THE STORY OF PELSO
We founded our brand in 2012 in Budapest, which has been home to our office and showroom ever since. Our brand's main inspiration is our founder's grandmother, Etelka, the embodiment of the eternal woman. An elegant lady who paid special attention to the clothes she designed and made herself. To this day, her attitude serves as a guide for Attila Bálint, the founder of the brand, and the PELSO team in the process of selecting materials, development of fine details, and the search for new things. We design for today's "Etelkas": for contemporary ladies who are always looking for new ideas, uniqueness and quality, not only in fashion but also in the arts, travel and life in general.
We design luxury swim-resort and ready-to-wear collections in which fine art, luxury, and sustainable fashion design are mixed: we design and create our clothes in such a way that they will last a lifetime and that the owner will enjoy wearing them year after year. All our products are designed and sewn in Hungary, using only the finest Italian materials. Timeless and at the same time modern, exciting styles come to life in our collections: every year we refine the shapes and discover new technologies, and innovative, environmentally friendly materials, but one thing remains unchanged: every PELSO garment carries the atmosphere of a waterside holiday and invites you to an adventure, in which the slower lifestyle and the small pleasures of life are given the greatest emphasis.
Our swimwear is designed by Angéla Mészáros, while the Ready to wear collections are created by Eszter Füzes. We design for women and men who are purposeful in life, who pay attention to themselves and their environment, and who follow the philosophy of "less is more". For whom clothes are not only a way of self-expression but also a thoughtful, long-term investment. For those who appreciate the beautiful things in life and have a meaningful relationship with what they wear - because a well-chosen piece of clothing has a meaning and a story of its own.
LAKE PELSO
Lake Pelso, also known as Balaton: a cavalcade of blue and green shades, is one of Hungary's most valuable treasures and the largest lake in Central Europe. It is the source of many stories where nature is present every step of the way and is fascinating in every small detail: this is where we draw our inspiration during the design process. It means the summer and the most beautiful memories for many present and future generations, including all members of our team. A place where we can discover adventure in silence, passion in tranquility, and find peace when the world around us is too confusing. At Balaton, we always return to our best selves, so that we can throw ourselves into everyday tasks with renewed strength and inspiration.
The main inspiration for our patterns and color palette is the wildlife characteristic of Balaton: native fish species, water birds and plants, but the decorative motifs of the Balaton villa architecture also appear in the latest collections. Naturally, our campaign photoshoots also take place here, in locations like the charming SAZU and Villa Chez le Amis. Those who visit the Balaton area can find us all year round at the LUA Resort in Balatonfüred, where we await hotel guests with a constantly renewing stock and occasionally with limited LUA exclusive pieces. In the summer months, we can also be found at another beautiful location in Balaton, at STÉG Tihany.
PATTERNS
The hand-painted patterns are the most essential part of our collections - they are the storytellers of the brand. The patterns are the creations of artist Lilla Schuch, who uses watercolor and gouache techniques to create the paintings from which our prints are later created. We transform the artworks into digital prints with Kéri Balázs, PELSO's lead graphic designer, and prepare the textiles from which we make our garments. Each collection is inspired by a story, a place, or a feeling, which we convey through the patterns that elevate our clothes to an artistic level.
The pattern design is a long process in which almost all members of our team participate. From the first ideas to realization, several months pass, during which a lot of sketches are made, and then, over the course of weeks, the final pattern is gradually cleaned and the last pen and brush strokes are put in their place. This is how one of our most popular "Leo" prints came to life, the fish and birds of the 2022 and 2023 collections depicting the Balaton wildlife, the tile patterns of our 2023-2024 Resort collection, and then the flower and beetle patterns of the SS24 Botanical Chronicles, the largest volume to date, which were inspired by the botanical collection of Countess Júlia Festetics.
SUSTAINABILITY
Awareness and environmentally friendly production are extremely important to us. That is why we design our collections in-house and sew each piece in Hungary. We work with a great team to make our clothes, and we know who made each piece by name. We design our clothes to last a lifetime with proper care, thus promoting "slow fashion". ECONYL®, our recycled material made with sustainable technology and used in the production of our swimwear, literally turns waste into fashion, as it is made from marine plastic. Our men's swimming trunks are SEAQUAL certified - SEAQUAL, a fabric similar to ECONYL®, is made from recycled ocean plastic waste, and in addition to being the most environmentally conscious choice possible, it is extremely durable and quick-drying.
Most of the textile printing is also done in Hungary, which significantly reduces the necessary water use and waste, thus reducing our ecological footprint. Our hand-painted prints are applied to the fabric, using a transfer process: during this process, we first place the prints on a paper carrier, which thus becomes a production by-product. But we don't stop there, because we use this "by-product" as wrapping paper, labels and greeting cards, so nothing goes to waste.
You can meet us in many stores and online - click here for a list of our stores and resellers.