High Altitude Society: Vail Valley Business Women talk sustainable fashion at The Ritz
High Altitude Society
Photos by Betty Ann Woodland | Special to the Daily |
On Wednesday, Oct. 11, the Vail Valley Business Women met at The Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch for networking, lively conversation and to learn from keynote speaker Rhonda Swenson about launching her own clothing businesses, including her newest venture, Krimson Klover.
Themed Fashion, Fun and Philanthropy, the group heard about clothing design, new fabrics and trends, fun athletic/leisure apparel and giving back.
Swenson shared with the group her passion for slow fashion — which is a movement of designing, creating and buying garments that stand the test of time. It’s a philosophy that encourages slowing down our consumption, owning fewer, but better things that are purchased thoughtfully from brands that consciously manufacture clothing without threatening natural resources or damaging the social and ecological environment.
“At Krimson Klover, we’ve been honoring slow fashion long before it became a movement. We strongly believe that fashion, like food, is best when made ‘from scratch,’ with intention, which means knitting a piece of our soul into everything we make,” Swenson said.
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Tricia Swenson (no relation to Rhonda) interviewed the keynote speaker and asked her to speak about her newest venture, Krimson Klover, and to talk about the business behind fashion.
“Krimson Klover is an active inspired fashion clothing line, predominately knitwear, we sell to three channels — ski, outdoor and fashion channels. We try to think mountain lifestyle. Even with our dresses, you can throw on a pair of tights and a pair of boots and you are ready to go,” Rhonda Swenson said.
Her team at Krimson Klover strives to empower women and encourage them to achieve their goals.
“We are a women owned and run company,” she said. “There are 13 of us — 12 women and one token man. We love him; he just calms everyone down,” to which everyone had a laugh. “We all try to stay focused on what is important in life.”
Swenson is going back to Houston, in her home state of Texas, to help rebuild after the hurricanes. She grew up giving back and believes that giving back just makes the world a better place and that travel gives you a better view of the world.
When asked what advice she had for the group, Swenson said, “What I would ask you is, what would you do if you knew that you could not fail? Then she said, whatever it is that you want to do — just go for it.”
For more information, visit http://www.vvbw.org and http://www.krimson klover.com.
Betty Ann Woodland is a longtime local who covers social events including fundraisers for nonprofits, local happenings and soirees of all kinds.
