A Capsule Wardrobe
A packing list for my imaginary dream vacation.
There is no instruction manual for starting a fashion brand. Or, rather, there are millions of them, but none of them seem to agree. I absorbed a lot of them, in the form of blog posts, YouTube videos, and online lessons. Everybody is so eager to share their story, to say what worked for them or for their clients, and help others to navigate the scary world of starting a new fashion brand without making the same rookie mistakes they did. And I appreciated and took comfort in hearing their stories, really. But everybody’s story is different and their goals and desired outcomes are widely diverse, and everybody has a different opinion on how to get started. Eventually, I came to the understanding that there is no right answer, we’re all on our own, and a lot of what happens with the brand depends on luck.
So, I decided that maybe I can be lucky too, but I’ll never know if I don’t try. I also decided that the only way to do this is going to be my way, based on what I feel is right. I saw articles that said a new fashion brand’s first collection should have at least 15 different styles, in order to provide a wide range for potential customers to choose from and connect with. Others suggest starting small and making a minimal investment with 5 or fewer pieces. I can see the risk involved with either strategy; there is always risk involved when starting any type of business. So, since there doesn’t seem to be any consensus on the “right” number of garments to produce in a first collection, I decided that this is my brand, based on my experiences and creative vision, so I’ll do things my way.
Doing things my way means thinking about what I would personally like in a clothing collection. This got me thinking about the things that I like to do, and the garments I require to do those things. It struck me that my favorite thing to do is travel. I enjoy all types of travel, but my ideal trip involves a new city in a new country, exploring ancient sites and museums during the day, shopping and taking guided tours to learn about the history and culture of the new place. And then, in the evening, I like to give my tired feet a rest and try local cuisines at a relaxing restaurant. So it was travel I had in mind when determining what pieces would be included in the Still Life collection for House of Caswell.
When I travel, I like to pack a minimal amount of clothing items that can be worn in multiple ways to create new outfits for different activities and weather throughout the course of a trip. This requires some cohesion amongst the garments, but I’ve never before had the perfect travel wardrobe where everything I packed goes with everything else.
That’s what I decided to create with the Still Life collection. Different tops can go with different bottoms or skirts, jackets or hoodies can be layered over dresses for cooler weather, the pajamas are chic enough to be worn outside the bedroom as poolside loungewear. This means that I can make up an entire capsule travel wardrobe that contains just 14 pieces (an easily packable amount of clothing in my estimation), but more outfit combinations than I am even able to count. And there is something suitable for most of the types of activities a woman can get up to when exploring a new city.
I am hardly the first person to invent the capsule wardrobe. Donna Karan is sometimes credited with this for introducing her 7 Easy Pieces in 1985, but in truth the idea goes back much further. Coco Chanel was known for creating separates that women could piece together to form unique outfits, and my favorite, the lesser-know American designer Claire McCardell first confused department stores with the idea, but eventually gained popular recognition with women in the 1930s and 1940s for her collections of interchangeable pieces that allowed for creative and expressive outfit combinations.
But what sets the House of Caswell collection apart is the inspiration and the thoughtfulness that went into the creation of this collection. Everything goes together because all the pieces draw from the same color palette and are all inspired by the original Still Life artwork I created, with an overall fruit inspiration throughout the collection, sometimes literal and sometimes more figurative. I also thought specifically about trips I’ve taken and the clothes I packed, or clothes I’d wished I packed, and designed pieces that serve that purpose in the wardrobe or fill that need.
Because there is risk involved in starting a business, and I am a cautious risk taker, everything is deliberate and carefully planned. I have a whimsical streak; I could have easily gone all-out and created a collection of daring and impractically playful clothing based on my Still Life artwork. But instead, I landed on the 14 pieces that I would pack for the trip of my dreams. It’s still going to take some luck for this brand to succeed, but at least I can say I tried and I truly thought things through.