Clara Pinto is a London-based fashion studio focused on textile innovation through wool. Founded in 2019, it has emerged as a distinct voice in the global fashion landscape for its sculptural, material-driven approach, redefining how wool is used in contemporary design.
Clara’s foundation in textiles began with embroidery, shaped by her great aunt, one of Argentina’s most respected haute couture embroiderers, who created gowns for Eva Perón. After inheriting her studio, Clara began formal embroidery training and developed a hands-on, process-led approach to making.
Clara studied fashion design in Buenos Aires, at a school rooted in Argentina’s craft heritage with an artisanal approach to making. While studying, she taught digital print design at art galleries, where a felter offered a skill exchange, prints for felting techniques, introducing her to wool as a core material.
Her signature lies in nuno felting, a technique that binds wool to fabric, allowing for sculptural structure and movement. Clara collaborates with wool specialists and biomaterial researchers in Argentina, and through residencies and fieldwork, she has studied different sheep breeds to understand the behavioural nuances of wool. Her work includes 3D felting, structural draping, and bio-supported volumes that challenge traditional applications of the fibre.
Clara has been recognised globally by publications such as WWD, Vogue Italia, Marie Claire, 10 Magazine, and was reviewed by Maria Balshaw (Tate Modern’s director) for Harper’s Bazaar UK and was selected as a studio resident at the Alexander McQueen Foundation (Sarabande) 2019-2020, recipient of London Fashion Week’s DiscoveryLAB in 2023 and was invited to participate in Buenos Aires Fashion Week 2023 as an emerging designer. She has dressed Latin American artists including Cazzu, María Becerra, Evaluna, Camilo, and Catriel y Paco Amoroso.