DENVER DESIGNER RACHEL MARIE HURST BLENDS SOFT ELEGANCE WITH MOTIFS OF STRENGTH IN BESPOKE DESIGNS.
LAST SPRING IN DENVER, models strutted the runway, featuring the latest looks from emerging and established local designers as well as collections from around the globe. Since 2018, Denver Fashion Week has been Colorado’s largest fashion showcase with weeklong shows held in winter and spring, complete with cocktail hours, showstopping emcees and jamming music. In April, local couture designer Rachel Marie Hurst (rachelmariehurst.com) showed her line during DFW at Denver’s Void Studios. We checked in with the award-winning designer, who has both contemporary and designer labels, all made by hand in Denver.
Describe the aesthetic of your design style.
My clothing empowers women to express themselves in their clothing. The designs combine feminine strength and energy while embracing things that are often seen as girlie. You’ll see a lot of feminine color stories, but our looks still have strength and energy. For example, our last collection played with bows but also incorporated harnesses into the designs.
What’s important to you as a designer?
The most important thing to my brand is inclusivity of body types and making sure that my clients feel welcomed and included in the fashion dialogue. My collections cater to people who want slow fashion in the form of thoughtful, wearable art pieces that counterbalance the idea of overprocessed fashion.
Describe your journey as a fashion designer.
In college at CU Boulder, I was approached by a friend to start a fashion group on campus. We named it Fashion Design Student Association (FDSA). We went into our very first show not knowing how to sew. After the final walk of my collection, I just felt so alive. I’d found my purpose in life: to dress women who are dreamers and doers like me. After I graduated, I started my own company, doing a lot of custom clothing for women who can’t find clothing in the store that suits their style and their body types.
Rachel Marie Hurst’s looks are designed to be inclusive and empowering. PHOTO BY RACHEL MARIE HURST
Tell us about your New York Fashion Week debut, when you showed your work in front of celebrities like Mary-Kate Olsen and Debra Messing.
It was surreal! Back in 2012, I was one of four regional designers hand-selected to showcase three of my outfits. It was an amazing opportunity that really gave me a taste of the fashion industry. I was planning to go back to New York in 2020, but then COVID hit. I’d like to expand the brand into different markets. Texas has a really big fashion scene, and there are places in the Midwest that would be really great for my brand. And I’ve dreamed of going to Europe. But for right now, I enjoy being in the Denver fashion scene—it’s home.
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