Our Troo Story
The Troo Team
We are Nic and Steff Fitzgerald, founders of Troo and sisters from Benoni, a small town in South Africa.
We now live in Switzerland, but have never lost touch with our roots. We are both passionate about doing our bit to support slow, responsible fashion and promote a more sustainable lifestyle… that is also beautiful, sexy and fun.
We started Troo in 2016 and partnered with young, inspiring designers who share our passion for slow fashion. All our pieces, or as we call them ‘our babes’ are designed and made with troo love by trooly sensational humans.
Our little team in Zurich is now Nic, Steff and Rebecca. Every day we consciously make decisions for our business with sustainability, transparency and fairness in mind, which we believe makes us a little different from other brands, because it is often the small things that make a big difference.
Little things Count
Sustainability
We try to do things differently. Because we believe different is good.
Our lace lingerie is made from leftover lace of big designers that would otherwise end up in a landfill - which we all know are full enough. Think of it as second hand material, so instead of producing more material, we are using what is already available.
This makes our collections small and limited, so when you buy one of our babes, you have something very special.
We have also decided to make a lot of our pieces upon order, so we keep waste to a minimum. This means that it may take a little longer to get your order, but we sure it will be worth the wait.
We are also happy to make your favourite bralette to your measurements to ensure a perfect fit. So if you cant find your size in our size guide, please just send us an email. Our custom sizes come at no additional costs.
Our Basics Collection is made from the softest natural fibers, tencel and bamboo. We want you to put on our set and feel good.
Then Tencel Collection is made from regenerated cellulosic fibers ( wood pulp) known for being super soft and comfy on the skin.
We love our Bamboo Collection because its kind to your and mother nature.
Kind to you,
Naturally anti-bacterial, ultra soft, gentle for sensitive skin, heat regulating, breathable & UV protection. (because our bits need to breathe and our n🌸pples need to be protected when we dance around outdoors with only a bralette on. *as we, naturally always do.
Kind to mumma nature,
Grows rapidly without the need for pesticides or fertilizers, regenerates once harvested and requires little water. + she has a lighter carbon footprint than cotton, so we are calling our hunny bamboo, the cuter option.
We personally wrap your beautiful babes in recycled paper and handwrite a little note to thank you for your amazing support – because we really do appreciate it.
Keeping your data safe
We have not connected to the Instagram and Facebook Shopping app. These apps are extremely effective for sales, but by connecting to these apps we would have to agree that the companies can see all your data if you make a purchase on our site. This is definitely not something we feel comfortable with and would rather miss out on a few sales and be troo to our beliefs.
Customer service
We are so excited to receive an email or order from you and we want you to have the best experience, from our website design, to the pieces you decide on, to receiving our package.
We know it is not easy to buy underwear online, so we are always happy to help when it comes to sizing or the styles. We know that all our bodies are different, so we have a size guide but if you cant find your size, we will be happy to make any piece you like to your personal measurements - at no additional cost.
Steph and I answer all your emails and questions personally and try to do whatever we can to give you the best experience, a beautiful piece (or two) that you will always love to wear.
Customs and Taxes
We pay all additional customs and taxes for you upfront so when you receive our little package you can just enjoy. There are no additional costs that surprise you.
Partners
We only partner with companies with who we have a good, personal connection. Where we are happy to have a coffee or a glass of wine and a good chat and know that they share our values and will never compromise on sustainability (from material all the way down to the thread they use) and ethical production.
Staff
We offer our little team the best working conditions with flexible working hours and of course a fair wage. Our amazing Rebecca has taken 2 months off to finish her studies and although we miss her helping hands and our wonderful chats, we are so happy she is continuing to study.
Be Troo. Live Troo. Wear Troo.
Meet the makers of your beautiful pieces
Our designers’ passion and spirit have touched our hearts. We believe their concept of designing and hand-making everything in the country where our heart belongs, our home country, is wonderful. And these absolutely stunning, romantic, sexy and edgy babes... we simply could not resist. All our babes from Nette Rose, FOUND.Collection and Morenaisable are limited in numbers. We hope you love these beauties as much as we do.
Intimates
Nette Rose
The most beautiful intimates are designed and produced by an equally beautiful woman – Megan Miller.
Megans babes embody the spirit of her groovy grandmothers Nette and Rose whose sense of adventure, femininity, fearlessness and belief in the power of dressing for oneself are the core inspirations for each design.
Meet her amazing team Nikki, Coco, Faith and Yolanda, the beautiful babes who made your lingerie.
More about Nette Rose
Nette Rose intimates are handmade in Cape Town with “love, cheek and a lot of laughs”. Megan finds the most beautiful lace fabric from off cut (leftover) material of big designers which would normally end up in landfills.... so all pieces are limited, and oh so special when you have one!
From the fabric to the thread that holds together the intimates, sustainability is top of mind. The company where the thread is sourced is based in South Africa and has a zero waste policy. They utilize solar energy from the warm South African sun and have since planted 1'000 olive trees to help offset their CO2 emissions (Oh I am really smiling now).
Megan is the incredible designer behind your babes, Faith Yolanda and Coco are the happy hands behind the sewing machines and Nikki is the babe chatting to us every time we need new stock and have questions. In terms of their working environment, I think we can say with confidence it is quite alright ;) they start at 7am as they like to leave at 3pm and have the whole afternoon. In winter they have a little fan heater under their sewing tables to warm their toes up while they work in the early morning - as well as hot chocolate, coffee and tea readily available and of course the loveliest tunes to keep the productivity going.
Faith is 25 years old and has an amazingly supportive husband and beautiful little daughter! Yolanda joined the team in 2017 and has recently had a little baby boy. Coco and Nikki are the newest additions to this amazing team of ladies.
Basics
Morena Isabel
Morena Isabel Rüfenacht is the creative head and the talented hands behind the brand.
She was born and raised in Zurich and at a young age she knew what she would like to do, which became a passion during her apprenticeship as a tailoress. Fairly manufactured clothes were always very important to her. While studying Fashion Design in Zurich she learned a lot more about sustainability and creating an ecological brand became her dream.
Meet Morena Isabel Rüfenacht.
More about Morena Isabel
With a lot of hard work, passion and some good luck (because we always need a bit of luck on our side) she rented a studio right in the center of Zurich. All the creative work is now done in the studio and upfront is a cute little boutique where you can see and touch all her creations.
Morena buys her fabric from Lebenskleidung, which is a GOTS certified textile agency. The fabric not only looks and feels dreamy, it is also produced fairly and sustainably – from the cotton fields through to the dyeing process. In order to have control over the entrie supply chain and to use as little CO2 as possible, all the pieces are made by Morena in her studio in Zurich.
We often go and visit Morena and chat over a coffee in her lovely little studio... if you are in the area, you should go visit the beautiful lady behind these clothes.
Fashion
Lunar
Lunar is South African eco-fashion brand that has firmly established itself as one of South Africa's top design
labels over the past two decades.
Nicola, the Creative Director and Sonja, the designer draw their inspiration from nature and the African landscape, crafting clothing to be as natural as possible, both in fabrication and design.
Meet the designers and makers behind Lunar.
More about Lunar
As a responsible brand, Lunar knows the importance of fair trade and providing the best working conditions for their employees. They also recognise the significance of sustainable business practices and the value in empowering local crafters and artists. Wherever possible, Lunar makes use of natural fibres and pigment dyes. Fabrics that are from the earth, with little human interference. We love the feel, look and character of linen, hemp, silk, bamboo, organic cotton and wool as they allow us to create interesting designs that are classic and beautifully simple. We are constantly inspired by nature and the African landscape and do our best to try to preserve it.
Fashion
Found. Collection
The second member of the Troo family. FOUND. Collection is a proudly South African fashion label established in 2014 in Stellenbosch by local designers and stylists Lisa Carinus and Gitte Muller.
Lisa and Gitte met while attending University and have the same passion for beauty, fashion and design which is captured in every single (very limited!) piece they make. Lisa and Gitte also use off-cut material, hence the very limited stock.
Meet the gorgeous girls, Gitte and Lisa.
More about Found. Collection
The collection is bold, feminine and timeless …. with a trendy edge, perfect for a troo woman. The luxurious textiles are carefully handpicked by Lisa and Gitte and then entrusted to a handful of local artisans who craft each piece with exceptional care. It is incredibly important to Lisa and Gitte to support and uplift local entrepreneurs by giving them greater opportunities for growth.