It was a pleasure to collaborate with Naomi on these customized pieces from my Liberty Truism collection!
Every piece from my capsule line and brand in general is customizable to each person upon request! I enjoy hearing my clients’ requests and making something that is only for them!
To celebrate inclusivity, coming together, and to support equal distribution of fundamental human needs, I am ecstatic to announce my collection sale and fundraiser, “FASHION FOR HUNGER”.
To launch this project, I will be reducing the prices on every garment and accessory on StevieCrowne.com/shop and for each item sold, I will be paying the difference directly to “RHYTHMS OF LIFE” charity. I will also be matching the first five sales in donation value entirely.
It is my privilege to intertwine a capsule collection with a charitable cause that makes a difference in peoples lives, every single day. What inspires me so deeply is that throughout this entire pandemic, Rhythms of Life has been working around the clock day in and day out to continually show up for those less fortunate.
COVID-19 has worsened predicaments for many people. A common phrase that has been said this year is that we are all in this together. Quite frankly I don’t believe that this phrase is true sometimes. The truth is that many people are being divided, forgotten, and being put into more and more life or death situations just to survive day to day. Please join me this season in taking action!
Attached above is also a link to their Giving Fundraiser where you can donate ANY amount to help! Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
With the debut UK launch successfully completed on the 11th, I have been nothing but contented to have been able to use the following days to recollect footage and relish in the behind the scenes footage I took of the process from start to finish.
The Liberty Truism capsule collection was entirely sourced in London, UK. It was halfway designed in East London (Shoreditch to be exact), and finished in Marylebone. We shot the lookbook + campaign in Hyde Park, the Buckingham Palace Canada Gate, and Admiralty Arch near Trafalgar square. This line was a true miracle as this was the first time navigating a new country, supply shopping, and conceptualizing the ideas on the spot.
Designing a collection during COVID-19 had its ups and downs. I had been released from my quarantine on October 30th, and had five days before the November 5th national lockdown to be exact to find an ethical supplier of t shirts, garment printers, label makers and haberdasheries that would pull my collection together at its foundation. I knew that I needed to provide myself and others with messages of hope during this time of massive change, culture shock, and tightened government restrictions. I also knew that I needed to produce a range of clothing and accessories that were true to my brands’ DNA but could also be worn at home and could inspire the wearer more literally than my previous collections.
Below are the stages of production of the Liberty Truism collection.
I was adamant that I invest in the quality of trimmings, threads, haberdashery, and sewing machine. This move was an entire reboot in terms of the way I plan to approach my collections and I am privileged to be given the chance to use top of the line supplies in my upcycling strategies. It was important to me from the beginning that my branding didn’t get lost in this capsule collection either. The truisms needed to be given justice and complimented with the most attention to detail.
The truisms I chose were carefully selected from dozens of ideas that I had ruminated on since September 2020. This year was a massive protest in many ways. It was the underdogs and marginalized voices who were given the forefront in the face of discriminations, inequality, and flat out injustice. I believe that this heavily inspired me in the way I approached which words I chose. I believe in universal and global togetherness and that many of us at the end of the day feel the same way; but we also must pay our due diligence to those who are struggling with deeper systemic issues in which we can assist in raising awareness with.
Although coming up with the exact Truisms to use carefully and with relevance took effort, it was the trimming, embellishing, and everything to do with that process that took up a majority of the time with these range of designs. I customized the relief nylon so it would work well as a cuff trimming. To follow, I hand placed every single safety pin, pressed each fusible stud, and hand basted every chain detail to assure it was all according to symbiotic measurement. The mixture of textures was incredibly important to me and I spent hours and hours of producing this to my maximum potential on a time crunch.
Also, with having purchased a brand new singer machine with close to 60 options of stitches available, I wanted to add that extra minimal detail of greek cross-top stitches on select garments as well as a sound wave top-stitches onto the chrome trimmings.
It was important to me this time around to produce accessories that were in unison with the main designs and to make them with aligned aesthetics. I want them to be worn separately with my clientele’s wardrobes while still being a conversation piece or to be worn with the collection designs. The crowns were the first to be produced. I took pride in making sure they were structured and before they were ready for the braided chain trimmings, relief nylon trims, top stitching, and fusible studs. Afterwards came the masks which were made in the same vison and embellishment patterns.
The bracelets were a last minute addition I decided to produce days before the lookbook shoot. I wanted a cuff that also showed skin beneath the crown motif; it adds character and made the contrast between skin and chain more noticeable. It can be worn with other bracelets or alone.
Here are some closeup shots of the final products. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in the new collection! Custom versions can be made available to suit each customers’ tastes and preferences while the ready to wear collection can be quickly purchased on StevieCrowne.com/Shop.
I recently was commissioned to do matching crowns for a client and his niece. I decided upon receiving the order to recycle the last fabrics I had prior to leaving my former studio in Canada. Below is the behind the scenes process. These scraps were leftovers from FW18, SS19, and SS2020 collections which was a total blast from the past.
While I was in a creative and inspired mood on the spot, I also made a matching mask to go with the crown!
If you stay in touch with my social channels and my brand and are reading this, chances are you are informed that I recently decided to work towards a move to London, England to expand my fashion brand I created in Canada and brought all over the country the last 10 years. All the way from Saskatchewan to Vancouver to Toronto and then Montreal and being everywhere in between has been a pleasure. Touring and creating for individuals across the country has truly inspired me in ways that they do not know. As you would imagine, there is a lot of deadstock supplies and materials I’ve accumulated over my journey and a large part of being a sustainable designer is using these excess materials before I leave to reduce my carbon footprint and waste as a designer. Over the weekend my intuition and heart lead me to reimagine, reinvent, and repurpose a neon jacket that I have had on my hands for about a month now. Below is the step-by-step process and thoughts behind how I channeled each material into this limited edition piece unconsciously inspired by Lady Gaga‘s Chromatica eco-warrior archetype.
STEP ONE: FABRIC DYE & SPLATTER
STEP 3: CHAIN, FINE CRYSTAL, EMBLEM INCORPORATION, AND PERSONALLY SIGNED LABEL
CLOSEUP DETAILS
TIKTOK COVERAGE & VIDEOS
I am thrilled with the response given and interest to buy this piece even before the full reveal! I have decided to do a auction for this piece and bidding starts at $600.00 CAD. You can place you bid through email at steviecrowne306@gmail.com or DM me on instagram @StevieCrowne. All bidders will be notified as other bids come through and can decide to place a higher bid! All proceeds from this will go towards buying new sewing equipment and supplies to upstart my brand in London, UK this fall. This auction will end in one week from today on September 9th, 2020 at 12am! Once again, Thank you for reading, staying posted, and supporting my brand and vision!
Delighted to see our SS19 Energy Never Dies Collection on Scarlett Bobo during her verse on “Sorry Aboot It” on Canada’s drag race maxi challenge.
