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Mechanical engineering isn’t a typical pathway into fashion, but engineer-turned-knitwear-designer Aisling Camps says there are more similarities between the two careers than some might expect; both require technical expertise. “I’m still working with machines every day,” she says. “Only, instead of spitting out robots, [they’re] spitting out clothes.”
Camps’s technical, problem-solving approach to knitwear design and her subsequent collections — think cropped tank tops made from leather cord ($595), chunky cable knit sweaters ($1,210) and a macrame hoodie ($2,250) — have attracted attention from the fashion industry. Last month, the Trinidad and Tobago native won Fashion Trust US’s inaugural ready-to-wear award, judged by big names including Vogue contributing editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, recently retired stylist Law Roach and designer Mike Amiri. “Aisling has a very unique talent with knits,” says Fashion Trust US founder Tania Fares. “Whereas a lot of designers focus on perfecting a specific type of knit, Aisling can seamlessly pivot from a casual chunky sweater to a very delicate and intricately stunning dress.”
While her mechanical engineering background has helped Camps to carve out a unique style, it hasn’t been an easy journey for the designer. Amid an increasingly tough economic environment, it’s a trying time for emerging designers who are seeing thin margins and decreased brand awareness. Meanwhile, structural barriers, including difficulty accessing capital, continue to prevent Black-owned brands from expanding, according to a McKinsey report published in January.
Since founding her eponymous brand in 2013, Camps has taken on just one employee: Elise Pelletier, who works part-time as the brand’s design director alongside her role as professor at New York’s Pratt Institute. It’s been a tough grind, and Camps admits that she has, at times, considered giving up on the brand. Last year, Aisling Camps brought in $300,000 in revenue, up double from the year prior’s $150,000. However, Camps doesn’t expect to end 2023 up another 100 per cent. “I got totally burnt out,” Camps says. “This year is definitely not going to be $600,000. The push to 300 consumed my life.”
Still, the hard work is paying off. As well as selling direct-to-consumer through its website, Aisling Camps has six wholesale stockists, including online luxury retailers Fwrd and Moda Operandi, and US independent multi-brand boutique Kirna Zabête. She has made it work without external funding (apart from a couple of grants, including a $40,000 award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America and Fashion Trust US in 2021), and is proud of her profitability. “If you’re not profitable, then you have no business calling [your brand] a business,” she says.
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