13 Aug The Wool Alchemist: Meet Designer Clara Pinto

Based at FC Designer Workspace, Argentinian-born designer Clara Pinto (pictured below) is building a distinctive fashion studio around one of the world’s oldest natural fibres: wool.

Founded in 2019, Clara Pinto is a London-based fashion studio focused on textile innovation, using wool as a starting point for exploring new forms, structures and possibilities within contemporary fashion.

For Clara, the story begins with craft. Her foundation in textiles was shaped by her great aunt, one of Argentina’s respected haute couture embroiderers, who created gowns for Eva Perón. After inheriting her great aunt’s studio, Clara began formal embroidery training, developing a hands-on, process-led approach to making that continues to influence her work today.

She later studied fashion design in Buenos Aires at a school rooted in Argentina’s rich craft heritage. It was during her studies, through a skill exchange with a felter, Clara taught digital printing in exchange for learning felting techniques, that she discovered wool as a material with extraordinary creative potential.

After graduating, Clara moved to London, where she has continued to develop her practice. Her work has been presented at London, Milan and Buenos Aires Fashion Weeks, and she has also undertaken a studio residency at Sarabande, the Alexander McQueen Foundation.

For Clara, inspiration begins with the material itself. Rather than starting with a predetermined silhouette or trend, each collection develops through research into wool and the craft techniques used to transform it. She is particularly interested in discovering new ways the fibre can be worked by hand and pushing its possibilities beyond conventional applications.

Her signature technique is nuno felting, which combines wool with fabric to create lightweight but sculptural surfaces capable of structure, movement and volume. Clara’s practice also incorporates 3D felting, structural draping and bio-supported volumes, creating garments and forms that challenge expectations of what wool can do.

Clara’s relationship with wool extends beyond the studio. For each collection, she works closely with wool specialists in Argentina, whom she considers creative partners. Through residencies and fieldwork, she has also studied different sheep breeds to better understand how the characteristics and behaviour of their fibres vary.

This close relationship with the raw material is central to her design process. Understanding the fibre, how it responds, moves and transforms, becomes part of the creative development of each piece.

Clara Pinto represents an emerging generation of designers who are looking beyond conventional fashion processes and placing craft, material innovation and artisanal experimentation at the heart of their work.

Her studio at FC Designer Workspace provides a base in London from which she can continue this research-led practice, connecting her Argentinian craft heritage with London’s contemporary fashion and design community.

All images courtesy of Clara Pinto