We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Antonio and Amber Hall a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Antonio and Amber, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

When starting this journey, we only made custom garments, one at a time. It would take us one month to make and finalize one garment. We made all our patterns by hand and from scratch. We also used standard scissors to cut out all our patterns and pattern pieces. In 2019, we participated in Phoenix Fashion Week as a community designer displaying two looks. Once the fashion show was over, several people approached us, wanting to purchase garments, but we had none available for sale. We decided from that moment that we should make a collection, but we had to figure out how to make garments faster than just one at a time. The world shut down during COVID-19 allowing us to focus on building our at-home manufacturing facility. Now we’re able to produce several garments a month.

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?

We, Antonio and Amber, are the designers and owners of Pastiche La Femme. We’re based in Coolidge, Arizona, and we are innovating exclusive garments for the Modern Woman, who is bold and unique. Pastiche La Femme is the premier online fashion boutique. At Pastiche, we have one goal: to create and design unique fashion garments that speak to the heart of art enthusiasts. Our brand is unique because we create garments that are an infusion of textile art and fashion design. Our target customer is a woman who loves art, fine wine, attending art galleries, and hanging out with her friends. When she goes out, she is the life of the party.

Our back story began with a conversation in 2012 when Amber was working on her Master’s in Fashion Merchandising and Antonio was working as a Department Manager for a well-known retailer. We developed the name Pastiche La Femme and then pursued making clothes for select clients for the next six years. Then the idea emerged for us to make a collection that reflected Amber’s passion for textile art. We then buckled down and registered our business name (Pastiche La Femme) and entered Phoenix Fashion Week, Fall 2019, as a community designer, where we displayed two looks. After that show, we realized that our business was missing many essential elements and processes. For the next two years, we began to build our in-home manufacturing facility. Now we are back and better than ever. As a finalist for the 2022 Designer of the Year Emerging Designer Bootcamp, we are bringing the fire.

Our 2022 Fall Luxe Collection is inspired by “Beauty in Imperfections. ” Beauty is found in many places. There is beauty in the journey. There is beauty in the process. There is beauty in struggles and beauty in triumphs. So many people feel rejected for their differences. But it’s those differences that set us apart from everyone else. We need to be bold about our differences because that makes us unique.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In August 2022, we participated in Phoenix Fashion Week’s Emerging Designer Bootcamp. This Bootcamp was one of the hardest things we’ve ever done. During the Bootcamp, we also worked regular jobs and cared for our four children while working on our doctoral degrees. This was a crazy combination. In addition to our everyday responsibilities, we had weekly homework from the Bootcamp. We also worked on a 10-look collection that will be presented on October 21, 2022, at Phoenix Fashion Week. This process was full of curveballs, challenges, and a juggling act that no clown could match. Ultimately, we made it through this process, and it was all for the better. We will be walking across the stage at Phoenix Fashion Week 2022, presenting our 1st complete collection, Beauty in Imperfections.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

One thing that we wish we had known was the power of connecting with people on social media. In just one month, we increased our followers by 40% and drove more traffic to our website. Making genuine connections with people is a powerful tool that allows our business to grow like never before.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pastichelafemme.com
• Instagram: @pastichelafemme
• Facebook: @pastichelafemme
• Twitter: @pastichelafemme
• Other: Tiktok: @pastichelafemme

Image Credits
Excellence Mambulu, Whitney Davis