CHLOE Magazine Spring 2017 Vol 25 | Page 28

The collection encourages one to look at the world from a different perspective

While studying International Studies and Political Science at the University of Washington , Debbie Roberts discovered her love of fashion during a trip to Perugia , Italy . She always had an interest in fashion and design , but during this trip she was surrounded by the beauty of this historic city , which drove her to enrol herself in the School of Apparel Design & Development at Seattle Central after graduating from the University of Washington . While studying design , Roberts learned the skills and knowledge necessary to bring her visions to life , and soon began to work as an assistant designer and materials developer at Eddie Bauer . Working there helped Roberts get a better understanding of how the seasonal calendar worked and all the thought and details that goes into designing and producing a collection . She learned how to properly communicate with garment factories and fabric mills , as well as solving and managing quality issues . The great opportunities that Roberts was presented with within her time working at Eddie Bauer helped her develop a network of friends and assets that helped her shape her line , Silvae . Roberts launched her line , Silvae , in 2013 . Taken from the latin word meaning “ into the woods ”, Silvae is a poetic womenswear line that has interest in playing a role in our visual history . Inspired by the moody weather , landscape , and mountains of the Pacific Northwest , Silvae draws the shapes found in nature into their designs . If you take a look at Silvae ’ s designs , they are very organic and free flowing , taking very simple , yet modern , shapes and patterns . The pieces are meant to be wearable from day to night , from work to weekend , and posses personality and creativity that makes a statement . Since Silvae is a smaller brand , sourcing fabrics tends to be one of the most complicated and challenging aspects because of the large fabric minimums . Roberts tends to travel to LA for a fabric show where they offer a number of different mills that have more workable requirements . She creates her prints via digital printing , which is a newer technology that gives smaller brands the opportunity to create unique pieces without having large minimums .