Interview: Designer Erika Schrieber Reinvents Ready-To-Wear For DC's Fashionistas

ERIKA: The crop top with exposed hardware on the back. You go to big box retailers and you get slinky fabric, and it doesn’t look great on everyone. This is a full coverage flattering crop top and it’s probably one of my favorite pieces. That was the first piece that we designed and became part of the collection. Describe the process of fashion design from conception to execution. What are the steps you take and what sets you apart from other fashion designers?< ERIKA: My creative process starts with a piece of paper and pencil, and that’s anywhere. I can be home, at a coffee shop... I even doodle on napkins. In my purse, I have a little notebook that I keep with me all the time. I get tiny blank notebooks all the time to jot down ideas and take sketches, colors, etc. It starts there. Once I have every single sketch that I can possible come up with, I’ll tape them on a wall. I edit and figure out what works well together, or realize, “That’s ridiculous, what was I thinking?!” You edit down and start to create a look. I do capsule collections (between eight and ten pieces) so things should work together. If you buy the crop, I want you to be able to wear it with the matching skirt. From there, I take sketches and technical drawings to my sample maker and we’ll create a muslin. Then you pick your fabrics, and then it goes into production.