We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Caitie Dodge. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Caitie below.

Hi Caitie, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Right out of school, I started working for a large corporation – a mall brand – and that work felt meaningless. I argued my way into a fashion degree by telling people how important clothing was for self-expression, just for me to end up creating meaningless clothing that was made with slave labor, something I am completely against and advocate for more fair practices.

That experience is why I take so much pride in my own label. The entire idea of the label is self-expression for women, with mix-and-match pieces, multiple colorways, and our signature “Naked Dress”.

CAITIE NICOLE has to be the most meaningful project I have worked on in the fashion world. I designed the first designs with women who had survived sex trafficking and came up with the motto “Reclaim your Name, Reclaim your Body” as a way to describe this label. It has opened my eyes to many stories from women who have survived unspeakable things in industries we all thought were safe.

My next collection for the label is going to take it up a notch – each design will be named after a woman who will model it and tell their story. It is important we all listen and learn.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born and raised in Southern California, used to the sunshine and easy winters spent at the beach. My early life was filled with trauma only women can understand – the loss of and ultimate maturing without my father, assault at the hands of a superior at my first job after college, and ultimately the loss of my dreams at the hand of these traumas.

At the start of the COVID pandemic, I completely switched gears from fashion design and decided that I wanted to become a prosecutor and use the law to somehow help women who had ended up in the position I did. This path led me to a job at the District Attorney’s office of Los Angeles in the Human Sex Trafficking sector.

I met women who have been to the worst parts of the world, with the worst people in the world, and somehow came out of it with strength and humor, telling their stories but still excited about living their lives. Colors shone bright through their smiles, and their inspiration radiated through to me that I can still be myself and live my life despite the traumas I have been through.

This line is dedicated to those women – women who still laugh, love, and believe after trauma. Women who live their lives according to themselves, and not those who tried to take a piece of them. Women who let their colors shine through.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

The cutthroat competition in the fashion industry. When I was at school, we were taught that our peers were our biggest competition for the next industry job, or highlight as a designer in the industry. It felt like trying to become an A-list actress and win an Oscar when all I was trying to do was be creative and make clothing for people.

When I was facing hardships at the corporation I was working for, I had to unlearn that competitive aspect and reach out to my peers for help and guidance through the industry. I ended up making allies and friends for life, most of whom faced the same roadblocks and problems I did in the industry. A lot of those women have spoken out now about how toxic the fashion industry is, have fought against sexual assault and abuse in the workplace, and have gone on to create their own labels as well.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal is to change the way the fashion industry is run. Much like the #MeToo movement in Hollywood, I am hoping to bring awareness to the evil practices the fashion industry follows, such as the sexual abuse and harassment that women have to face, whether in their place of work, trying to move up into creative industries, with large corporations often ran by men and no regard to women, the modeling industry where women are continually harassed and often sold into sexual slavery.

There is also a common practice for large corporations to outsource their manufacturing to countries that have no restrictions on pay or slave labor. Often times, children are the ones behind making your clothing, or political prisoners, or refugees who have been kidnapped.

It’s a huge undertaking to try and change, but I believe that if I can bring awareness to these issues, the change will come with others fighting for it as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://caitienicole.com
• Instagram: @caitienicole
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/caitie-nicole/

Image Credits

photographer – Brandie Johnson
Models – Madelynn Myers and Cordova Bleu