Rachel Marie Hurst, named after its creator and lead designer, is a brand full of fun and colorful designs with a Parisian flare. Having previously worked under the name Fashion House of Rae Marie, Hurst has maintained her signature aesthetic, using pastels, vibrant florals and feminine details to make each garment one of a kind.
Hurst’s love of fashion was present even when she was young. At 12 years old, she had a babysitting business, which she used to fund her shopping habit. “I enjoyed having different looks, as it was having different characters,” she explained. As the years went on, her passion for fashion ventured into her time in college. Hurst was taking classes built around science, which made her question if that was something she really wanted to do. That is until a friend of hers suggested starting a fashion group on campus. “I did my first show and sucked at it, but I felt alive,” she said. “I switched majors and convinced my professors, Ted and Markas, to show me everything they knew. I don’t think they know how grateful I am for them and how life-changing that was.” If it weren’t for that moment, we might not know Hurst as a designer today.
Shortly after graduating from the University of Colorado Boulder, Hurst continued with her journey in fashion and opened her own business. She has had many successes under her designer belt, such as being sponsored by Diet Pepsi to show her collection at New York Fashion Week, being named Fashion Group International of Denver’s Rising Star and having multiple opportunities to show her collection at Denver Fashion Week (DFW).
When speaking about her brand, Hurst uses words like empowerment, femininity and organic. All of which are feelings she wants her clients to experience when they are wearing her gowns or dresses. “My girl would live everywhere,” said Hurst, meaning that her designs are fitting for just about every city, whether that be here in Denver, in New York or in London. Style is different in every city, but Hurst feels like her garments are not only accessible to every woman in every city but they can also fit every woman’s needs and tastes in fashion.
At this season’s DFW, Hurst will show her designs on two different nights. The first will be during DFW’s Non-traditional/Local Designers Night and the second will be during The Hair Show. This season, the hair show will feature work from a plethora of designers, including Hurst and Duane Topping of Topping Designs.
READ: Army Veteran and Fashion Designer, Meet Duane Topping
Hurst revealed all of the designers have had to challenge themselves to come out of their comfort zones and work together this season to create a line that flows specifically for this show. “We all have different styles and like to use different fabrics and details, so it is going to be exciting to see,” she explained.
This year’s DFW attendees will have something extra exciting in store. They will get a glimpse of Hurst’s newest project — a plus size collection on Thursday, March 22. The designs for this particular collection are made for women who embrace their curves. “My goal is to show that you can translate fashion on the runway into plus size modeling,” she said. “I don’t want to show that there is this huge difference or two different collections. I just want my brand to be size inclusive, and this [DFW] is giving me the platform to do so.”
The runway show will include seven designs, all of which will be themed around girl power. Expect to see wearable blends in her plus size collection that draw in Parisian and feminine qualities. “There is a hint of playfulness and sophistication while keeping it fun and flirty,” Hurst revealed.
Typically in the fashion industry, the options for more petite women are endless, and when it comes to designs for a woman with a little bit more meat on her bones, it is kept simplistic and repetitive. “I really wanted to give the plus size client something different,” said Hurst.
She reveals that she will be mixing her clothing’s style with some pieces that are sexy, and some that are more conservative. Overall, there will be designs that her client can wear to work and not have to worry about changing clothes for happy hour. Hurst tells us this season she has been playing with a lot of prints and has made some changes in silhouettes, offering a wider range of variety for all shapes and sizes.
The pieces that will be shown this week will be ready-to-wear, and the price point of each garment can range from $200 to $2,000. If interested in purchasing pieces fresh off the runway, clients can visit her online boutique.