Naru
Japanese 'To Become'
なる
NARU STUDIOS has been created from a love for genuine craftsmanship and accessories design combined with a passion and devotion to create a brand that takes responsibility within a traditionally damaging industry.
NARU STUDIOS is committed to radical transparency throughout the entire supply chain, offering honesty and integrity at every stage. A dedication to share the founder’s passion and determination for beautiful products that are designed with longevity in mind, to improve negative environmental and social impacts and to achieve long lasting, positive effects upon nature and communities.
OUR VISION
It is our vision to be an agent of change and be at the forefront of the conscious luxury fashion industry. We celebrate British manufacturing, more specifically, made in London and we want to show our passion for leather craftsmanship and the skilled artisans who lovingly make each and every product. It is our desire to create a creative community that values each team member, to create a work environment of encouragement, positivity and equality and to create empowerment and balance in order to form a more socially sustainable future.
Our Founder
NARU STUDIOS was founded by established accessories designer Natalie Smith, whose career spans over a decade and has taken her across the globe, designing for luxury and commercial brands alike.
Natalie's interest in sustainable fashion was sparked at an early age after winning an award at the college in Oxford where she was studying Fashion & Clothing Design. The winning design used vintage garments that would have otherwise ended up in landfill. This career defining moment led Natalie towards her love for accessories design and dedication to never stop learning about implementing sustainable and ethical practices in the fashion industry.
Educated at the esteemed Cordwainers’ at the London College of Fashion, Natalie has won various competitions and awards throughout her studies, including the Hugo Boss and Jimmy Choo Accessories Awards. During her time working in the industry, Natalie was intrigued and excited by the endless possibilities that accessories design brings with it but equally dismayed by the lack of sustainable practices and transparency, ultimately realising the immense damage being made on the environment.
It has been Natalie’s determination and vision ever since to create a leather goods brand that is built on foundations of honesty and consciousness.
She has tirelessly worked on implementing the principles of a circular fashion model, celebrating and working with skilled leather artisans in the UK and expanding and bringing a focus on the creative community in her hometown of Oxford. It is Natalie's vision to create a company in the fashion industry that has social and environmental sustainability at the forefront, and to create a community and work environment of encouragement, positivity, and equality.
Natalie’s journey has taken her all over the globe, taking inspiration from many cultures and the artistic trailblazers that came before her. She is drawn to simplicity over quantity and has a passionate belief for a better, more conscious future.
NARU INSPIRATION — ‘WHITE BODY FAN’, REBECCA HORN, 1972
Collaborators
TONI DIN
CREATIVE BRAND DIRECTOR
Creative Brand Director Toni Din works with Natalie to create the vision and brand strategy for NARU. Toni is dedicated to building future-proof, ethical and considered brands and has collaborated with Natalie since the brand’s inception. Together they aspire to push the boundaries of conscious creation in the fashion industry by creating a leather goods brand with environmental and social sustainability at its core.
LUCY SIDDALL
EDITOR
Lucy is a wonderfully talented Editor and Copywriter, and is on the NARU team as one of the core creative collaborators. Each body of work Lucy creates is a beauty to read; her words are inspiring, emotive, and thought-provoking, and her passion for social and environmental sustainability always shines through in her words.
Trisha Ward
Fashion | Portrait Photographer
Trisha is a London-based photographer with a focus on portraiture and fashion. She has become a regular collaborator at NARU, creating the brand imagery, creative series imagery and Edition 001 campaign. Trisha is an advocate of creative collaboration, believing it to develop her skills and visual language. Trisha looks for her inspiration in many places – she is drawn to a rawness that exists in people, nature, and experience.
