portrait by Austin Call (@duhrivative)
About me
I started out in the fashion and apparel industry like most teens do: working at the mall. I worked my way up from the stock room, to the sales floor, to visual merchandising and finally management. After years of working on the front lines for brands like American Eagle Oufitters, Armani Exchange, Levi’s and Karen Millen, I redirected my career path from retail and merchandising to pursue the creative side of the apparel industry.
I attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA where I received my BFA in Menswear Design. My senior collection titled “Truly Outrageous” was selected for the Graduation Fashion Show. During my time at AAU, I interned for Rodarte and experienced the organized chaos that is New York Fashion Week. I also interned for Project Runway designer Melissa Fleis and worked at the local fabric store in the Mission when I wasn’t in class or in the sewing lab. The seed for my love of fabrics was planted and I gained a solid foundation in fibers and textiles.
I made the move to the charming Marin County to work at Guideboat Co. starting as a freelancer and was promoted to Associate Designer. I discovered my love of the outdoors and got to work with amazing vendors and mills with the most beautiful fabrics from the UK, Italy, Portgual, Canada and Japan. I honed my skills in fabric sourcing where I looked through hundreds of headers per season to find the perfect match for our designs. I’m currently a Mens Designer at Marine Layer.
My design philosophy is that is all starts with fabric. Expensive doesn’t necessarily mean the best. To me, it’s all about how it feels and evolves over time with wash and wear. I have a huge interest in mending clothes and slow fashion, making items we have last as long as we can giving them multiple lives.