04 Mar Meet the Malena’s Team

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Regan: the newest MVB team member & design extraordinaire

As a long time lover of fashion and textile design, Malena’s Vintage Boutique has always been on my lists of places to pop into whenever I get the chance. For years it has been my go-to spot when my college friends visit for the weekend.

Design Dream Job

As a long time lover of fashion and textile design, Malena’s Vintage Boutique has always been on my lists of places to pop into whenever I get the chance. For years it has been my go-to spot when my college friends visit for the weekend.

A few months ago I found myself burnt out from my first design studio job after graduating art school. I had quickly become aware of how much waste large scale corporate fashion design studios produce on a daily basis. I was ashamed of the negative impact being made on the environment. From “unsellable” samples, to bolts of the wrong fabric, to buckets of bleach giving the clothing that “perfectly distressed” look.

I struggled to fit in with an uptight, male-dominated culture. A culture that catered to an upscale client with little concern to where materials or labor came from. This corporate-level large-scale design experience made me question whether the fashion design industry was the right field for me. After a quarter-life crisis, I buckled down to find a job that aligned with my passions and moral qualms around sustainability in an industry that is all consumed with waste.

MVB: Design Heaven

Shortly after leaving what I thought was my first “dream design job,” my best friend from college and I were strolling through West Chester. Of course, after yoga class and grabbing bagels down the street, we stopped into Malena’s. As I looked through the racks of color-coded vintage dresses, jeans, and designer gowns and gawked at the exploding scarf rack with unique patterns (I mean how can you not??), the creative wheels in my head started turning and the excitement for clothing and fashion design I hadn’t felt since leaving school crept back in.

Instantly, I was kicking myself for not thinking of this sooner; design, fashion, social media, sustainability, visual pleasure, small business, and of course, a boss lady! The next day I blindly emailed my resume to Malena. I hoped for a response but prepared to send follow up emails and drop-in visits. Luckily for both of us, she responded almost instantly and here we are now. The past five months working alongside Malena have restored not only my passion for art and design but also faith that sustainable and slow fashion does still exist. 

“My grandmother had taught me to sew pretty much before I could spell my own name.”

When I’m not at Malena’s, I am usually designing custom clothing and fabric for clients and my Etsy store. Malena’s Vintage Boutique constantly keeps me inspired for new clothing and print designs through the people I meet and the constant influx of unique items. Her collection of vintage designer names are ones I could only have dreamed of seeing in person during my undergrad fashion design studies. I wasn’t always head over heels for fashion design, but I grew up with a love for art and all things colorful. My grandmother had taught me to sew pretty much before I could spell my own name. Having sewn since she was a little girl she was eager to pass her passion for textiles and the practical skill of sewing on to one of her grandchildren.

An early design…

As a math professor, sewing quilts and clothing for my mom and uncle was a hobby from her childhood. I don’t think she ever thought (or could have hoped) one of the grandchildren she patiently taught to sew and knit would end up doing it as a profession. My high school years were at first filled with many late nights painting. Those quickly turned into weekends of sewing projects and endless large scale weavings, and the occasional dress made from paper. My grandmother was thrilled when I asked her to help me design and make my senior prom dress. This was a dress I was proud of at the time but the velcro closure and busted hem line now make me cringe. She was even more thrilled when I chose to study textiles and fashion design in college.

Art School is Cool

At the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), I earned a bachelor of fine arts in Fiber with a concentration in Experimental Fashion. Basically a bunch of fancy words for sewing, knitting, weaving, dyeing, and pattern design with a concentration in making weird clothing. During my senior year at MICA, I participated in a student-run fashion show. My senior projected consisted of a collection of 10 unisex avant-garde looks. It is heavily inspired by performance and athletic wear from the 1970s and 80s.

You can see this collection on my website or design instagram. From the start of my fashion design journey, I collected vintage patterns for inspiration. Throughout my career as a fashion design student, I took several classes on the history of textiles and fashion. I poured over the names of designers from Issey Miyake to Rudi Gernreich and Mariano Fortuny. It’s beyond my wildest dreams that Malena owns so many of these important artifacts and that I get to work with them every day

What’s next for me at MVB?

With such a large influx of antique clothing and textiles, I’ve spent a lot of my time researching these pieces. We post new items regularly on Malena’s eBay and Etsy. As a fashion and textile designer it is breathtaking to pour over delicate artifacts that were made by hand over a hundred years ago. If you are a collector of antiques be sure to check it out. Some of my personal favorites are this antique victorian Irish crochet wearable bodice (modeled by me) listed on Etsy and our collection of 1920s wool bathing suits listed on eBay.

antique Irish crochet bodice

Jantzen and Rudi Gernreich bathing suits

It’s been an amazing and enlightening 5 months. I can’t wait to see what my future with the MVB team has in store. Next time you’re in the shop, be sure to say hey & check out @msmalena on Instagram to see more photos of me in some amazing #MalenasFinds!