"I started sewing as a way to get a little more creative and interactive with some of the work I was doing. I just started making clothes for people -- first, for my son -- and the word spread," says Pacha. Spending the better part of a decade making one-off pieces has exhausted the popular designer, though, and now, she's set her sights on a Kickstarter project, in the hopes of boosting production of the line -- one that she calls "urban Jedi street fashion."
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Pacha describes her designs as "rough and tumbly," while retaining clean lines and a tailored look. "All the pieces are stretchy and made for movement, particularly the men's stuff -- which uses a stretch cotton twill," she says. The pieces are "meant to last and you can play hard -- but also look nice."
She also shares that the thought behind the design isn't just about movement -- it is also about embellishment on the body through fashion.
"A lot of [my work] hits on our archetypes and these deep elements that we tap into through mythology and our creative embodiment through adornments," says Pacha. "Guys like my stuff because they feel like a bad ass in it -- it has this warrior-ninja quality to it, but they are more of these ancient-future pieces that have an old, tribal quality mixed with a futuristic quality. The women's stuff has that as well, but I've tried to soften it and create more adornment-type pieces. So there is also that warrior aspect, but also this goddess aspect."
The reason for the Kickstarter -- which has an $11,000 goal and twenty days left -- was to step up the line into a full-on production. With the money raised, Pacha could utilize a group of seamstresses in Los Angeles and a sewer in Denver to build the foundation of her line.
"A lot of my pieces have stitch work and detail work, and I want to be able to get those bases created on a really consistent basis," says Pacha. "If I can do that, it gives me a consistency in small, medium and larges in particular colors, so when a store orders or I put something up on my website, then people know, okay, she's got this in stock -- and they can count on it. Whereas right now, when a piece goes up, it sells."
She says that online, word-of-mouth, limited boutique sales and her own creative community have been the source for the line's popularity and demand thus far. But once a line of production can be created, Pacha Play would likely be available to sell in stores outside of Colorado -- and that's what Pacha is aiming for.
