Designer Spotlight
http://aletheaspectacle.blogspot.com
Kristin Parker, the owner of AllAlong, was one of the first designers to contact me to be part of the store. She sent me her portfolio - filled with juniors-wear - and even though her aesthetic didn't fit with the store, I decided to meet her because I saw potential in her designs.
She walked up to me at Coffee Bean wearing huge sunglasses, with bright purple hair, and small as a waif. She sat down, handed me her resume (I didn't ask for it), and opened her portfolio to talk about all that she had done. Just so you know, Kristin has designed juniors-wear for probably every company you've ever heard of: Starling, Nordstrom, Charlotte Russe, Wet Seal, Top Man, Buckle, Zumiez, Hot Topic, Planet Blue, and LVR (told you).
She walked up to me at Coffee Bean wearing huge sunglasses, with bright purple hair, and small as a waif. She sat down, handed me her resume (I didn't ask for it), and opened her portfolio to talk about all that she had done. Just so you know, Kristin has designed juniors-wear for probably every company you've ever heard of: Starling, Nordstrom, Charlotte Russe, Wet Seal, Top Man, Buckle, Zumiez, Hot Topic, Planet Blue, and LVR (told you).
She said she had samples in her car that she would show me, and that she really wanted to design for a brand that would represent her under her own name. Kristin had designed freelance for so many years under large companies labels, that she seemed to get pigeonholed into only being able to bounce around between jobs instead of being taken as her own brand. This fact was the main reason I hired her - she was the exact representation of what Alethea Spectacle is trying to do.
One of the samples Kristin showed me during our first meeting. This design had won a contest and she ended up re-appropriating it for the store for her second collection (that is much more grown up)
I'm not going to lie, when I approved Kristin's sketches for production, I was a little worried that they would be comparable to high street fashion and not be able to meet the price point of the store. I was worried they'd be too young, too loud, too colorful, and I had no idea about what the quality would be. But then I got this:
I'm not going to lie, when I approved Kristin's sketches for production, I was a little worried that they would be comparable to high street fashion and not be able to meet the price point of the store. I was worried they'd be too young, too loud, too colorful, and I had no idea about what the quality would be. But then I got this:
Quality-wise, Kristin's stuff was one of the top in the store. Aesthetic-wise, it was fun, playful, and appropriate for women in their 20's and 30's. She was able to keep her edge of younger cool but added an element of sophistication and grace that takes a true designer to do.
AllAlong's first collection is currently solely at Alethea Spectacle. Her pieces are limited to a quantity of six pieces each design.
xo Alexx
AllAlong's first collection is currently solely at Alethea Spectacle. Her pieces are limited to a quantity of six pieces each design.
xo Alexx
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