Our Ethos
We support women in exploring their creativity and honour the busy lives they have outside of their careers.
Our slow fashion ethos
Slow fashion is at the heart of Buffalo. This means each item of clothing is produced by hand with strong thread and high-quality cotton to make sure they live a long life. We choose designs that aim to complement your wardrobe year after year. Our tailors use cutting techniques that minimise waste, and any leftover material is creatively repurposed to make washbags, keycharms, and other accessories.
Limited collection pieces
Each metre of 100% cotton is hand-selected by Lauren and Jess from two key local businesses in Sri Lanka. The fabrics are from India, where the patterns and prints are created by hand using traditional block print or batik dye techniques to produce timeless, eye-catching styles. The fabrics change all the time and are purchased in small quantities. This makes each print part of a ‘limited release’.
How do we work with our seamstresses?
Our seamstresses are talented women who live in a close-knit community on Sri Lanka’s south coast, where Lauren also lives. Most of our team gained their skills in factory work, but had left those jobs due to low pay, long working hours, and long commutes.
We’ve prioritised flexibility above all, allowing our team to earn a good reliable income while being able to sustain a work-life balance.
Life in Sri Lanka is often lived day-to-day, with many people needing to respond quickly to sudden changes in their environment or personal circumstances. Family and community responsibilities can arise without warning—whether it’s an unexpected gathering, a power cut, or a sudden shift in the weather. This is why we make sure that flexibility is the number one priority for our team.
Our seamstresses work on a monthly quota system, giving them the freedom to choose their own hours throughout the month. Each has access to a dedicated machine at home as well as one at our HQ, which is located within walking distance of their homes, allowing them to work wherever suits best.
This setup supports both independent work and teamwork—making room for childcare, elderly care, and the beautifully unpredictable rhythms of life in Sri Lanka.
What is block printing and batik?
To block print, carved wooden blocks are dipped in dye and then stamped onto the fabric. Blocks are typically carefully carved by hand, often with intricate and unique patterns. This process can be repeated multiple times and with different colours to create complex multicoloured designs.
Batik dyeing involves the use of wax to cover the areas of the fabric that are intended to remain uncoloured. Then, the fabric is dyed and the wax is removed, revealing distinctive patterns against the coloured background.