Sylvia Heisel typically creates fashion from fine silks and chiffons, rich fabrics for women who shop for her evening wear in specialty boutiques across the country. So why is she deeming hand-dyed organic cotton “the new definition of a luxury fabric”? “In an era when companies have gotten so big and so much is mass-produced, handmade goods are the ultimate luxury,” says Heisel, who was recently in Denver to present her fall collection. Her company makes organic cotton jackets, then they are hand-dyed by n'Ketiah Brakohiapa, a textile artist from Ghana who now lives in the U.S. Sustainable textiles and environmentally sound manufacturing practices are not just a trend but important to the future of both fashion and the planet, says Heisel, who lives in New York and spent part of her childhood in Nairobi, Kenya. Her mother is Turkish, and her father is American. He's a retired demographer specializing in developing countries, so the family traveled widely when Heisel was a girl. She says she has long been influenced by other places and cultures. “Fashion is a reflection of everything around us in society,” she says. “Right now we're looking at our world and need to be aware of what is changing.” Consumers want to know where garments are made, what they're made of, and whether the company is giving back to the community and to the people who work for it. “All of a sudden, it's on people's radar,” Heisel says. Ten percent of the sales of her organic cotton pieces will be donated to the Foundation for International Community Assistance. In 1984, FINCA pioneered the “village banking method” that lends small amounts of money to otherwise impoverished entrepreneurs to create jobs, build assets and improve their standard of living. Heisel says her extensive travels growing up made her “much more influenced by non-Western ideas of beauty. I'm drawn to the unfamiliar.” At the same time, she lives in Manhattan and knows that women need clothes to be as functional and versatile as they are beautiful. “The aesthetic is global, but clothes have to be wearable for modern women,” she says. In the design process, Heisel says she and her staff “think about where the clothes are going.” A dress or outfit should be able to take a woman from “work and cocktails to dinner,” without changing, she says. “They want clothes that are dressed up but not dressy.” The looks must also be distinctive, considering Heisel's prices typically range from about $250 to $2,500. “We all have enough stuff to last us for 20 years,” she says. “The customer doesn't need anything, so it has to be really special.” Heisel went to art school rather than studying fashion design, and because of that her career was launched unconventionally. “But it all starts with making a piece of clothing,” translating your ideas to fabric, she says. “Then show it to people and get feedback. Take it to a store. And if they like it, you'll have to make three overnight.” The designer says her favorite pieces in each of the four collections she does in a year are typically not the ones that sell the best. She has fun with the artistic pieces, but doesn't ignore the need for commercial designs. “If it doesn't sell,” she says, “you don't have a business.” - The Denver Post __
