Welcome back to “Mile High Conversations,” where each month we will interview different Colorado-based businesses. This month we will be switching it up again as Denver Fashion Week is approaching. Our guest is Haile’s House — a designer based in Lincoln, Nebraska showcasing a collection next week at Denver Fashion Week’s Maximalism night.
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Denver Fashion Week will take place from May 10-18 at The Brighton – A NPU Venue. Maximalism falls in the middle of the week on Wednesday, May 14, gracing the DFW line-up for only the second time ever.
Haile’s House is a design brand catered to a niche audience of bold, avant-garde individuals who thrive on the intersection of music, fashion, and vulnerability. Her upcoming collection is heavily inspired by Mk.gee’s album Two Star & the Dream Police that came out in 2024.
“I love to be expressive and bold, and that is why maximalism is a fabulous theme to represent my line and myself. A lot of what I do is over the top, and creating this collection is a great example of that. Sketching, drafting, and sewing a ten-piece line inspired by a 30 minute album is absurd.”
303 Magazine: How would you describe the identity and aesthetic of Haile’s House for someone seeing your work for the first time?
Haile: For anyone seeing my work for the fist time, I would describe it as an all-inclusive love letter to the music I have come to love. Whether it be through feelings of nostalgia or the emotions brought up by something new, music has and always will be my biggest inspiration. It is catered to a niche audience of bold, avant-garde individuals who thrive at the intersection of music, fashion, and vulnerability.
303 Magazine: You’re originally from Nebraska and have shown at Omaha Fashion Week. How has your creative journey evolved and how does it feel to now be showing at Denver Fashion Week?
Haile: Although I live in Lincoln currently, I am originally from a small town in Nebraska called Sidney. I got my bachelors degree in Human Sciences with an emphasis in apparel design from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, which is how I got introduced to Omaha Fashion Week. I am absolutely honored to be showing at Denver Fashion Week, as it has always been something I’ve wanted to do since I started designing. The fashion scene in Denver is very different from Omaha, so I am excited to see all of the talent on the runway this season.
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303 Magazine: You’ve shared that your upcoming collection is heavily inspired by Two Star & the Dream Police by Mk.gee. At what point in listening to the album did it click for you that this was your concept? Was it a particular track, lyric, or emotion?
Haile: The album came out at a weird time in my life, and hearing it for the first time brought out emotions that I had been ignoring for a while. The entire theme of the album, or at least the way I interpret it, centers around weakness and longing for romance, which ultimately is what I realized had been the feeling I was subconsciously missing. Listening to it felt so familiar, yet so foreign, and it left me in a state of confusion that I really kind of enjoyed. Sonically, Mk.gee went the 80s route, which is steeped in longing, idealism, and emotional intensity. The album is so incredibly aware of itself and its haunting expression of weakness and unrequited/problematic love. His work feels almost imaginary, while being fully there at the same time.
303 Magazine: Were there specific moods or moments from the album that directly inspired individual pieces in your collection? Can you share an example?
Haile: For me, this state of desire felt like a cage that I was locked in until this album gave me creative release. The majority of the looks in the collection play with lacing that can be tightened and un-tightented, which in a way represents being caught up in these feelings that had a hold of me for so long.
Mk.gee has a very layered production—glitchy guitars— that inspired me to play with mixed materials. I genuinely just used any black fabric I could get my hands on and hodge-podged them together until they made sense (or complete lack of sense, depending on the way you look at them). Asymmetry played a part in this collection as well, which was drawn from the emotion duality of the album. Two Stars equals Two Selves. This fractured identity that is mentioned throughout the album also manifests itself in the intentional frayed/unfinished hems. But it has a quiet side to it as well, which is represented by soft, flowing silhouettes. It feels like dancing in slow motion.
303 Magazine: As longtime fans of Mk.gee, it’s exciting to see an artist like him gaining more recognition. How do you balance that feeling of personal connection to a more niche artist while also introducing his influence to a broader audience through your designs?
Haile: Mk.gee is absolutely an enigma to me, and I am not the first person to say that his music is truly one of kind. Gatekeeping him would be a crime. Creating a visual representation of his music was so appealing to me, and I think that it is a good way to get other people to take a listen as well. This collection was poised to echo his emotional rage, and was made to become the album’s physical extension.
303 Magazine: In what ways does this collection reflect your artistic voice while also coinciding with maximalism?
Haile: I love to be expressive and bold, and that is why maximalism is a fabulous theme to represent my line and myself. A lot of what I do is over the top, and creating this collection is a great example of that. Sketching, drafting, and sewing a ten-piece line inspired by a 30 minute album is absurd.
READ: Style Tips For The Perfect DFW Maximalism Night Outfit
303 Magazine: What materials, silhouettes or design choices did you lean into to convey the energy of the album?
Haile: All of the garments in the collection are black, which helps convey the dark/dreamy themes of the album. I did include small pops of color with the lacing in some of the pieces, and these colors are taken directly from the album cover. The silhouettes are a mixed of sleek, flowy and blocky to create sense of confusion. The album is also centered around a sort of “hero’s journey,” which led me to incorporate small medieval details on each garment.
303 Magazine: What are you most looking forward to about showing at Denver Fashion Week this year?
Haile: I am most looking forward to meeting new people at Denver Fashion Week. Showing my line will obviously be a blast, but connecting with other designers, models, coordinators, etc. is where the real fun is at.
303 Magazine: Finally, what can we look forward to seeing on the runway and what do you hope the audience walks away feeling?
Haile: I am excited for the audience to see how truly spectacular these models are going to look in my garments. I hope the audience walks away from seeing my collection feeling a little sexy and a little emotional, as that is how I felt over the past year when designing it. I want them to see clothing that navigates the dream and the distortion that is Two Star & the Dream Police.
To see Haile’s House at Denver Fashion Week on May 14th, 2025, you can purchase tickets here. You can also find Haile on her website and Instagram.
All photos by Haile’s House. Denver Fashion Week Spring 2025 takes place May 10-18, 2025 at The Brighton at 3403 Brighton Boulevard Denver, CO 80216. Tickets can be purchased here.