Inguna Butane Started Her Apparel Brand as a Homage to Family

After a successful modeling career that featured campaigns for renowned brands like Bottega Veneta and runway appearances for Chanel, Latvian model Inguna Butane has embarked on a new path, uniting her industry expertise with her passions for family, art, and exploration. This trajectory led her to pave a distinct route through the launch of her eponymous apparel brand, named “Inguna Collection.” Central to Butane’s brand lies an array of t-shirts featured with drawings personally crafted by her son. These exclusive pieces are a testament to her commitment to craftsmanship, each adorned with detailed handcrafted embroidery—a skill she describes as a form of meditation. Rooted in the art of visual storytelling, Inguna’s brand seamlessly weaves her fashion industry background with her passion for design and craftsmanship, which she says is “the intelligence of the hand.” Models.com spoke to Butane about her inspirations, why she started her brand and her love for nature.

Could you share with us when you started your brand and what initially inspired you to venture into design, especially after your years of experience in modeling and photography?
I started this adventure 2 years ago. It was evidently a desire that had to be satisfied. Obviously, the years of modeling have had an impact on my sensitivity to clothes and my relationship with fashion, but I have always loved creating, drawing, and doing work with my hands. I greatly respect craftsmen and what I could define as “the intelligence of the hand.” And then, finally, how lucky to be able to be the model of my own collections. Above all, I draw what I like and what I wear.

Walk us through your creative process when you’re gearing up to create a new collection. What do you focus on first?
The main idea came from the drawings of Eden my son, when he was a child. They are so creative, and each drawing tells a story. I had to share this emotion. I started embroidering his characters on vintage men’s shirts, I liked the result, and really, I also enjoyed doing it. Then my friends liked it too and asked me to make them shirts as well, which was the beginning. I started by designing a unisex men’s shirt, “à la Birkin,” produced by one of the best shirt companies in France; then I selected the most significant drawings, I did embroidery tests, and then the collection was born.

Embroidery is such a standout feature in all your products. Can you tell us where you learned your embroidery skills?
As a model, you obviously don’t work every day, and the waiting times are unbearable for me, probably for all models. So, when I was in Paris, I decided to enroll at the Lesage school, whose embroidery work I had, of course, discovered at the couture shows. I love working with my hands, I have always done so, and I love patient and precision work. It was perfect for me. It’s like therapy, and it’s my meditation. The school is fantastic, and the richness of techniques is incredible.

It’s so heartwarming that your son is the artist behind all the drawings in your designs! How did you come up with the idea to incorporate his drawings, and do you have plans to keep using his art in future collections?
It all came naturally; it was first to make a gift, then one thing led to another, and I started thinking about a collection. The concept today is to always refer to the drawings I have from that period. It’s a challenge because Eden still draws a lot, but of course, differently, and I try to compose the collection around his childhood drawings.

What are your main sources of inspiration?
Curiosity! Always. It is about the images and inspirations that I compile daily; there is always beauty around you when you look good. Pinterest as well, as it is an extraordinary tool, an infinite image bank. I am very sensitive to images, colors, and materials, and I have always been very attracted to creativity in all its forms. My father is a painter, so there must be a link. I really like design and architecture, too; I love creating my living spaces. Also the creativity that surrounds you as a model is also very inspiring, the designers, the shows, the scenography, the make-up artists, and the photographers.

In a few words, how would you best describe the essence of your brand?
I would use 4: Quality, creativity, honesty, and family.

The images in your collection really capture a sense of freedom and a connection to nature. How do nature and family influence your artistic direction for photoshoots?
It’s essential; nature makes me feel good, but I quickly feel oppressed in the city. Latvia, my country, is very simple, and the nature there is sublime. We live now between Ibiza, in the middle of the forest, and the Gard in France. I realize I always surround myself with nature, which inspires and reassures me. And clearly, family is ultimately the main reason for all my decisions. We always come together as a family, no matter where we are.

When customers interact with your designs, what kind of experience do you aim to provide for them? What emotions or impressions are you hoping to evoke?
I would like them to understand that it is my soul that they find in these clothes. This is my story, my family, and the first drawings of my son. The time spent embroidering, too, is a huge part of my life. And then it’s really the symbiosis of this universal mother-child connection transcribed on the garment.

What do you have in store for expansion in 2023? Can you give us a glimpse of your exciting plans for the future?
We are currently only in-store in Ibiza. We will start to develop the brand presence in other territories; then develop the visibility of the website and online sales. We really like the website, it’s the user who finally creates their own mood board, and it’s very fun. We have so far wanted to remain very confidential, the time to master the manufacturing stages and the relations with our partners. The shirts are still embroidered entirely by hand by me and will therefore remain an exclusive product. The “easy wear” is also finished by hand; this remains a guarantee of quality and control. We are working on future collaborations, but for now, I cannot say more. We want to keep this idea of ​​quality, handmade, made in France. I believe that, ultimately, this is the true definition of luxury. So even if we eventually work on other techniques, it will always be in this artisanal spirit. Screen printing, for example, interests me a lot, but made by hand, playing with the placement of the drawings. I would like to create a collection where each product would ultimately be different because a machine won’t reproduce it. I have a lot of projects in mind, and it’s very exciting.