The Story Behind the Atelier Worker Jacket

Where it started

Long before PARA-DAIZA opened its doors in
Stockbridge, I spent most evenings and weekends surrounded by old military
jackets, worn denim, and a sewing machine.

Back in 2021, I met Monika from Remode
Collective, a social enterprise based here in Edinburgh. At the time I had
become obsessed with taking old garments and giving them a second life.
Military surplus jackets, vintage jeans, anything with a bit of history.

For nearly two years before PARA-DAIZA
launched, I customised vintage military garments and denim by hand. Every piece
was different. Every patch, repair and stitch added another chapter to the
garment's story. It wasn’t about fashion trends; it was about creating
something unique.

When we eventually opened the shop, those
customised pieces became a huge part of the collection and helped to shape PARA-DAIZA’s identity.

Learning from Vintage

What I loved most about those early garments
was their individuality.

No two jackets were ever the same.

Customers would come into the shop and spend
time looking through the rails, searching for the piece that spoke to them. The
repairs, the fabrics, the imperfections — they were all part of the appeal.

As PARA-DAIZA evolved, I wanted to carry that
same spirit into our own products.

Not by copying vintage garments, but by taking the best parts of military clothing,
vintage workwear and repaired denim and building something new.

The Beginning of Atelier

The Atelier Collection was created to
celebrate both craftsmanship and the people behind the product.

Small runs.

Better fabrics.

More hands involved in the process.

The Atelier Worker Jacket became the first garment in the collection, which is why every piece carries the hand-printed 01 on the chest.

It's a small detail, but an important one.

A reminder of where the Atelier line started.

Hand Finished in Edinburgh

Today, every Atelier Worker Jacket is
hand-finished in Edinburgh by Monika and the team at Remode Collective.

The process remains intentionally slow.

Vintage fabrics are carefully selected, cut and applied by hand. Sashiko repair stitching is added individually so that no
two jackets are alike.

In a world of mass production, that's
something worth protecting.

Every jacket carries the fingerprints of the people who made it.

Three Colours. Three Stories.

The khaki version is probably the closest link
to those original customised military garments.

Vintage Eastern European military camouflage
appears on the collar and coin pocket, combined with touches of British desert
camouflage and hand-applied Sashiko stitching across the back.

It's rugged, individual and full of character.

The navy version takes a different route.

A red top button and red Sashiko detailing
create a sharp contrast against the deep navy organic cotton. The colours pop effortlessly.

For this jacket I often look towards vintage
Western shirts for inspiration. Brands like Pendleton and Wrangler produced
some incredible Navajo patterns and colour combinations over the years, and
that influence naturally finds its way into the detailing.

Although it's now the newest colour on the
rail, royal blue was actually the first Atelier Worker Jacket we produced.

The colour immediately reminded me of the
classic French worker jackets I've admired for years. Combined with crisp white
stitching, it feels clean, timeless and honest.

It's probably the purest expression of the
original concept.

Product. People. Purpose.

The Atelier Worker Jacket sits above our Core
Collection.

Not because it's louder or more complicated,
but because more hands are involved in making it.

Every patch.

Every stitch.

Every piece of vintage fabric.

All carefully applied by people who care about
what they do.

For me, that's what PARA-DAIZA has always been
about.

Good product.

Good people.

A sense of purpose behind what we make.

And a reminder that sometimes the best ideas
come from taking something old and giving it a new life.