Tiffany Brown: KCFW Q&A

Tiffany Brown’s line TRBrown is a women’s ready-to-wear brand filled with cozy faux furs, layers, and earth-toned fabrics. Her designs promote female empowerment, especially her newest line #GPWR. She’s a self-taught seamstress who has only been designing clothes for two-and-a-half years, but her line will be featured in Kansas City Fashion Week’s Saturday night show. This is her first time participating in KCFW, and she “couldn’t be happier” about being involved.

What inspired you to join the fashion industry?

Fashion has always been an outlet for me, but I just never trusted my gut. I lived in Illinois and had planned to attend the Art Institute, but I decided that I wasn’t going to go anywhere if I went to school for fashion. I ended up going to school to become an attorney and held a long-term job in the corporate world before moving to Kansas. I realized that there was something missing in my life, and that was the creativity flow I knew I was good at. After a couple years of toying with the thought of applying to KCFW, I decided to just put myself out there and show what I was worth.

Your collection is all about girl power, which we love at The Pitch. As the designer, how does that manifest in your clothing?

Each collection I curate, I always make sure to add a statement to it that promotes girl power in one way or another. My last collection was “Chelsea Girls,” and it brought you back to the 70s and made you want to raise a peace sign. The 70s was a crucial turning point for women, and I wanted to create a collection that depicted women that were strong, bold, and fashionable. My next collection is titled #GPWR, and the collection is promoting GIRL POWER (obviously) and was inspired by my time working in the corporate world. I want women to see that you don’t have to follow the norm and wear just grays, blacks, and browns when you go to work. Be adventurous and wear what you feel most comfortable in, whether that be something with color or a faux fur jacket.

How does living in the Midwest influence your designs?

A majority of the outfits I create will have layers, and I think that is largely influenced from growing up in the Midwest and having to layer when it gets cold. It’s like it is embedded in me that an outfit needs to have layers or else it just isn’t an outfit. The other thing that I find myself influenced by are the colors of fall. I gravitate more towards earth tones when I am in the beginning stages of choosing colors and fabrics for my collection.

TRBrown has been featured in Vogue Italia, which is an incredible milestone. Which garment did they feature and how did you find out that Vogue wanted to feature you?

This is definitely a milestone for me that I will always remember and one I never dreamed would happen. The garment featured was a faux fur jacket/dress (crowd favorite) from my Chelsea Girl Collection. I worked with an incredible team last summer on a travel editorial photoshoot and the pictures were beautiful. I actually didn’t even know that they were sent to Vogue until the day that the photographer, Blake Aghili, told me they were accepted.

In all of your designs, the color choices seem very deliberate. How does texture and color play into the collections you design?

Texture and color are the most important things when creating a collection. I purposely choose different colors and fabric patterns to push the envelope and figure out how to get them to mesh. Choosing fabrics and deciding on colors is my favorite part of the whole process.

What sort of trends do you think we should keep a look out for in women’s ready-to-wear fashion?

Women’s ready-to-wear is starting to take a turn towards men inspired clothing and I like it. The other thing coming back is faux fur, which has always been a favorite of mine. There used to be this facade that you looked cheap if you wore faux fur, and it makes me smile knowing that it is making a come back.

What do you have planned next for TRBrown?

My plan for TRBrown in 2018 is to start selling in local boutiques and to do an international show.

Where can our readers find your clothing?

I currently take custom orders via my website www.trbrownfashion.com.

TRBrown
Saturday Night Runway Show
March 31 at 7:30 p.m.

The Grand Hall at Power and Light
1330 Baltimore Ave
Kansas City, MO 64105