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Christina Tung was getting tired of searching for the perfect slip dress. There were too many, and mostly, they were overpriced or underdeveloped in terms of cut and fabric. And so, the designer behind SVNR’s travel-inspired jewelry set out to create her own version of the perfect summer slip. “Be the change you want to see, right?” Tung said half-jokingly of her new venture. “When I launched SVNR last year, I immediately started brainstorming ideas for how I could produce the kind of slip dress I had in mind.” What Tung had in mind, and what she will launch officially this week, is a 10-color range of bias-cut, low-backed slips featuring drawstrings at the side. The dresses are available in two lengths: a tunic or mini and midi, all priced under $300 and made sustainably with 100 percent vegan silks, individually hand-dyed by Tung herself in Brooklyn.
“I originally thought that I would simply alter vintage silk slips,” Tung says of the conceptualization process. “But then I realized that was impractical, and I’d need to go into production. One of the first obstacles was meeting my minimums with materials and factory production. My solution was to produce minimum quantities in white silk so that I could hand-dye each piece to order.” Tung has also asked her chosen factory to send her all of the material waste so that she can use it to wrap her jewelry. “It’s hard to be 100 percent sustainable,” she says. “This is because there are many factors to consider when producing anything, but I believe these mindful decisions throughout the process make a difference. Also, the classic and versatile design of these slips will allow people to wear them for years to come (hopefully eschewing the disposability of fast fashion). Producing in small batches will minimize the amount of excess, and ultimately, the natural materials won’t be harmful to the earth.”
In other words, Tung wants her new SVNR slips to be “an essential, like something that is completely worth the investment”—or the only dress you’ll need this summer.