It's festival season! This Denver designer gives some inspiration for sustainable looks.
A festival-goer and designer who sells her clothes by vending at festivals, Ashwood says she tries to do her market research and keep up with what's happening in all areas of fashion, from high-end designers to celebrity fashion to festival wear.
She sees festival fashion currently experiencing a 1990s revival."It's kind of weaning away from the tribal stuff and bumping up the glamour while still being comfortable," she explains. Ashwood also sees people being a lot more conscious about sustainability."I've noticed a lot of workshops focused on the ecological and sustainable aspects of the gathering," she adds. For Ashwood, her fashionable creations bring an opportunity to create wearable art, use her couture skills and embark on a mission of zero-waste sustainability that all began with her family's background in theater costuming. "My mother is a hat maker and my grandmother is a seamstress. They worked with small theater companies," Ashwood says."So it’s kind of an inherited skill for me. I have a background in theater, and I saw how much fashion waste there was — all of the cut scraps and these gorgeous expensive ball gowns that were highly uncomfortable. I wanted to empower people to be comfortable, confident and inspired to feel their full selves."She does that with her InspireD'Signs collection, making clothes that can be worn multiple ways and adjusted if a woman's body size changes over time. "Velvet is my favorite material to work with, mainly because of the comfort, stretch and resilience," she explains."I like my items to fit a lot of different body sizes. I sew everything so it can stretch graciously and offer a lot of support. They are fully adjustable looks." Festival fashion has been criticized in the past for contributing to fast fashion and encouraging bold outfits that were purchased to wear once and thrown away after the show. Ashwood wants her clothes to be wearable long after the event is over. "There's a lot of versatility in my clothes," she says."They are fun to move in. They can be dancing in crowds. They double as swimwear. They can be worn at a resort or a bridal shower with your girlfriends. It has a sexy, cozy comfort, but it's still a high-class couture item. You won't want to throw it away, because it can be worn five different ways and it still accommodates you even if your body size changes." Her clothes also include a custom-made, heart-shaped stitch that is guaranteed to make the seams last for life."I want to minimize fashion waste," she says."If you rip a seam with any other garment, it's a sad situation. But with mine, I guarantee it will last. I want to keep my clothes out of the landfills." Ashwood met Carpenter, with whom she collaborated for her Art With Heart collection, through local nightclubs, and formed a bond because they had similar day jobs."He's a contractor and I'm an electrical apprentice. Before we completely moved into art, we were working our day jobs and going out at night, just exhausting ourselves. We were always fans of one another's art, so we threw around the idea of working together, and it just snowballed from there," she explains. For all Art With Heart purchases, 50 percent of the proceeds are donated to environmental charities and families and businesses affected by Colorado wildfires and natural disasters."I really want to be as impactful as I can as a designer," Ashwood says. Ashwood doesn't see herself limited to just festival wear. She says she has a diverse range of clients and her clothes are very fluid, working with all identities, people and styles; she also has a masculine section that includes trousers and hooded vests. She says a lot of performers and"big-haired ladies in Texas" love her clothes, and more mature women gravitate to her turban styles and kimono outerwear. The Denver native has been collecting materials and custom-tailoring pieces since 2006. She believes Denver's fashion scene is small but growing, and a lot of creativity is fueled by the city's cold winters."When there's nothing to do but throw snow for three months out of the year, we get bored and start making things!" she laughs.
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