Two North Florida Fashion Labels

Perhaps the best-known label to come out of Jacksonville is the high-fashion stuff from Love Brigade. Their inspiration for design comes directly from the world of music.

"We're a musically charged fashion line...it's one part music inspiration, one part trend inspiration." says Alyssa Key, one of the head designers of Love Brigade.

The design's ideas can come from the uniform of a specific music movement, what a specific artist wears, or even the lyrics of a song. "A lot of artists...describe clothing in their lyrics, so we'll take cues from that as well."

As they design and actually cut fabrics, they play the appropriate music that they've chosen as an inspiration. Music and fashion trends are combined to tell a story through the clothing line.

Designing ahead of trends is a design concern for most labels. That's the case with Love Brigade, as it is with the smaller St. Augustine label of Luna Myst. Part of the design process is about guessing what's next; otherwise the designs seem stale and trite, not edgy. Misty Estes of Luna Myst uses her intuition to stay ahead of the curve with her retro-yet-cutting-edge line. Estes looks back in order to look forward.

"Bold and Bright vintage floral fabrics inspire me to create halter top dresses, baby doll tops and bell bottoms. That was three years ago and now they are everywhere; the pages of Vogue, Glamour, the runways and discount department stores." says Estes, when asked about her sources of inspiration.

The process at Love Brigade, because it's larger, relies on the collective mind of the Love Brigade team. Everyone comes with ideas to the table as far as trendsetting is concerned. They look at trends that are beginning to appear in the media, even colors and shapes that aren't necessarily fashion related. They then take "what we have noticed...that will eventually lead to a trend that we're forecasting."

Those that wear the clothes of Love Brigade get to wear high-fashion, high-drama outfits that are different from what everybody else is wearing and yet still up-to-the-moment, trend-setting pieces. A customer of Love Brigade, if they've researched the label, will know that they're buying not just a piece of clothing, but an idea rooted in the love of art, music, line and color.

In the case of Luna Myst, consumers get a funkier, retro-style look and the satisfaction of wearing something "green," often using out-of-print vintage fabrics, ensuring originality and eco-sound design.

"Some of my designs are completely biodegradable and I use organic, fair-trade or vintage recycled materials. Eco-Friendly garments are the goal... My designs end up on the backs of like-minded people who want to contribute to the greater good by voting with their dollars."

The best clothing lines, like Luna Myst and Love Brigade, are selling more than just a look; they're selling a philosophy you can keep in your closet.