PATZAIKIN-the hemp initiative

Patzaikin is a Romanian fashion and lifestyle creative Ecosystem founded in 2011 in Bucharest by architect Teodor Frolu and his partner, Olympian Ivan Patzaichin.

Romanian Ivan Patzaichin is, with no doubt, a true champion. His career saw him win seven Olympic and 22 world championship medals for canoeing in the 1970s and 1980s. Now aged 69, Patzaichin developed a new passion: promoting his native Danube Delta while campaigning for slow tourism and sustainable food and fashion in the region.In 2011 he founded Patzaikin, alongside business partner, Teodor Frolu, and fashion designer Olah Gyarfas. “Our fundamental idea was always to use authentic Romanian materials,” Ivan Patzaichin explains. “We want to promote and revive what Romania used to be 30 years ago. Our country was the biggest exporter of hemp with well-developed textile industry,” he recalls.

 

From plant to the thread, to fabric, to product, our clothing is designed to be worn into the future. Apart from the seasonal trends of fashion, they become your very personal layers for timeless expression — clothes not as protection, but as membrane and link between humans and their environment.Our artisanal products highlight the rural-urban connection and are made from materials that were traditionally used by the Romanian folk.