We were lucky to catch up with Jacqueline Carrillo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jacqueline, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

I wanted a name that exuded urgency and tapped into an edgy, counterculture ethos. I grew up really into ’90s dystopian films—The Fifth Element, Blade Runner, Demolition Man, Judge Dredd, Total Recall—all of which shaped my own personal aesthetics and how I imagine the future. I daydream about what society will look like in the next 100 or 1000 years – will there be strict borders or will society see itself as a one global population?

Current events—especially around immigration and environmental collapse—heavily influenced my brand name.

I do not believe humanity will unlock its full potential until we recognize each other as part of the same global family and start working more collaboratively as unified people. I believe the scientists are right about the planet warming at a near-irreversible rate, and I fear that if their warnings go unheeded, I see humankind requiring asylum from itself in the near future.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a Texas-born designer, educator, and fashion industry “survivor” who got my start watching my abuelita sew. I spent my adolescence learning from her, experimenting with fabric scraps, sewing whatever I could find. By middle school, I realized my interest in fashion could be more than just a hobby, and it became my mission to pursue a career as a designer. I later earned my BFA from Parsons in NYC and worked in the fashion industry for years—long enough to witness how the system has increasingly devalued both people and the planet. The unsustainable pace of production and the environmental cost of overconsumption are impossible to ignore, and that experience deeply informed how I structured PLANETARY ASYLUM.

The brand operates on a small-batch model powered by deadstock materials and guided by functional design. Something that I am proud of is my first cut & sew production run alone saved hundreds of yards of fabric from landfills and incinerators. Scraps from the cutting process have also been carefully sorted by size, color, and fabric, and are currently being reprocessed by hand into new products. With PLANETARY ASYLUM, I am committed to finding ways to help “close the loop” on industrial fashion waste.

The way PLANETARY ASYLUM approaches inclusive sizing is also something that I have worked hard to establish, especially as an emerging brand. It is important to me to offer my customers clothing that reflects the full spectrum of modern bodies. Starting with the first pieces from the forthcoming cut & sew collection, items will be offered in sizes XXS to 7X. While body positivity has made some progress on social media, most major brands still uphold outdated and unhealthy beauty standards on the runway. For PLANETARY ASYLUM, size inclusivity is just as essential as the brand’s commitment to sustainable design.

As a millennial creative professional and “conscious shopper,” I often struggle to find eco-friendly clothing that feels polished enough for my daytime life as a freelance designer and educator but edgy enough to wear out at night with other fashionable friends and colleagues. Most sustainable brands that I have discovered feel too safe, too soft, or too sterile. When creating pieces for PLANETARY ASYLUM, I intend to capture a dystopian, underground aesthetic—something that reflects the tension of our time. The brand is a love letter to the underground global dance and rave scenes—because dancefloors are inclusive, rebellious, and healing spaces.

Can you talk to us about manufacturing? How’d you figure it all out? We’d love to hear the story.

After nearly a decade working in the fashion industry, I developed a strong foundation across both design/development and production—enough to confidently begin manufacturing garments under my own label. The major turning point came when I learned to use CLO3D, a 3D design software that completely changed how I work. It allowed me to prototype and fit-test designs digitally, reducing cost, development time, and fabric waste. While I still spend a lot of time perfecting each piece, the ability to make updates directly on a 3D model makes the process far more efficient and sustainable than traditional methods of cutting, sewing, fitting, and refining. I still refine my prototypes in actual fabric, but I am starting at a more efficient point in the process than was previously possible.

Although I had spent most of my career in NYC, relocating to Southern California meant starting from scratch to build a trusted local production network. Finding a factory willing to take on small-batch orders (while also handling the level of detail my designs require) was not easy. I met with at least five different vendors, did extensive online research, and asked around in the DTLA fashion district before eventually finding the right fit: a family-owned factory with decades of experience, working with both major brands and independent designers.

My selection criteria were clear: I looked for a place where workers were treated well, owners were responsive, the craftsmanship met my standards, and where I could show up unannounced and feel good about what I saw. One of the biggest lessons I have learned is that clarity in communication are absolutely essential to a smooth production run. As a designer, you never want a factory making decisions on your behalf, without your input, so it is critical to deliver flawless sew-by samples, a bulletproof tech pack, and to stay available and responsive throughout the entire process.

How’d you think through whether to sell directly on your own site or through a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc.

I currently sell through my own website and will be expanding into a few small retail spaces in San Diego with my next product drop. I also vend at various pop-up events around Los Angeles—mostly raves and local day/night markets. I am still in the process of building my audience and experimenting with different channels to see what best connects PLANETARY ASYLUM to the right customers.

After seeing several friends deal with sudden shop closures or having their designs copied on platforms like Etsy, I have made the choice to avoid larger online marketplaces. The recent instability around TikTok and other social media platforms highlights how risky it is to rely too heavily on third-party platforms. Having full ownership over my website and how I communicate with my audience feels essential to my brand’s survival. If a platform goes offline or changes its rules overnight, I cannot afford to lose that connection.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.planetaryasylum.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/planetaryasylum
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PLANETARYASYLUM
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@planetaryasylum
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/planetaryasylum
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@planetaryasylum

Image Credits
PLANETARY ASYLUM LLC. (Photography & Editing) CLO Virtual Fashion, Inc. owns all rights to the avatar displayed.