Florida Keys Free Press Printed & Online
Florida Keys’ own, Taylor Albury, leads the way in sustainable fashion, or as she calls it, slow fashion. She is the creator of her brand ‘Vega Lucia’ in an increasingly Fast Fashion climate. She has accomplished this meticulously, silently, one stitch at a time, proudly sharing as she goes.
SUSTAINABLE FASHION – MEET LOCAL CLOTHING DESIGNER TAYLOR ALBURY
Meet Taylor Albury. Sustainable fashion designer. Her sewing journey began in 2020. She started with her mom’s old sewing machine. Taylor also had a stack of thrifted clothes she wanted to experiment with.
“I have always loved fashion and personal style but I never liked the feeling of forcing myself to fit into clothing that was not made for me,” says Albury.
What started as a hobby, during the Pandemic, had time to blossom into a business. She had time to explore her skill, sourcing locally, from Goodwill, local thrift markets and Depop. Where, fast forward she’s now selling her hand made custom made items.
“I would find things I loved for their fabric or shape but they did not fit me or reflect my style, so I started changing them. Sewing is the first thing I have done that feels like it was meant for me.”
‘not ocd at all..’
Albury started by making garments from scratch as gifts for people close to me. She says these small successes fuelled the creative process. It felt personal and meaningful to her ‘to make something that fit perfectly.’
A strong theme in her business plan is clothing that fits perfectly and is sustainable fashion, made with intention. She wants to extend this to individuals that seek not only her ethics and her style. They also want personal hand-crafted clothes.
Reaching beyond the local scope, where in person measurements are easy, she is excited about using AI for virtual measurements. And is keen to help bring people’s visions to life, around the world, too. She says this is something she can’t wait to explore as Vega Lucia evolves.
The Deep Creative Steps & Process Behind The Sustainable Fashion of Vega Lucia
Albury says Vega Lucia is more than just the clothes she makes. She loves every part of building the brand. This includes designing the pieces and thinking about how to present them. She is involved in the creative direction and marketing. She’s knowledgeable about marketing. She studied it at UF. She also spent a year at a local family-owned and operated fisheries. There, she managed their online marketing and social media. Albury knew that wasn’t her forever world, and started Vega Lucia soon after leaving.
Deconstruction, Slow Fashion, and Clothes with Intention
She is vocal about sustainable fashion. People of all ages realize the terrible impact the fast fashion industry has on the ecology of this planet. Additionally, they understand its effect on the humans involved in its production.
“My main focus is on 18-30 age group. This group tends to do most of the fast fashion shopping and feels the pressure to keep up with trends, so it’s important to reach them with a new perspective. When people learn about the waste and damage fast fashion causes, they start to value slow, sustainable fashion and the effort behind making clothing that lasts longer and is made with Intention,” she says.
“It feels meaningful to give fabric a second life and it naturally keeps my work more sustainable.”
“To me that means choosing quality fabrics, paying attention to construction and designing pieces that truly fit and complement the person wearing them,” she says. As she’s grown into her brand, she’s learned to use ‘intention’ as a way to challenge herself. She restricts herself to choosing from her large collection of thrifted ‘deconstructed’ fabrics she’s gathered over time. And that, she says, offers a creative challenge.
“I care a lot about slow fashion and making pieces that last, whether that means repurposing materials, focusing on construction, or creating something people will want to wear for years.” She says platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest are full of people who thrift. Many people here love sustainable fashion, they share how to re-purpose and make their own clothes on these platforms.
“I get a lot of my ideas from that space and love being part of it through @shopvegalucia, which I’m currently developing and plan to launch soon.”
Connecting Locally and Expanding Globally
“Locally, I’ve started offering small alterations and custom work to connect with people who value clothing that fits them well and feels personal. It allows me to use my skills to help people in my community while I continue to grow Vega Lucia and build what I hope will become something much bigger,” she says.
She doesn’t plan to stay in the Florida Keys forever. She is building the foundational base of her brand here. Her intention is to put pieces online. She has a plan to launch a website, soon.
Albury is confident the launch of her online presence will improve her worldwide reach. She knows connection, even locally and in person, is highly valuable.
“Fashion, she says, is meant to be personal and expressive, and sewing gives people the freedom to create pieces that ‘feel like them. “I definitely want to share what I know with others as I grow.”
She is happy sharing her sewing process and designs on social media. She wants to appeal to people by showing them creativity doesn’t have to be complicated or intimidating.
The Circular Cycle of a Fashion Journey
“For me, it has always come back to clothing, styling, and feeling confident in what I wear. Sewing has never felt like a drag to me. If anything, I have to remind myself to take breaks because I get so focused I forget to eat or step away for a minute.”
As a child Albury loved costuming, growing up. Performing in dance recitals, admiring outfits in magazines, shows, and movies. As well as watching Victoria’s Secret fashion shows every year. She also followed high fashion runways each season.
Teaching Self-Expression Through Fashion
In the meantime, she dreams of having a physical studio. Her focus is on making her business available to clients online. She really loves the idea of more creativity and individuality to fashion in the Keys.
“Growing up here, it always felt like you had to leave to find other creative people or opportunities,” she says.
Albury enjoys connecting with and supporting other small businesses. She attends farmers markets, thrift markets, and local events where she can meet the people behind the products.
“I think it makes a difference when you can connect directly with the makers and see the care and creativity that goes into their work,” she says.
Albury is determined to establish a more creative community. She wants to encourage young people to explore their personal style, to express themselves. She hopes they’ll also feel inspired to build a creative career, even in a small town.
She is more than willing to offer sewing workshops in the future. She says teaching and building a creative community will happen for certain. It will come naturally, she says, as Vega Lucia evolves. She wants beginners to learn and to feel confident using a machine or altering their own clothes. She is open to doing custom work and alterations on a small scale. She says she genuinely loves helping people feel good in what they wear.
“Fashion has always been my way of communicating who I am, and I want to help others experience that too,” she says.
Small Business: A Generational Momentum
She grew up in a home supported by a crafty mother and father whose successful small business was undoubtedly a motivator.
“I love having something that is completely my own and being able to put my heart into it”. She’s a planner, organized and structured. “But when it comes to designing, I tend to throw all that out the window. I start with an idea and let it evolve as I sew, and that is when my creativity really shines.”
She started sewing by thrifting clothes and transforming them. Secondhand materials have always been a big part of Vega Lucia’s process. They will always be essential to her work. “I still love finding old pieces I can deconstruct and redesign or repurpose materials like bedsheets, table runners, scarves, and pillowcases into something completely new.”
“She used her Mother’s old sewing machine and needed a new one so we bought it, she used to pin the clothes on herself so we bought her a dressmakers mannequin,” says father Zane Albury, no stranger to small business ownership, as a world famous fishing charter captain, sustainability has been the family MO for decades.
Albury has always advocated for limits on the number of fish humans extract from the sea and favored sustainable methods. Albury household has been a home based industry. A company making upcycled clothing, grounded in sustainable practices seems like a solid path forward.
ADD ON: Understanding Sustainable Fashion, to combat Fast Fashion
Definition of Fast Fashion & Links
By definition, ‘Fast fashion is an approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing. It emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers (Merriam-Webster, 2023).’
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that fast fashion negatively affects the environment. This impact involves both the production aspect of textiles and the disposal side. The EPA documented that in 2018 more than 11.3 million tons of clothing and textiles were thrown away (Environmental Protection Agency, 2018). It is widely accepted that fast fashion contributes to massive environmental degradation. Discarded synthetic items pile up in landfills. They fail to biodegrade.
- Mitigating Trendy Cheap Fast Fashion’s Negative Impact
- 10 Coolest Upcycling Brands To Have On Your Radar – V Magazine
- The Importance of Supporting Emerging Fashion Talent — Ruth MacGilp
- Social Media Marketing Specialist
Leave a Reply