about souchi
souchi is designed & hand loomed solely by me in kirkland, wa. souchi atelier is now open in kirkland, wa.
the birth of souchi
souchi is a women's knitwear brand using beautiful cashmere, wools, silk & organic cottons from around the world. souchi started with my little brother. he pronounced my name, suzi, as 'souchi'. it turned out this name would have a resurgence years later while a fashion major at the academy of art college, san francisco. to put myself through school i worked at chanel where i had a very loyal customer from indonesia, elaine. one summer, during the time i interned for isaac mizrahi in nyc, elaine sent me hand written letters & cards addressed to 'miss souchi'. i loved that souchi had come full circle…souchi was born....1997.
happy accidents
at that time, i had no idea souchi would be a knitwear line as my plan was to design clothing and open a boutique in san francisco - but life stepped in and because of the first of many happy accidents, I was told I was one elective short for graduation. i chose a knitting class which brought to life my first hand loomed sweater: a men's style crew neck sweater. What no one knew was that through novice and, more importantly, unrepeatable knitting mistakes, this sweater was more like a piece intentionally influenced by my idols rei kawakubo and yohji yamamoto. i loved that sweater and wore it out the day after i graduated at which point i was stopped on the street and asked where i bought my sweater. i said, with skepticism (the mistakes), 'i made it'. this woman, a san francisco based shop owner, bought 10 on the spot. of course, i took the order, i could rem-ist-ake this sweater, i was a designer!
within six months after taking this order on the street, souchi was selling to stores and boutiques nationwide. also, souchi's angora hoodie made the fall cover of the September 1998 issue of seventeen magazine. our sweaters created such a buzz that by 2000, they were regularly worn on friends, 90210 (the original), melrose place, and most of the wb shows (charmed, buffy, etc). they made there way to movies, red carpets, magazines and blogs which have kept souchi in the forefront of luxury knitwear and for over 25 years.
my philosophy
i started knitting souchi sweaters in my 500 sq ft apt in san francisco. i loved the look of a hand loomed sweater: the rolled seams and the rumpled lived in look. i liked the idea of touching everything i made. i didn't want to draw and fax my designs to some manufacturer overseas and to this day, most of my designs are on post-its and scraps of paper, on magazines, in books or on business cards. i have piles of my designs in drawers, cabinets & shoe boxes. thanks to paola and that one knitting class, souchi has been an ongoing process of exploration.
i knew that, because i was making souchi knits myself, i was going use the best yarns in the world: fine Italian cashmere & merino wools & organic cottons from tanzania…souchi sweaters have always been designed to survive years of wear and, if i could be so lucky, find their way in beautiful vintage stores, decades later.
souchi is designed & hand loomed solely by me in kirkland, wa. souchi atelier is now open where you can find these pieces and a curation of more brands.
