Behind the Scenes of the Let it Shine Collection with Elegantees

To say that designing and creating the Let it Shine Collection clothing line with Elegantees was a dream come true is a complete understatement. Seriously… the whole process was so much fun, and Carly and I had so much fun working with Katie to design this collection. I wanted to show you guys the promo video we had done along with some of the behind the scenes of the whole process of creating this clothing line!

This promo video really illustrates our vision, our purpose, and why we collaborated on this Elegantees clothing line… check it out here:

Elegantees Promo from Mokovo on Vimeo.

So, how did designing the clothing line work, exactly?

Carly, Katie, and I started with a simple secret Pinterest board and we started pinning styles of clothing that we liked. We would pin a dress or a top and comment on it saying what we liked or did not like about a particular style. We’d say, “I’d love to see a top with this hemline, this type of sleeve, this type of collar, etc. etc. etc.” 

And Katie would then start to draw up our visions and designs. Katie went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, so this is her training and this is her wheelhouse. She would send us sketches and Carly and I would say, “I like this, can you change this, and can you add this?” It was a really fun and really creative process.

Once we had the designs finalized, we started talking about fabrics and colors. We looked at things like spring and summer trends, we looked at Pantone colors of the year, and we loved how so may bright and bold colors were making their way back into fashion. I looooove color and I was so excited to incorporate so many bold colors into this line!

One of the things that I really wanted to incorporate was traditional Nepali Dhaka fabric. It’s a woven fabric that is very specific and traditional to Nepal, but is so beautiful and so unique. Elegantees has never really incorporated this fabric into pieces before, so this was something we really wanted to do to make it different. It took a LONG time to find the right Dhaka (we even had a period where we were concerned we wouldn’t be able to include the Dhaka in the pieces!!). Once we found the right Dhaka fabric, it all fell into place!

We even named the colors and designed the hanging tags. EVERYTHING was intentional. As you guys know, 1 Peter 4:10 is my life verse. It’s at the bottom of all of my blog posts and the bottom of all of my emails. It’s the verse that I really focus on for everything I do and I look at things in life through the lens of that verse. I loved that Katie was open to including the verse on the hand tags!

Another thing that I loved is that Katie had photos of the artisans in the sewing center taken holding signs saying “I Made Your Clothes.” Part of what makes this collection so special is the fact that this collection is made by women who have been rescued and restored from human trafficking. These women are empowered, trained, and given an opportunity. They are beautiful and amazing!

When I saw these images of these beautiful women making our pieces for this clothing line, I literally cried. That’s what this is about. It’s not just about cute clothes. It’s about changing lives. 

This photo is of the staff at the sewing center in Nepal. I love, love, love these beautiful people!

So there you have it!! A little behind the scenes of the creation of the Let it Shine collection from Elegantees. What questions do you have? What would you like to know about the process or the sewing center or anything?

MORE RESOURCES:

• Listen to my podcast episode with Katie Martinez, founder of Elegantees
• More about the Let it Shine collection

Shop the Let it Shine collection here (use code MOLLY for 10% off plus free shipping!)