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Cariloha recently launched its 2015 Bamboo Scarf Collection, which offers beautiful, bold colors and irresistible softness. These new trendy scarves were hand-picked and created by Cariloha’s Product and Design Teams. Their goal was to provide customers with a stylish variety of scarves that could become staples in a customer’s every day wardrobe. The scarves’ lightweight fabrics and contrasting colors meld seamlessly with any outfit.
To more fully appreciate these bamboo scarves, we’d like to share the inspiration and process behind them from the perspective of Cariloha’s Product Design Manager, Aimee O.
Where do you look for personal design inspiration?
I don’t look to just one source for inspiration. I keep an eye on the market and runways for upcoming trends and products. I find so much inspiration while being outdoors. Gardening and hiking can be credited for some of my greatest inspirational moments. Something about nature’s color and textures mixed with the calm feeling of these environments really sets my creativity free. I tend to incorporate much of my personal style into the Cariloha product design. I love to find inspiration in that unexpected piece; a bold new print to incorporate into our line, with a color that walks the line of being too bold, but somehow finds its home nestled among the Cariloha product assortment.
The photography/design team finds inspiration from the products themselves. These scarves are easy to fall in love with. They’re so easy to pair with a basic T-shirt, blazer, and your favorite jeans. To capture the beauty of these scarves, we gained outside inspiration from the Art Nouveau area. We examined each scarf individually and listed out what elements (books, drawings, watercolors, pastels, etc.) to describe each story.
What inspires you in the color-selection process?
The outdoors draw more inspiration than anything else. The colors and textures are nothing short of breathtaking. I often pull a color story from a mountain top, a sunset, or a simple image of the blue ocean.
What is your process for hand-selecting these fabric blends?
With this line, I found it very important to create a collection of light-weight, fashion-forward scarves that are new and refreshing for Cariloha. I desired to incorporate a style that can blend and be worn with any piece from the Cariloha bamboo product line. You can do so many different things with fabric blends these days, however, some of my favorite pieces are 100% Viscose from Bamboo. There is nothing more relaxing than wrapping one of these babies around your neck. Capturing the textures of these bamboo scarves in a photograph is so effortless.
What captured your eye with these new designs?
What captured my eye the most was the color and saturation of each individual dye and print. Each style has it’s own voice, and I love how different each one is. The dip dye of the Pashminas are subtle and soft and lend themselves to the flow of the fabrication. The Nautical Stripes are quiet and understated even with a bold stripe pattern they manage to be soft and subtle. The Geo Infinity is a bold statement, and I absolutely love how forward this print is. The flow of each individual fabric is so appealing. Adding various sketches, watercolors, plants, books, pencils, and pens around these scarves resonates softness and the colors of each scarf was brilliantly planned. It made it easy to share the story of their creation.
You’ve selected staples for Cariloha, but what makes this launch different? What’s the inside story in this collection?
We’re so excited to introduce these colors and prints. This introduces new sizes and styles of scarves to fit any aspect of life. This was the most important to us. I wanted to introduce a variety of different scarves, not just colors and prints. These scarves can be worn in so many different ways and can be worn with virtually any outfit. Cariloha scarves are the fastest and easiest way to dress up an outfit. This collection is what every Cariloha customer has been waiting for, and you need to get your hands on each and every piece.
How do you like to wear these bamboo scarves?
You can wear the geometric scarf with anything! From a maxi dress to dressing up a basic tee, these colors and prints have the ability to take any outfit to the next level within seconds!
The functionality of the Pashminas make them a great buy. We often style the Jade Pashmina, Charcoal Scoop Tee, dark jeans, Sorel boots, and a black blazer. You can wear them in so many different ways. Nothing like wrapping up in a bamboo Pashmina during a walk through the park at the end of date night.
