How Tyne Hall Turned The Denver Fashion World Upside Down

Every time models draped in Tyne Hall’s design begin walking the runway, gasps can be heard from the audience. Tyne Hall is a Denver favorite designer. Hall is a gothic metal head who wants people to feel alive. The artist brings a sense of life and death to her stage, whether through fabrics sprayed with bloodstains, or making the audience remember how to breathe after gazing at her work. Her path to where she is now has been a long walk, but as she walked a beautiful mesh train trailed behind her. 

Photo by Roxanna Carrasco

Hall was born and raised in Denver, CO and has never moved away. The designer we know began her love for fashion in High School when she took an art class with a fashion focus. She stated that everything she made would have to be considered wearable art, not fashion, as she was limited by her inability to sew. Though, Hall thinks that this hurdle helped her inspiration and conviction become powerful. Without being able to sew the fabrics together, she had to sit back and think. She had to figure out a delicate, new way to speak coherently about what she was trying to create. 

With practice Hall learned not only sewing, but also embroidery which is still a common theme in her current work. She learned to sew through countless hours of YouTube tutorials, from learning which thread worked best with which fabrics, to learning how to thread the complex machine. “Lots of trial and error. Lots and lots of error,” stated Hall, regarding her early days. 

Photo by Roxanna Carrasco

On the other hand, her mother was the one who taught the future designer to embroider and bead. Once her mother taught her everything she knew, Hall turned to the library doors to learn more. She remembered reading a book on embroidery that described the process as painting with thread. That description inspired the designer to view embroidery in an illustrative light, which led to her using embroidery as an instrument in creating meaningful clothing.

Hall began working in the way we know now when she was enrolled in college. She joined a fashion group on campus that empowered her love for the art. Hall grew a fondness for clothes’ ability to transform a person. She obsessed over the works of Miyake, Rei Kawakubo, and Alexander McQueen. She credited these designers for their ability to create a new personality and world through clothing. After graduating college in 2011, she debuted her designs at the Red Ball, a fashion show put on by the Colorado Health Network to ignite awareness for World AIDS day. “I remember feeling exhausted, but I was also really proud of what I created. And I had a hunger to do more. It’s really addictive.” 

Photo by Madison McMullen

Since her early days of designing, Hall has grown significantly and continued to take inspiration from various designers, artists, and musicians. She also attributed goth and horror as her largest inspirations. She loves mixing alternative influences with soft, feminine, and classic silhouettes. 

“My favorite thing to talk about is music! I am a metal head through and through.” Hall credits Aerosmith as her favorite band of all time, yet she loves all genres and members of rock. She pulled inspiration from Slipknot, Alice Cooper, Soundgarden, Badflower, Guns ‘n Roses, Led Zeppelin, and her current fixationHalestorm. She credited these bands as the reason she has a sense of edge in her designs. When she chooses a runway song, she gravitates towards songs with a sting of darkness, but still holds a feminine softness. 

Most recently, Hall was one of sixteen designers to showcase a collection at the “Dali Alive” fashion show, presented by Factory Fashion on January 31, 2023. Hall credits this show as being her favorite to date. She stated “I am so deeply inspired by art and it was so freeing and exciting to do a collection that was so artistic and creative.” This collection had new, refreshing details that we had never seen from Hall before, such as a printed face, but also held true to her roots with strong themes of mesh, silk, spandex, and tulle. 

Photo by Roxanna Carrasco

It is an unknown fact that the woman’s face printed onto the dress was actually a selfie that Hall took of herself. She believes many people did not realize this because she is always wearing a face mask and dislikes people looking towards her. With the photo used, the designer states that she wanted to tap into her inner narcissistic Dali-esque persona. She wanted to bring something refreshing to the runway, so she decided to have her face take center stage in the collection. To achieve this dress, she had the selfie printed on a stretch mesh that was layered with a double knit fabric. 

The collection also had a recurring theme of texture. Hall believed that texture is what creates depth and interest in fashion. “It’s really about creating a feast for the eyes,” she said. When creating texture, Hall often turns towards mesh. She credits the materials’ unique softness. She believes the material is both romantic as well as edgy and holds a sexual appeal. She also enjoys layering black mesh as it helps avoid the fabric falling flat. 

Photo by Roxanna Carrasco

Hall stated that black is, in her eyes, the most versatile and transformative color. Every collection she has made has always started with black as the base color. Then, she goes and adds pops of other colorscreams, olives, deep roses, and reds. She recently has been using more red than usual as she is greatly inspired by blood. She stated that it seemed sort of weird, but then went on to describe how she is intrigued by the shapes blood creates when it drips. She said that she is working on a technique that could recreate some of this effect. 

When asked why Hall believes so many people love her work, she shied away. “It’s so awesome to hear that people love my work. My approach to design is largely a visceral one. I aim to create clothes that look beautiful and evoke joy. I’m also very conscious of small details. I always aim to create pieces that feel special, which could be a reason people respond so positively.” In her next show, Hall plans to create something even more elaborate, bringing a five piece segment to the stage. She hopes these five pieces will belong to a greater future collection she is already planning. 

Photo by Madison McMullen

As Hall continues her journey forwards, she gives out one message to young designers: “Stay true to who you are, don’t be afraid to experiment, and know that it will be hard and it’s ok to take a break and recharge.”

See more about Tyne Hall here.