Antonia Widdowson

Sestra Moja

Antonia Widdowson is a well known face on Portobello market. Her floating and whimsical designs are so popular that people return to her stall weekly to bag the latest one off creation. Her clients know and love her and Antonia insists that despite her enormous success, she will never stop doing the market. This principle is one that permeates Antonia’s life. She is proud of her roots and conscious of where she has come from and the people who have helped her along the way. Her label, Sestra Moja, means My Sister in Slovakian, a tribute to both those who work with her and to the people who buy her clothes. Antonia was born in Kezmarok, Slovakia. Her artistic parents nurtured this streak in Antonia who spent ten years in art school, before coming to the U.K to study Psychology in London at the age of eighteen. Here she met her husband, Oliver and moved with him to Oxford, where she began to design her first pieces, whilst managing a restaurant to pay the rent. Finally, with encouragement from a photographer colleague, Antonia cut her ties and set herself up making clothes full time. Initially the business was mainly based around sourcing vintage clothes, from which Antonia took inspiration for her own designs. Almost immediately she noticed that, her designs were selling much more rapidly than the rest of her stock and she began to make more, also customising the other clothes she was selling. She started experimenting with different and unlikely materials, feeling that the vintage silks did not reflect her accurately. Using dying techniques to create unique colours and effects and combining this with original lace and crochet, the results are timeless pieces that are entirely feminine and elegant, but also have a depth that suggests a rugged strength of character and a fearless distinction from the crowd. Initially, she did not even think to put her own label in the clothes she was designing and making. But with the support and encouragement of friends, her confidence grew and soon Sestra Moja was an established and respected label, selling internationally and in London stores such as Selfridges. The core philosophy of Sestra Moja remains strong. Antonia finds endless energy to create new designs at a staggering rate even as business grows. She employs a team of seamstresses in her native Slovakia, believing in having a personal relationship with everyone involved in Sestra Moja and in supporting the economy of her country. Every detail from the structure of the company to the materials and threads she chooses to work with translate the themes of her life. And you only have to put on one of her dresses to realise this.

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