Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Alves.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born in raised in East Providence, Rhode Island, a tight-knit community of Italians, Portuguese, Brazilians, and Cape Verdeans. Inspired by this diverse cultural mix, my work has always embodied a passion for exploration and multi-focal perspectives on the world around me.
Innovation has been the work of my heart since a young age. Early creations of my exploration were made from readymade or cast-off materials I had at hand. My grandmother, Lucy Rose, and my mother, Rachel Rose, played a huge role in nurturing my talent and sought out programs like the Rhode Island School of Design Children’s Art Academy to inspire continual growth and development. My grandmother’s kindness and service as a nurse also influenced my early desire to use fashion for philanthropy. Ever since I was six, when I first learned to sew from the elderly in the nursing home my grandmother worked at, my focus has been developing my skills and talents to a higher level of excellence and for a higher purpose.
As a mature student, I attended Savannah College of Art & Design, where my appetite for creating innovative and sustainable products grew tremendously. I graduated in 2011 with an MFA in Fashion and an MA in Illustration. My thesis “Solar Evolution” examined the integration of photovoltaic film and nickel-coated conductive threads into everyday apparel as a means of keeping personal electronics charged. The thesis led to my selection as one of six designers recruited worldwide to lead an innovative design research team at Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore, MD. That was the beginning of my design career. Over the last decade, I have accumulated experience in all aspects of the industry, mainly working with innovative activewear brands.
Limitless creativity, innovation, and global narratives drive my work as a sustainable designer. Today, I am passionate about creating lifestyle accessories that weave positively through the fabric of our communities and the natural world. Since 2015, I have served as the Designer, Founder & CEO of the Ashley Alves Collection. Also, I am the President and Founder of Love Is An | ART | Organization, a nonprofit organization that collaborates with underserved communities worldwide using funds generated by sales from Ashley Alves Collection.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My journey has been a bumpy road full of struggles, to say the least! Struggles are a part of entrepreneurship and life as a creative in general. Experiencing such turbulence in my pursuit of creative success makes me joyfully concluded that each trial, failure, or setback is a sign that I am on the right path. Everything aligned with your destiny will not come easy. It is said that successes can only be accessed worthiness. Worthiness comes through mastery, and mastery comes through practice and knowledge. I personally believe that each struggle bestows priceless knowledge that will contribute to mastery deserving of greatness later down the road. Mastery will always make a place for you at the table because perfection commands attention. It can never be denied. Every day, no matter what I face, this remains to stay hindsight in my mind.
Over the years, super restrictive start-up budgets, limited supply of raw materials, and production timing have all been issues. Yet, the constantly revolving challenge remains to be making my plant-based creations have a look and feel of traditional luxury leather pieces. Since 2015, I have been designing and crafting each piece by hand. The fabrication I use can be incredibly delicate to work with. I feel like I am constantly reinventing techniques to adapt traditional European leather techniques to plant-based fiber. It’s a constantly evolving textile science project! – Haha! Encouragingly, with each collection, my finishing gets one step closer to perfection.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Ashley Alves Collection is a brand of sustainable handbags created with nature in mind. The brand was founded on the belief that nature, art, and fashion can come together to help restore the balance between our planet and humanity’s impact on it. Our coveted handbags are constructed with Piñatex®, a plant-based leather alternative, in conjunction with upcycled antique textiles sourced directly from collectors and artisans worldwide. We pride ourselves on the exclusivity found in our eclectic antique textiles, ornate hardware, and impeccable finishings that adorn each finished piece. Unlike the competition, Ashley Alves Collection produces one-of-a-kind pieces that infuse opulence and glamour into the sustainable initiative.
But Ashley Alves Collection doesn’t just create handbags. We create an experience. The amount of time and love invested into each bag places them in a category of their own. Since 2015, I have meticulously executed each stage by hand: sketching, pattern drafting, dyeing, cutting, pricking, gluing, sewing, assembly, and final finishes. I obsess over the history behind the fabrics I find, and I use them to weave a narrative of culture and nature throughout the entire collection. The antique textiles I source represent an era when the fashion industry flourished with celebrated textile artisans. I pay homage to those century-old textile artists by carrying their lush textiles into a new century. Each bag is a work of art, wearable, practical, but still incredibly exclusive. Lastly, we do preserve the traditional atelier spirit by providing customers with a custom order and personalization services.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The fashion industry as a whole is shifting more towards sustainable initiatives. Within seven countries around the world, it has now become a monitored governmental requirement that fashion companies enact sustainable initiatives into their business model for best practices.
In 5-10 years, I predict the fashion landscape as we know it will seize to exist. This is because the consumers of tomorrow will demand more progressive changes from the archaic system currently in place. The fashion boycotts and protests during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic were just a taste of what is to come from the young consumers of tomorrow. They are not only fighting for unethical practices and humanitarian issues taking place on far-off lands. They are fighting for their right to see a future for themselves on their own soil. The planet is on slippery slope to self-destruction due to global warming. Fast fashion and the excessive overconsumption of luxury fashion are significant contributors to the global issue. Consumers are aware and willing to unveil all that has been hidden since the inception of fashion through the constant consumption of facts. Facts that are now everywhere. With the rise of streaming comes a rise of knowledge and global awareness. Documentaries and podcasts are on the binge list, so naturally, consumers are the most knowledgeable they have ever been. The generations of consumers to come will not be persuaded with a simple marketing pitch. They will do the work to seek the truth themselves. They will question everyone and everything because the world around them is unsure and unstable. Even the weather is no longer predictable!
All to say, sustainable responsibility cannot be ignored. Businesses need to reset, refocus, and revamp their business models to even see a future in 5-10 years. Not everyone will make it through, but those that do will reshape the industry for years to come. Customers want to invest their hard-earned money in brands that are willing to be transparent through every step of the production process. Transparency, integrity, and honesty are now the golden standard to success. I can confidently say that the future shift bears significant promise for a sustainable artisan brand like Ashley Alves Collection. I am very thankful for that!
Contact Info:
- Email: info@ashleyalvescollection.com
- Website: https://www.ashleyalvescollection.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleyalvescollectionatelier/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AshleyAlvesCollectionAtelier
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/A_A_Collection
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5kfClMkyfFXfJ8SE_JTXzA?view_as=subscriber
Image Credits
Photography by Redon Dublin Malanda.
