Trend Board by Mia Boulukos Did you know that here at IFD we love to mentor and support students & their education by offering internships?  Between our work here at IFD and with our design consulting studio Creative Capital Design, we always have plenty to do!  Our interns do anything from research, trend projects, working on design development and attending fit sessions and client meetings. This summer we worked with three young ladies remotely during the Covid crisis.  As students, they are facing unique challenges of learning remotely & job hunting remotely- I personally am very grateful for the opportunity of getting to know our interns an appreciate their hard work and the challenges they face as they enter the work force. Interested in interning with us?  Send us a note!  Design@insidefashiondesign.net Jacey Mayer; NDSU Apparel Retail Merchandising/Design Hi! My name is Jacey, I am currently a student at North Dakota State University, majoring in Apparel Retail Merchandising/Design with a focus in Design and minoring in Strategic Communications. Interning at Inside Fashion Design has been a wonderful experience! My main tasks include developing layouts for social media posts and establishing videos for IGTV. Throughout this opportunity I have learned so much about different designers from around to world and how different cultures uniquely view fashion. Following graduation in December 2020, I am uncertain the type of career I would like to pursue. However, I would love to work for a reputable fashion company, who values sustainability. Jacey Mayer Gabrielle Solberg: NDSU, Retail Merchandising/Business Administration Hello!  My name is  Gabrielle Solberg, and i am  from Stillwater, Minnesota.  My focus of study & Degree will be Bachelor’s in Retail Merchandising with a minor in Business Administration Graduation: I graduated in August, 2020 upon completion of internship at IFD I hope to obtain a career in the visual merchandising and/or styling field. I have interests in fashion PR as well. Starting out in a larger city like Los Angeles or New York is also a large part of my goals! Experience: Working with IFD has been an awesome learning experience. I have been able to use my creative skills to assist in building an e-commerce site as we called, IFD Marketplace. Along the way I got to explore and include potential vendors and makers who are aiming to maintain an ethical strategy and give back to their community. Gabrielle Soldberg Mia Boulukos: University of Wisconsin Madison, BFA degree focused in painting and drawing. Hello!  My name is Mia Boulukos and as a young artist, I am exploring various mediums to express myself, thoughts and ideas by creating an abundance of work both in school and my personal life. I grew up in New York City and have just graduated from University of Wisconsin Madison in May, 2020 with a BFA degree focused in painting and drawing. I strive to understand the world around me through creative approaches to problem solving. Various graphic design techniques have greatly influenced both my artistic practice and my approach to problem solving, through thinking of things in layers. This gives me the ability to both break down and combine ideas and images successfully. I find great satisfaction in being able to use my visual skills to create compressive work that resolves something. My approach to design is rooted in an fine arts background that often includes bold colors, a playful style, illustrative technique and the illusion of movement to convey a message. I take advantage of my knowledge of various Adobe programs to make, combine or subtract images, textures and colors to create dynamic work. Degree: I graduated from University of Wisconsin – Madison with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Spring 2020. Future: In the future I hope to be a creative or art director for a sustainable fashion brand! Working with IFD: I have always loved fashion, but unfortunately did not have the opportunities to fully explore it further while in college. Through summer experiences such as this, I have been able to combine my love for fashion with my fine arts practices to see where in this industry I could work moving forward. I want to give a special Thank You to our interns!  It is a pleasure to work with you and hear your points of view- good luck and keep up the hard work! Looking to gain some experience?  Intern with us to share your writing, industry research, design & development, Photography and social media skills! Contact us at: design@insidefashiondesign.net

Hello Dear Reader!  Happy Fall!  We hope you are powering through our current Covid pandemic and maintaining health, safety and positivity during this challenging time.  This is a FEEL GOOD story- a story of a brand doing work that is making a big impact on the planet and in peoples lives.  We are excited to share with you our latest featured brand:  California Cloth Foundry. Written by Katia Hauser, fashion photos by Autumn Sonnichsen and still lifes by California Cloth Foundry Today, it’s not uncommon to look at the ingredients in our skincare routines and select “better-for-you” products that are clean, natural and toxin free. We also may prefer to buy organic food from the farmers market instead of from larger supermarkets. Undoubtedly, labels like certified organic, natural, and local are valued and sought after in the categories of skincare and food. But what about fashion? Should these qualifications matter for the clothes we wear too? If we ever wonder what’s inside our clothing, we look to its tag. Tucked away behind the neck or at the waist, we will find this tiny addition with washing instructions and fabric content – maybe it reads polyester, nylon, or cotton. What the tag won’t include is how the clothing was dyed or processed, or if any harmful chemicals were used or still remain on the garment. And it won’t disclose, for example, that polyester is just another form of plastic, shedding microplastics with each wear and wash. These hidden truths about our clothing and its potential toxicity reveal a gap in transparency. Shouldn’t tags tell us more, for both environmental and personal reasons? And moreover, what if the farm-to-table food movement was brought to fashion, and our clothing was made naturally? Leading the way in farm-to-fashion is California Cloth Foundry (CCF), a regenerative fashion company making luxury leisure from pure and natural plant based ingredients. Los Angeles based and women owned, this purpose driven for profit company is poised to scale for both growth and good. Their botanical based collection is made from their own clean textiles, crafted with certified fibers from renewable raw materials like sustainably forested wood and USDA Organic and California Cleaner Cotton. These textiles are further softened with minerals, and colored with veggie dyes. “Our clothes should be made with the same consideration as our food – naturally, and with nothing we can’t consume”, CCF founder Lydia Wendt says of the the food-and-fiber connection, “we make clothes good enough to eat,” she added cheekily. Just like beauty and food products, all ingredients used to make CCF’s collection are listed on their website under a regenerative page. Scroll through and you will find madder root, chestnut, iron, and egg shells – ingredients that are both intriguing and refreshingly familiar. To convert these natural materials into workable and lasting fabrics in beautiful colors, stripes, prints and finishes, Wendt has employed her 30 years of industry relationships, expertise and passion to develop unique green processes and formulas. Through this alchemy, her company and cohorts have transformed natural fiber and dye traditions that are thousands of years old into modern solutions to make clothing naturally. This effort was made possible through collaborations with a global community of innovators who wish to unlock the power not just of plants, but also of proteins and minerals to create natural apparel. CCF’s regenerative textiles are sourced and processed locally (mostly in California). Just like the farm-to-table movement, this company is rooted in traceability and knowing where their ingredients come from and how they are processed. CCF’s founder added, “For food and fashion alike, we need to have similar standards, and ingredient’s listings, for what we put in as well as what we put on our bodies…our skin is our largest organ and can absorb up to 65% or more of the chemicals that we put on it, and that means the chemistry in our clothes.” There is another benefit to producing regenerative clothing with no harmful chemicals that goes beyond comfort and breathability. Wendt calls it, “the magic of soil to skin to soil” – CCF’s apparel and textiles are almost entirely compostable, contributing to waste reduction. Their plant-based ingredients come from the soil, and will eventually give way to new growth in the future. This concept is captured by the sticker that seals each CCF package, reading “I was a plant, I will be again.” Transitioning to present times, California Cloth Foundry has pivoted their local supply chain to make reusable, breathable face masks offered through a buy-one-gift-one initiative. This new addition to their collection complements the existing line, and places a new importance on why the ingredients in textiles matter. Wendt remarked, “As we directly breathe through the new wardrobe essential, a facemask, it has never been more important to ensure the purity of the fabric we are breathing through. Since 2013 CCF has been making the healthiest textiles on the planet, with no harmful chemicals, and in addition to a healthy wardrobe of apparel we are now purposing our fabrics into  masks.” Up next, CCF has just launched herbal plant mask kits that are exemplary of their commitment to natural ingredients and botanical alchemy. These kits walk customers through an experience of kitchen-dying masks with herbs and plants that are thoughtfully selected for their unique plant properties; some are soothing, some are stimulating, and all leave masks with refreshing aromas.This mask kit, like all of CCF’s products, stands as a connecting link between mother nature, all the growers and makers in-between, and the wearers. And it all begins with the plant, using natural ingredients as the foundation upon which to build an ever-expanding community from soil to skin for the future of sustainable fashion. Thank you to Lydia and California Cloth Foundry for working towards a better industry. To support their efforts and enjoy a 15% discount, shop their brand at https://clothfoundry.com using code: Regenerative

Dior Ready to Wear/Cruise 2021 Virtual Runway Show Click Here

After over a decade spent in architecture and with no formal art training, artist Natalie Abrams began experimenting and creating her own unique sculptures. Now a full–time, nationally exhibiting sculptor and jewelry designer, she confronts the future sustainability of our global environment through her work. Thanks to a residency with the Sam and Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts, Abrams was able to work with Golden Paint’s Research and Development Department to create the custom paint formulas which form the basis for her jewelry line Abrams Wearable, which she started in 2017 with her partner, Bryan Hammock. The pair was awarded a studio in the historic Torpedo Factory where Abrams Wearable now makes custom pieces for actresses, models, CEOs and dignitaries for red carpets and galas. In 2019, their Spring collection earned “Featured Designer” in the District of Fashion Runway Show at the Smithsonian.  We checked in with Natalie Abrams as her team prepares to launch a new collection. We wanted to find out more about her unconventional path to jewelry design, and her scientific, experimental approach to design. Read on, as Abrams offers tips for young artists looking to succeed in the business and shares her hopes for the future. IFD: You weren’t originally a formally trained or working artist when you got your start. How did you make the switch into art and design? Art overtook my world later in life. I worked in architecture for 13 years prior, and I have always been an art lover. In 1999, I began what became years of experimentation and development with various media. I began constructing sculptures featuring sweeping, delicate structures which sought to mimic vibrant organisms or fantastical plant life. This work reflected the intensification of my lifelong devotion to environmental causes. I began researching and exploring the systemic nature of interaction between societies and their environment. IFD: Now that you’ve begun making wearable art, it hasn’t taken long to see some incredible, high profile successes. What are some highlights? We are a young company and started getting widely recognized after the fashion show last fall. With the onset of the pandemic, our plans have had to be readjusted. DC is littered with celebrities, politicians and other leaders, and as a result, it’s amazing who will just wander into the studio. Sivan Alyra Rose, who starred in Netflix’s series Chambers alongside Uma Thurman has been a wonderful fan of our work. She wore several custom pieces for the red carpet and press junket for Chambers. Uma Thurman also wore a piece. We just sent some special custom pieces from our new and not yet released line to Kelley Mack of The Walking Dead. Ashley Hatch from the Washington Spirits and Alexis Peterson of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders have also been great supporters. We’re hoping to do some special pieces for the entire Washington Spirit team, as well as the Mystics and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. We have pieces which will also be included in Jude Nelson’s new film, Electric Jesus, out early next year. One of our iconic pieces appears prominently in the movie’s climactic concert scene. IFD: Can you share a little about your design process? Bryan and I have a really interesting connection when it comes to visual cues. We both tend to respond to the same cues, seeing patterns within and repetition within daily life. Or we’ll see something and immediately focus in, thinking about why it catches our eye, dissecting the properties. Then we’ll start riffing on the image, with Bryan and I generating literally dozens of possible designs stretching and manipulating the cue we’ve focused on. We compare the designs and execution against our concept and design presets so the new pieces fit naturally within the brand even though the theme is different. Eventually, we’ll settle on a set number of designs which fit into our main collection, as well as some which we call Iconic—experimental, one of a kind pieces. At that point, I take the designs into the studio and start experimenting on the processes and construction which will best form the pieces using the skills already within our toolkit as well as learning new ones. Working in the studio during this phase is a definite mix of artist, engineer, mad scientist, precision, sloppy drips and controlled explosions. Molds are cast, then used to cast elements. I whip resin into a well-mixed froth of bubbles, then watching the bubbles expand and explode in a vacuum chamber. Pigment is then injected into this clear fluid, giving the impression of paint slowly flowing through space. If filaments are part of the design, spindles are lowered into tanks of proprietary custom paint. The paint will stream down a spindle of line, with droplets flowing into one another, then slowing and holding. The studio is a mix of colour, texture, paint and magic. IFD: What are some of your current inspirations? We’re both really interested in new technology and materials, as well as the shift to sustainable manufacturing. Neither Bryan or I come from a fashion background, so we approach a piece in terms of form, texture, structure and colour. Much of the work is inspired by artwork. I come from a family of engineers, so computer generated design, 3D printing and laser cutters amplifies the more artistic work I perform in the studio. I’m also heavily inspired by nature and scientific developments rooted in biomimicry. I love to see inventions like bio-iridescent sequins made from cellulose or fabric that photosynthesizes. I dream of a body of work as amazing and ground breaking as Iris Van Herpen. I mean, what can you not say about her work? IFD: What advice do you have for an an artist who is just starting out? Never stop learning: new skills, new materials, new processes, new patterns and forms. Explore whims, even if it’s not immediately relevant. We speak a great deal about the “toolbox,” at Abrams Wearable. We try to keep filling the toolbox with skills, processes, designs and design elements, for future use. natalie Abrams Tweet What are your Top 5 tips for creatives?: 1. Never stop learning:  new skills, new materials, new processes, new patterns and forms. Explore whims, even if it’s not immediately relevant. We speak a great deal about the “toolbox,” at Abrams Wearable. We try to keep filling the toolbox with skills, processes, designs and design elements, for future use. 2. What is the “magic” in your work? All great art makes an initial visual impact that draws in the viewer. Without that, a viewer won’t be curious enough to explore your skill, mission or underlying message. 3. Artists are a brand. To be a successful brand, your message and professionalism needs to be reflected in your advertising, packaging, even customer service. 4. Artists are small business owners. As a business owner and professional, you need to set schedules; meet deadlines; file taxes; write timely follow-up emails and all the other work that will ensure you have repeat clients and a successful business. 5. Be fearless, live where it’s uncomfortable. IFD: What’s your hope for the future of Abrams Wearable? This year has been trying time for all in the fashion industry, and we hope to continue to share our vision with our clients and fans. We believe we have not only a unique design aesthetic that we hope to continue to explore, but also an empowering message. Thanks for reading today! Do you have other tips you want to share? Please let us know...send a note to design@insidefashiondesign.net