The heart of the company is the Atelier nested in the historical center of Lecce under the typical Salento vaults in pietra leccese. The workspace dedicated to the craftsmanship of Ninaleuca pieces is part of the store, an open space full of light and colors where the seamstresses are all in one with the concept store clients. There are: Antonella, Luciana, Maria, Valentina, and Maria, plus Nina (who holds a fashion degree at the St Martin Fashion School) and 5 sewing machine. Piles of loom made fabrics everywhere, Nina’s daughters playing on the floor and Merci, the French bulldog, running around. The Atelier is an epicenter: here arrives the woven fabric collected from the artisanal factory nearby Lecce, as well as the the embroidered details. The dressmaker is like a movie director, she workmanship the whole final creation with an attentive care to details, very often executed by hand. Nina and the seamstresses decided together for a more flexible working hours compared with national media, which together with a fair pair allows the team (included Nina, a full time Mum) to cherish life outside work.

Linen is the most used fabric in Ninaleuca collections: it’s versatile, feminine and 100% natural. Since ancient times linen, has been viewed as a symbol of divine purity, with beneficial properties. Nowadays linen is the only natural textile produced in Europe, thanks to the ideal conditions found in northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The delicate pale blue flower of the flax plant blooms for just one day, while the textile fiber comes from the robust stalks of the plant. The stalks are then dried and processed, using techniques that have been improved over the centuries, but are still governed by natural forces, and carried out with enduing respect for the environment. Linen is one of the most resistant fabrics that exist thanks to the cellulose component that strengthens its fibres. The not too tight weave makes the linen fabric breathable, light and cool to the touch. It has insulating, thermoregulating and moisture-absorbing properties, making it an ideal fiber for both clothing and household linen. Being a natural fiber, it is hypoallergenic – therefore it does not irritate the skin and does not attract dust – and 100% sustainable, biodegradable and recyclable. At NinaLeuca this precious fabric is sourced from the best Italian mills as Canapificio e Linificio Italiano, whose row material comes from European provenience.

Cotton is used mainly as yarn to wave the intricate, geometrical or floral, loom made patterns wich embellish Nina Leuca creations, these patterns are used as inserts for the bust part of the dresses, a part called pettorina, accordingly with designer personal revisitation of ancient costumes of Salento folklore. The fabric is sourced from the local weavers, who supply themselves from America or India

Hemp is one of the most enviromental friendly fabrics in the world. Its cultivation does not require chemicals, controls soil erosion and produce oxygen. In Ninaleuca collections hemp is more marginal compared with linen and it’s used when it’s required a certain rough, but distinctive hand feel. Hemp is a very ancient, natural fiber, extracted from the herbaceous plant of the same name of the Cannabis sativa species, a plant that flourishes in areas with temperate climates, such as Italy.