SILK
We use silk in most of our products, primarily sourced from surplus or dead stock fabrics within the EEA and the UK. The future-proof fibre of silk cocoons is a long-standing tradition in Bulgarian culture. 60% of the workers in the sericulture and silk industry are female, so by introducing this industry to more communities, more women are able to generate substantial income for their families.
In 2019 we began the groundwork to revive silk production in Bulgaria. The project aimed to build an innovative ecosystem- entirely transparent from field to the final product. Since most of the land used for sericulture is not suitable for other agricultural crops, the silk industry contributes to environmental sustainability through eco-friendly production processes, increased green cover, supporting soil conservation and preventing soil erosion.
ROSES
The Rose Valley in the Kazanlak area of Bulgaria is one of the oldest inhabited regions. Historians believe that Damascena roses have been cultivated there for over a thousand years. During the 16th century under Ottoman rule, roses were commercially grown for their special properties and a new town known as Kazanlak (Kazan is the Turkish word for boiler) was established. The nearby valley provided the perfect climate for growing roses, thereby becoming the finest rose oil-producing region in the world.
In September 2014, the European Commission approved Bulgarian rose oil as a new Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). Lora GENE roses grow organically without fertilisers and pesticides, in a small village hidden in the Rose Valley region.
We use rose oil from two different varieties of rose-bearing plants; the white rose-Alba and the classic rose-Damascena. The land and the distillery we partner with have been growing and harvesting roses for the past 20 years.
We mainly focus on white rose- alba oil because of its powerful therapeutic qualities. It is much more soothing and has the ability to regenerate the mind on a psychic level, helping with insomnia, anxiety and general stress. The aroma of the Alba is gentle, feminine and much more subtle than the Damascena. It’s also more luxurious, requiring at least a third more petals than rose-Damascena to distil the same amount of oil.
Each year we take part in harvesting the roses, which only happens from mid-May until Mid-June when the rose bushes are in full bloom. Harvesting the flowers starts at sunrise when the oil yield is at its highest and is completed before noon while the dew is still on the flowers.
The picked flowers are placed in sacks and immediately transported to our nearby organic distillery and are distilled by the end of the day. Each product in the Lora GENE beauty range has a drop of the magical rose oil or is a direct by-product of its production, such as the rose water sprays.
"The merit of originality is not novelty; It's sincerity"
-Thomas Carlyle
WOMEN
Lora GENE is a lifestyle concept. We are not just another fashion brand. Our rich culture and history is evidence of an authentic study of comfort, movement, the modern woman, and her relationship with the natural world.
From seamstresses to managers, suppliers and partnerships, Lora GENE celebrates women throughout our entire operation. We invest in designing for women who refuse to let looks confine them and push back against sacrificing self-value. We’re abandoning the illusory search for perfection. It is a concept aimed at evolving in a new era of beauty, that recognises the world as imperfect, unfinished and transient.
Lora GENE is fiercely female-focused, but we’re not about empowering women to fill the classic paradigm that restricted them in the first place.
We serve women with the singular purpose of providing comfort. This is what we have always been about; dressing a personality outside of prescribed social standards and offering a universal beauty product, born of ethical innovation and product superiority.
