Hons) degree (1st class Honors) in Fashion Design from Northumbria University, United Kingdom having completed a course of study from 2011 to 2014 at the Academy of Design (AOD) International Campus in Sri Lanka.
She showcased her Bachelor's collection in London graduate fashion week international catwalk in 2015.
Ishara moved to Oslo in 2017 to pursue her Master's in Fashion Design at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. She lived in Oslo, achieving an MA degree in fashion and costume designing, gaining a few art & design and industry experiences.
Ishara's Masters project 'East meets West' was nominated to the annual 'Designers’ Nest Award Show 2020 in Copenhagen, showcasing the best fashion graduates from the Nordic design school in January 2020.
Furthermore, she was awarded as one of the five recipients of the exhibition award in collaboration with Design Museum Denmark at the Designer’s Nest award show. She exhibited an installation about 'colonialism' at the 'Absent Bodies' exhibition at Design Museum Denmark (2020)and the 'Future Nordic Fashion' exhibition curated by the museum Prins Eugens Waldemarsudde in Stockholm, Sweden.
Ishara is the founder of EIGENBRÖTLER based in Norway and continues her creation as a garment designer and visual artist based on focused research of ethical fashion. She is strongly influenced by art and craft.