5 Minutes with The Sleep Shirt

Feb 03, 2015

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Let's all take a moment to thank Alexandra Suhner Isenberg for helping us sleep in style. Since the launch of her luxurious cotton sleepwear line originally inspired by a 19th century chemise, our dreams have been so much sweeter. We're not the only ones. The Sleep Shirt has recently been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, ELLE, and the Financial Times, winning the world over. We were so excited to work with her on a special collaboration in the perfect pink polka dot, Bonne Nuit.

She's a native Vancouverite, but Alexandra has lived all over the world in the name of fashion. She studied at les Ecoles de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in Paris and completed her MA in Fashion Design at London's acclaimed Central Saint Martins. She has worked in Paris, London, and Vancouver, and counts Burberry, Sonia Rykiel, and St Martins as former employers. The Sleep Shirt story began at home in Vancouver, and is still made in Canada, but Alexandra and her family relocated to Sweden just over a year ago. We caught up with her to find out about her new home and her favorite new pieces for The Sleep Shirt 2015.

Photo by Nicole Gurney.

Tell us about life in Sweden!

Life in Sweden is way more chilled out and easy than it was in Vancouver, Paris, or London. I travel a lot, but the rest of the time, I am working from home. I take a long lunch break every day and walk the dog, work out, and eat. We spend most weekends in my husband's country house, which is only 45 minutes away, so very accessible. This country is set up to make people's lives easier and it has certainly worked for me!

Where do you send people when they come to visit?

I live in a pretty small city so there isn't much to see here. First of all, people usually fly in to Copenhagen so I normally encourage them to visit there. Höst and the restaurants in the meat packing district are great. The main shopping street has the Lego flagship (trust me, you don't need kids to want to shop there) and Illums Bolighus which is the ultimate homeware/furniture porn in the world.

Once over the border into Sweden, my favourite things to do are what the Swedes do best: hang out in the countryside (especially in the summer). We've got the forest, lakes, and the beach nearby, and boat tips through the many archipelagos are amazing. And while driving the country roads, be sure to stop at any signs that say "Loppis", which means flea market. They are gold mines, especially in remote areas.

Can you give us a sneak peek at what's coming up for The Sleep Shirt's spring collection?

We've tried to keep Spring 2015 light and a bit more colourful than usual, with a few new checks and stripes available in our classic shapes. One of my favourite fabrics is the Swiss Dot cotton, which is slightly sheer. We carried it for Resort but are offering it for Spring in some new shapes, including a very cute babydoll dress. The shape I am most excited about is the Sleeping Tunic, which is a sleeveless tunic that you can wear to bed or as loungewear. I'll be wearing mine (in white linen) with jeans or over a swimsuit in summer.

Stay tuned for new arrivals from The Sleep Shirt for spring. Click here to shop the classic collection and our exclusive collaboration, Bonne Nuit.

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5 Minutes with The Sleep Shirt