Designer Interviews

In March 2020, I went on a trip to Panama. Unfortunately, it was cut short by the pandemic, but not before I got to learn about and try on traditional clothing from Panama like the pollera! As some of you may know, while I'm abroad, I like to meet with designers or experts of traditional clothing. I think it's such a great way to learn about other people and cultures. And in some cases, I even get to try these amazing outfits on. The idea was inspired by my own background, as I'm a dual-citizen of Germany and the US and grew up being exposed to traditional clo[...]

While in South Africa, I had the awesome experience of trying on traditional Zulu clothing. If you haven't seen these outfits before, be prepared to be blown away by the amount of intricacy and work put into each garment! Below you'll find out just how long it takes to make an outfit like this and who they're worn by.Aside from that, the Zulu tribe has some super interesting traditions that really surprised me. Keep reading to find out about a few of them. 🤗And if you're interested in doing the same thing and learning about the Zulu tribe firsth[...]

On my last trip to Iceland, I was lucky enough to be taken in by locals for a day and get an inside look at traditional Icelandic clothing. By the end of the day, I even got to slip into one of those traditional costumes myself. (Including a gorgeous hand-made 20th century belt made of silver!!) This all happened as part of an event that I attended called, “Out of the closet – use the national costumes!” The event was run by the lovely, kind and talented Margrét (pictured below). She runs the Icelandic Handicrafts Association and School, and even teaches a[...]