Today we are featuring Gitana Outfitters who will be attending the Fall Market on September 7th & 8th at the Creekside Community Recreation Centre in the Olympic Village!
When you live in a place as rainy as Vancouver, it is easy to let the weather tear you down. But with the help of Gitana Outfitters, as soon as you wrap one of their printed scarves around your shoulders, you are instantly transported to sunny day and a warm beach in Mexico.
Laura Wiet, Gitana Outfitters’ creative director has always had a passion for travel. Spending ample time in tropical places and letting inspiration fill her head, saying “I have always really loved warm tropical places. When I was in fashion school back in the day every summer I would go to Mexico and live on the beach and travel around either in my own car or hitch hike along the coast. I made so many amazing friends there and became really inspired by the art and just the beautiful surroundings, whether tropical beaches or vast deserts.” This upbringing has transformed Laura into the person she is today, inspiring her in her everyday life as well as her design aesthetic: “The love for the south has really shaped me as a person as well as my design aesthetic. All my pieces should inspire you to run away to a tropical land. Hence the name Gitana, which means gypsy in Spanish. I design all of the graphics on my accessories and they are printed on silk for scarves and headbands or cotton canvas for my clutches. I also do some hand dyeing in select pieces as well.”
Having worked in the fashion industry for seven years, in avenues such as production and design Laura says on starting Gitana Outfitters “I don’t know it just kind of happened naturally as a creative side project. I go on intuition so I just knew I had to do it. And voila I’m doing it.” Laura says her style is a constant evolution but she stays true to a seed of inspiration “beachy eclectic, but I would say it just shifts over time and gets more refined. The travels I do influence me a lot of course. I did a trip to Cuba last November and a trip to Cali in the spring so I try to take a lot of photos and incorporate them into my prints.” Travel is clearly a massive form of inspiration for Laura and Gitana Outfitters, saying that her design process includes naturally admiring the environment that surrounds her: “I take photos when I travel, I draw, I paint, and then I digitally meld everything together to create magic”, producing one of a kind pieces for every client. Transporting every customer to a moment in time that Laura treasured.
Being a unique vendor has also proven to be a humble experience for Laura and Gitana Outfitters, she further states “It’s amazing. I think the most amazing part about it is meeting people who truly love what you do. It’s really rewarding. I also love meeting other inspiring designers!” Vancouver has accepted Gitana Outfitters with open arms, reaching out for the bright prints and beachy inspiration like a breath of fresh air. An expertly crafted silk scarf from Gitana Outfitters thrown around your shoulders or a canvas printed clutch grabbed when running out the door immediately sheds a ray of light on a cloudy day.
VISIT: http://www.gitanaoutfitters.com/
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FOLLOW: http://instagram.com/lovegitana