Photo: Carrie Parry

Running away and joining the circus is an escape for some, but for Carrie Parry, it was inspiration. “Each season we traveled from town to town through the English countryside. It’s difficult to describe what it’s like to wake up surrounded by Russian Cossacks and acrobats, clowns, musicians, and jugglers—and then getting to work with them, and then getting to know them as people and as friends,” remembers the Los Angeles-born, New York-based designer. It’s just one of the many things that influence Parry’s timeless-with-a-twist designs for her eponymous label, which launches this fall.

Her pieces range from impeccably tailored bow-tied tulip skirts to printed sheath dresses to cuffed pants, with the line citing everything from the 1939 film The Women to Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama to—of course—Parry’s time touring with Giffords Circus. “That’s exactly what makes fashion interesting: pulling inspiration from really varied sources and reinterpreting it to something totally new and your own,” Parry says. She takes that a step further with her clever spin on Mrs. Montague, a housewife who, in the 1830s, invented the detachable collar. “I was so excited by this idea, as it addresses the sustainability of garments in a new way, and also allows the wearer to become more engaged with their clothing,” explains the designer. That translates into shirts, jackets, skirts, and dresses with detachable (and interchangeable) collars, cuffs, and bows. Adds Parry, “The idea for this is to add duality to the clothing, so they can easily be transitioned from day to night, work to play, and of course they are easy to travel with!”

It also points to the eco-consciousness of the label. Parry, who is getting her graduate degree in Socially Responsible and Sustainable Apparel Business while simultaneously starting up her label, sources fabrics from a women-owned cooperative in India and produces the collection in New York City’s garment district. It was while she was working with a handful of big names—among them, Jonathan Saunders, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and Norma Kamali—that she realized how important sustainability would be to her eventual solo endeavor. “My work in fashion opened my eyes to the environmental and social impact that the industry can have,” says Parry, adding, “It can be a challenge, but it is also so much more rewarding, and I really wouldn’t do it any other way.”