Which flower pot is your eye drawn to when you look at the Vase de Flores print?
Perhaps it’s the sea shell one, or the bold leopard print vase. Is it the one of the sunset? Have you picked a favorite?
The more you look, the more there is to see. I fit many special moments into this print, bursting with color. My hope is that there’s a perfect vase for everyone who looks at it.
It Started in Cancún
Fresh back from a trip to Cancun with my sister and fiance, I knew that such an impression had been left on me that it would need to be translated into a new design.
Describing a journey to a new place can take paragraphs and paragraphs. Some travels demand their own books, even. My goal was to distill the color, vibrancy, and flavor of my visit to Cancun into a single image, designed to repeat for 200 yards… Perhaps longer!
So many vignettes from my trip filled my mind as I worked to sketch up the perfect design.
A salty dip in the warm Caribbean ocean - a delicacy for a California who’s only swims up to that point had been in the cold Pacific, its currents flowing from Alaska.
Flavorful street tacos in Playa del Carmen on a hot, humid day, our thirst quenched by margaritas.
Flying in a golf cart through the colorful island of Isla Mujeres, on our way to discover clifftop Mayan ruins.
The soft rustle of palm leaves and thatched palapas in the sea breeze. The beach was empty, peaceful, and drenched in morning light.
The lush, palmy jungles of Quintana Roo, Mexico with its vibrant wildlife.
All these little moments I snipped and placed in the vases of my pattern.
What Makes this Print Unique
Fashion philosophy is where I risk allowing myself to become pretentious. But I genuinely feel that, when I look at a lot of mass produced textile designs, all I see are exercises in laziness and cost cutting measures. The designer poops out a couple simple, tired elements and then repeats them - an infinite ode to mediocrity.
I think our precious resources are better spent making clothes that take us on a creative adventure.
My aim was to create a print that delights the wearer with something new every time they look at it. The large scale of the print means that every dress comes out a little different. In my most fanciful thoughts, I like to imagine that each piece finds its way to its destined owner, the alignment of the print reflecting some resonance with their individual spirit.
The many elements of the Vase de Flores design were like a complex jungle. Putting its pieces together was a puzzle. I loved the challenge of making the print have a cohesive, seamless look.
Behind the Name
Naming the design is the very last step of the process. It’s almost an afterthought, but sometimes the perfect name presents itself, popping into my head. “Vase de Flores” was one such occasion. The name tied the whole meaning of the design together.
You may notice that “Vase de Flores” is a bit of Spanglish. It seemed appropriate for a number of reasons. One being my adventure as a Californian in Mexico - an English speaking visitor distilling my experience from my unique lens, appreciating the beauty and vibrancy of another culture, but still an outsider.
Another being the collab that creates the pieces for Sun & Sanctuary. Our clothing is made by a family owned business in Los Angeles. The name of the family is Flores. So Vase de Flores seemed like a fitting homage to their significant contribution.
The Fabric
I carefully hand selected two fabrics for this collection, wanting one knit and one woven.
Stretch Cotton
This thick, soft fabric is a 95% cotton 5% spandex blend with lots of stretch. It was exactly the kind of fabric I wished I'd packed for Cancun. It almost has an athleisure feel. It’s comfortable and smooth. It’s breathable and hardly wrinkles - perfect for tropical climates.
The print turned out super vibrant on this fabric, very much like the glow from the ipad screen on which it was created. When you design digitally and then print, usually some of the colors are misrepresented. They’re too dull or too dark. I’m shocked at the fidelity with which this print turned out.
Linen Rayon
Our other fabric is a linen rayon blend - soft, lightweight, and crisp. Printed locally in Los Angeles. Every fabric prints differently, and my goal with the linen was to create a textured, more subdued version of the design. Like it had spent a few dreamy seasons sipping pina coladas in a beach cabana. It’s very beautiful on our printed suit sets.
I loved making this print. It was a dip into a color palette that is more bold than designs I’ve done in the past. When I look at it, I’m transported to a sunny beach on the Caribbean coast, tequila in my hand and my closest loved ones at my side. Where does it take you?
