Interview With Fashion Designer Robin Densten

Hi There beauty and fashion lovers!! Do you ever wonder what a fashion designer can do with forgotten fabrics? Perhaps you’re curious to find out how to turn fabrics and vintage treasures into stunning pieces of clothing.  😏🎨👏

Picture Provided By Robin Densten

Brady Thomas Photography

https://recapturedesigns-com

You know how some people rescue stray puppies? Well, Robin Densten rescues forgotten fashion. She takes old fabrics that most of us would ignore and turns them into unique, eco-friendly designs. 😌🧵💎

With her signature touch of hand painting and salvaged materials, Robin creates pieces that make both fashion lovers and the planet smile. 😍🖌️♻️

And I get the rescue instinct. I once scooped up a cat from the street, convinced it was my mom’s missing kitty. He walked right up to me as if we were long-lost friends. 😺🤗💖

Spoiler alert: it wasn’t her cat. Still, he ended up living with me for 13 happy years, probably thinking, “Well, that worked out just fine.” 😂🏡🙈

In the same way, Robin gives second chances to fabrics that were left behind, creating hand-painted, one-of-a-kind designs that steal hearts in the most sustainable way.  😍🌍👒

Picture Provided By Robin Densten

What is your name, function and the company you work for?  

My name is Robin Densten and I am the owner of RecaptureDesigns.com

How old are you?

71

What kind of work do you do, or what are you studying to be? 

I am a textile artist and I hand paint, restyle and rework vintage clothing and textiles.  

What made you decide to become a Fashion Designer? Tell me about your journey.

I have always been interested in fashion but never had the means or the inclination to start a clothing line. Growing up in the 70’s I was very into recycling. It was while I was in college that I discovered vintage clothes shopping in thrift stores. 

I had always been in love with 40’s and 50’s fashion from watching the old movies as a kid.  I hated that I was stuck with the 70’s styles and colors. So thrift store shopping became my passion. I could dress in the style that suited me and made me feel good. In the 80’s I was given an opportunity to design accessories for a small boutique and I expanded to selling in other stores as well. 

I eventually began painting on recycled clothing and furniture. When the opportunity arose I opened a vintage boutique offering hand painted furniture and vintage linens. The linens led to lace which led to bridal gowns and that’s when I opened my vintage bridal shop. It hasn’t been until recently that I returned to reworking vintage garments and began offering them for sale.

Is fashion important to you? Why? 

Fashion became important to me when I struggled to find clothes that I liked and that suited my personality. I admired my older sisters who wore the full skirts with petticoats. 

I was limited to what the stores carried that season so I became my own designer. I think it’s important to find what works for you and not be limited with what the stores carry that year. Working on my own clothes has become my creative outlet. 

Picture Provided By Robin Densten

What are your successes, and how did you achieve them?

My biggest accomplishment was a vintage bridal shop that I opened after having a difficult time finding a vintage dress for my own wedding. I had run around to every vintage store in my area and would find maybe one or two that would be either victorian size or a bouffant 80’s gown. 

After my own wedding I started out gathering vintage lace thinking I would make accessories. I bought a few beautiful gowns just for the lace but quickly realized how many vintage dealers were practically giving away bridal gowns. They can be very difficult to sell when you just have one or two in your shop. 

After my own quest for the right gown I decided that all these gowns needed to be in one place. A one stop shop. I knew that the success would depend on having a seamstress in house to do alterations and restyling. 

Most brides didn’t want the dresses as they were too old fashioned and too small. But I learned from restyling my own 30’s gown that I could see what could be done to make it more stylish for the modern bride. 

What’s something you might want to do in the future?

I would like to have my hand painted designs printed on fabrics and maybe actual garments. I would also like to use my photography in my designs as well

Is the name of the Brand important to you when you buy clothing or jewelry?

I immediate response is no meaning that I don’t care about labels. However, I am trying to do better by researching the ethical practices of certain brands in order to know who to support.

Describe your personal style of fashion?

Most days I tend to keep to classic, tailored styles. Clothes that are fitted at the waist. Again, think 40’s 50’s. But that doesn’t mean I won’t go crazy with a fun look for a change!

How did you find your personal style? Do you have a signature look? 

I learned early on that because of my height and my proportions that menswear really suited me (plus the fact that I actually had to buy men’s pants back when in order to get them long enough!) 

Wearing a vest and tie or a 40’s nipped jacket is definitely my go to look meaning it’s something easy to put together and I know it will look good. I will go for a ruffled blouse but an overall ruffled dress is not my style.

Picture Provided By Robin Densten

Do you have an influence on other people’s fashion style?

No one’s ever told me

What are in your eyes the best trends at the moment?

Reuse and Mend and Make Do. I’m thrilled that recycling has become a trend and I hope it becomes more of a way of life not just a fad. I appreciate that women are finding ways to counteract the fast fashion business and make it acceptable to recycle and reuse.

What are in your eyes the worst trends at the moment?

Nakedness. See though clothes. It’s gotten so out of hand that women are walking off the red carpet into the main stream wearing nothing but a bra and a thong. I’m done.

What kind of fashion advice would you give us?

I would encourage women to find the silhouette that flatters their body type and stay with that. You can be creative with color, prints and accessories but if you stay with your complimentary shape it will make shopping so much easier. 

Also, think twice before spending a bundle on what’s trending. It may go out next year ( and face it all trends are temporary that’s why they call it a trend) and then you are on the hunt for the next thing. It’s what fashion houses depend on. You can incorporate a trendy style with small ticket items like a blouse or accessories.

Who is your style icon, and why?

I can think of many people that I admire but I can’t say they are my icons. I admire individuals like Audrey Hepburn and Kathrine Hepburn but only because they learned what style works for them and therefore look great all the time. 

Designers like Dior are of course my go to because I lean towards his 50’s looks. Vivienne Westwood has incredible fashions many I would wear and some I wouldn’t but I respect her as a designer. I appreciate her rebellious nature. She stayed true to herself throughout her life.

Is there something else you would like to share with us?

Having lived through 7 decades of fashion I finally feel like I have something to say! Lol

Thank you for the opportunity .

Picture Provided By Robin Densten

You’re most welcome, Robin! And thanks a ton for answering all my curious (and slightly nosy) questions. I love how you gave those fabrics a new life with your hand painting. 😄✍️✨ 

For those of you wondering where I’ve been hiding lately—no, I didn’t run off to Paris Fashion Week or get lost in a pile of vintage scarves. I was actually knee-deep in the mysterious world of SEO, trying to figure out why some of my older blog posts had suddenly vanished from Google. 👠😱📉

Let me tell you, it was like learning a new language spoken only by robots. Just understanding the problem took me ages, and fixing it? Well, let’s just say my brain now deserves its own spa day. 😅🧠💆‍♀️

And if you’ve got a few extra minutes, why not catch up on my previous fashion designer interviews? You can find them all here 🔗👗✨—plenty of inspiration while I sort out the techy chaos behind the scenes!

Hope you like my blog.....Until next time.....Have a nice day 

Renata (Seadbeady) 

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