Thursday Preen

Fashion Capital of the World: Portland, OR

Anisa Makhoul has been hand-crafting beautiful, unique clothing out of Portland since 2000. Now, under the label Makool, she's starting to show up on the many people's radar as a trend-maker and a source for fun, young, fresh ideas about women's fashion.

Though Portland might seem like a strange place to look for cutting edge fashion, when you consider how so many of the city's inhabitants live there for the simple fact that they can focus on their creativity and craft without, I don't know, worrying about making rent in New York or Paris, for instance, it totally makes sense. And with years of fine-tuning her work through street markets and "real world" ready-to-wear fashion, Makool has made an impact where it counts: with her dedicated, well-dressed customers. As she's expanded operations, she's making an effort to create long-lasting designs with sustainable materials and giving the locals who make her clothes realistic living wages. 

All in all, we love Makool's designs and the ethic behind them. Check them out.

And here's a recent interview with Anisa from Venus Zine. 

Pictured below: Ketchup Coat (hand-dyed), Petticoat Skirt (bamboo twill), and Fair Weather Shirt. All images from makoolclothing.com.