Atelier M. estate
Two hundred forty paper patterns were flattened, photographed, digitised and linked to surviving fitting notebooks before commercial licensing.
149 · Garment pattern archive / pattern licensing
Selvage Index
Patterns are technical memory, not disposable packaging for a trend.
Selvage Index is a fictional archive licensing digitised garment patterns from independent designers and closed ateliers. Each record carries original sizing logic, construction notes, rights scope and revision history so adaptation does not erase authorship.
Results ledger
1,420fictional pattern accessions
240patterns in largest designer estate
7licence classes
100%digital revisions retain source accession
About / charter
Selvage Index
Selvage Index is a fictional archive licensing digitised garment patterns from independent designers and closed ateliers. Each record carries original sizing logic, construction notes, rights scope and revision history so adaptation does not erase authorship.
Native unit
pattern accession
Evidence
designer, date, size system, seam logic, rights holder, digitisation revision and permitted use
Operating promise
Patterns are technical memory, not disposable packaging for a trend.
Work register
Three entries from the operating archive
Workwear block series
A 1970s industrial uniform archive was regraded only after original ease and movement assumptions were documented.
Student research room
Design students can compare nested pattern pieces and construction notes without receiving commercial reproduction rights by default.
Capabilities
Built around each pattern accession
- 01
Pattern archive access
Pattern archive access is scoped through the pattern accession, with designer, date, size system, seam logic, rights holder, digitisation revision and permitted use. The boundary, exclusions and handover evidence are stated before work begins.
- 02
Commercial pattern licensing
Commercial pattern licensing is scoped through the pattern accession, with designer, date, size system, seam logic, rights holder, digitisation revision and permitted use. Capacity, constraints and decision ownership stay visible from intake to closeout.
- 03
Digitisation & grading
Digitisation & grading is scoped through the pattern accession, with designer, date, size system, seam logic, rights holder, digitisation revision and permitted use. The boundary, exclusions and handover evidence are stated before work begins.
- 04
Designer estate cataloguing
Designer estate cataloguing is scoped through the pattern accession, with designer, date, size system, seam logic, rights holder, digitisation revision and permitted use. Capacity, constraints and decision ownership stay visible from intake to closeout.
People
The names behind the handoffs.
01
Rina Cole
Archive director
Rina Cole leads archive director and owns the decisions that touch each pattern accession. The role is described by responsibility, not decorative biography.
02
Lerato Venter
Pattern technologist
Lerato Venter leads pattern technologist and owns the decisions that touch each pattern accession. The role is described by responsibility, not decorative biography.
03
Nadia Singh
Rights & estates
Nadia Singh leads rights & estates and owns the decisions that touch each pattern accession. The role is described by responsibility, not decorative biography.
Process
A sequence with named gates
Gate 1
Accession the paper pattern
Accession the paper pattern is the entry control point for a pattern accession. The team records designer, date, size system, seam logic, rights holder, digitisation revision and permitted use so the next decision is made from an explicit state, not memory or assumption.
Gate 2
Document its sizing logic
Document its sizing logic is the next control point for a pattern accession. The team records designer, date, size system, seam logic, rights holder, digitisation revision and permitted use so the next decision is made from an explicit state, not memory or assumption.
Gate 3
Digitise without flattening anomalies
Digitise without flattening anomalies is the next control point for a pattern accession. The team records designer, date, size system, seam logic, rights holder, digitisation revision and permitted use so the next decision is made from an explicit state, not memory or assumption.
Gate 4
License with visible provenance
License with visible provenance is the next control point for a pattern accession. The team records designer, date, size system, seam logic, rights holder, digitisation revision and permitted use so the next decision is made from an explicit state, not memory or assumption.
Insights / detail
Notes from the work
Note 1
Grading is not the same as scaling
Grading is not the same as scaling. A working note from Selvage Index on the decisions hidden inside garment pattern archive / pattern licensing. It connects the claim back to pattern accession and names where professional judgement or uncertainty remains.
Note 2
A paper pattern carries fitting decisions beyond its outline
A paper pattern carries fitting decisions beyond its outline. A working note from Selvage Index on the decisions hidden inside garment pattern archive / pattern licensing. It connects the claim back to designer, date, size system, seam logic, rights holder, digitisation revision and permitted use and names where professional judgement or uncertainty remains.
Note 3
Digitisation should preserve awkward evidence, not clean it away
Digitisation should preserve awkward evidence, not clean it away. A working note from Selvage Index on the decisions hidden inside garment pattern archive / pattern licensing. It connects the claim back to designer, date, size system, seam logic, rights holder, digitisation revision and permitted use and names where professional judgement or uncertainty remains.
Questions / limits
Can I download every pattern as a PDF?
No. Access depends on rights, condition and licence purpose. Some records are study-only and some commercial files require specific agreements.
Do you own the designers' copyrights?
Not necessarily. The archive records rights holders and administers only the permissions it has been authorised to license.
Can old patterns fit modern bodies?
Bodies are not simply modern or old. Original sizing, ease and intended undergarments are documented so adaptation can be deliberate.
Next move