Designing Fearlessly Now
There’s been a shift happening quietly in the way I see clothing, color, and even myself.
For a long time, I think I approached getting dressed from a place of trying not to be seen too much. I gravitated toward pieces that felt safe — muted colors, oversized layers, things that helped me blend in rather than stand out. And while I still genuinely love soft earthy tones and cozy silhouettes, I’ve started realizing that some of those choices were also tied to the idea that I needed to make myself smaller.
Smaller in presence. Smaller in visibility. Smaller until someday when I felt more worthy of fully expressing myself.
Somewhere along the process of designing knitwear, that mindset started to crack open.
Oddly enough, I think it began with a bold French blue cardigan. Choosing that color felt different for me. It was saturated, vibrant, impossible to ignore. And instead of immediately talking myself out of it, I kept leaning further in. That one design choice created this chain reaction where I started questioning why I felt so hesitant to take up visual space in the first place.
Why was I waiting?
Why did boldness feel like something I had to earn?
The more I knit and design, the more I find myself wanting to create pieces that feel freeing instead of corrective. Relaxed silhouettes. Soft movement. Rolled hems that don’t constrict. Knitwear that feels comforting without hiding the person wearing it.
I still love warmth and earthy palettes and all the quiet inspiration I pull from nature, but I’m also allowing myself to explore moments of intensity now too. Deep terracotta. Saturated blue. Rich color that feels alive against the skin. Pieces that carry emotion instead of just practicality.
I think what I’m really learning is that designing fearlessly has less to do with making something “fashionable” and more to do with honesty. Designing for the body I have now. Designing for comfort without apology. Designing pieces I genuinely want to wear instead of pieces meant to minimize me.
For the first time in a long time, clothing feels less like something I use to disappear and more like a way to express who I already am becoming.
From the Studio, Erica