As the last few moments of this year drift into memories, we’re reflecting on all of the experiences we’ve had and people we’ve met. It certainly has been an exciting year for fashion, with a variety of new designers emerging, ready to change the city’s sartorial landscape. To celebrate new beginnings, we’ve put together a list of eight up-and-coming, local designers who have caught our attention and who you should definitely watch out for in 2019.
Taylor Ross
Label: Ricky King
The Lowdown: Ross is bringing western wear into the 21st century in Denver. The Colorado native created Ricky King, a line of clothing for men and women made in Denver exclusively from thrifted and vintage materials in 2015. It’s a couture take on cowboy fashion that even caught the attention of Lady Gaga, who wore one of his bustiers created using repurposed cowboy boots. He’s somehow given classic western pieces a contemporary edge we cannot get enough of.
Maxwell Bresler
Label: Maxwell Bresler
The Lowdown: Bresler takes an unconventional approach to fashion, taking a sculpture-based approach to his designs. Beginning with traditional pieces, he uses volume, shape and imaginative construction to make each person who wears his design a moveable work of art. His designs are reminiscent of Maison Margiela haute couture, making us feel like the spirit of John Galliano is alive and well in Denver.
Dalton Bidula
Label: Shape Streetwear
The Lowdown: At only 18 years old, Bidula is the youngest designer to show at Denver Fashion Week (DFW). His latest collection, Dissolved Yellow, struck the perfect balance of youthful and approachable. As each design touched down on the runway, we were more and more impressed by how this high school student understands fashion well enough to create an entire line of ready-to-wear clothing we’d all like to add to our closets.
READ: Meet DFW’s Youngest Designer, Dalton Bidula of Shape Streetwear
AldoElCreator
Label: DarkDenim
The Lowdown: AldoElCreator is a mad scientist of sorts. Aptly referred to as “The MoshPit,” his clothing line is as if he put Tim Burton and Supreme streetwear in a blender and developed something entirely new and intriguing. His hand-painted, handsewn, upcycled designs combine pop culture references, cartoons like Beavis and Butthead, beloved childhood characters like Winnie the Pooh, Louis Vuitton and vintage horror all on one garment, and somehow it all works.
READ: Hello Denver, My Name is AldoElCreator
Felicia Benavidez
Label: A Vintage Frame of Mind
The Lowdown: Benavidez is a Colorado native who blends textures, silhouettes and fabrics to create a new kind of streetwear, proving bending the rules means breaking barriers and elevating Denver’s fashion scene. Her Versace-esque fearlessness made an impact on the DFW Fall ‘18 runway and will no doubt continue to flourish in 2019.
READ: Meet New Denver Fashion Week Designer Felicia Benavidez
Mariah Hodges
Label: Electric Bubblegum
The Lowdown: Hodges’ whimsical perspective was born from a love of glitter phone cases and has grown into a line of clothing and accessories perfectly at home on the Denver streets and on the grounds of major festivals. Her latest collection, which debuted at DFW Fall ‘18, is an expertly executed line inspired by lipgloss straight out of the teenage dreams in all of us.
READ: Electric Bubblegum Uses Liquid Glitter to Make Clothing
Madi Hadel
Label: Rebellelion
The Lowdown: In a time when femme-centric streetwear is hard to find, enters Hadel with her upcycled version of casual cool with an edge. Best known for the patchwork denim jackets that were featured in an issue of Teen Vogue, Hadel is now branching out into a whole new ready-to-wear line complete with skirts, sweaters and coats that debuted as part of her first runway show for DFW Fall ’18 during the Street Style Fashion Show.
READ: Denver Designer Uses Found and Thrifted Items to Create Eclectic Clothing Line