Bringing Passion to the Runway: An Interview with Inner Be Leaf
Fashion brand Inner Be Leaf has inspired countless audiences with breathtaking designs. Having shown at a number of runway shows— including New York Fashion Week, DC Fashion Week, and International Digital Fashion Week—Inner Be Leaf continues to spread their passionate art made for everyday life. To learn more about Inner Be Leaf’s story of success, we sat down with Savita Gilbert—the designer and founder of Inner Be Leaf—for an in depth Q&A.
Q: What are the characteristics of the Inner Be Leaf customer? Who is your customer?
Gilbert: Our customer is the influencer woman. We define an influencer woman as any woman with a dream. When she expresses her Inner Be Leaf, we are there to dress her for success! While our brand is not age or size specific, many of our current customers are doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, influencers, stylists, media personalities, artists, and athletes; they are mostly all women with a passion for what they do.
Q: How do you want customers to feel when wearing your designs?
Gilbert: It is our cherished goal that the wearer of an Inner Be Leaf garment not only feels dressed for success, but also feels a great sense of purpose. One of the first things a woman expresses to the world as she lives her mission, is how she presents herself through what she is wearing— her brand, if you will. We want to celebrate the story she tells the world. That’s why we have a line of nature-inspired clothing for her to draw inspiration from.
Q: What are the key elements of your latest collection?
Gilbert: Some items in our collection have textiles with original watercolor art. Other items are made of stretch floral lace. Yet others are made of bandage fabric in solid colors, with subtle nature-inspired elements. This season we have black, white, red, silver, blue and pink on our color palette.
Q: Your brand is nature inspired. What elements of nature are you most drawn to when designing for your brand?
Gilbert: We are a brand that is proud to be based in the nation’s capital. Washington, D.C. is a city that has four beautiful seasons and an iconic spring. We will always have at least one cherry blossom-inspired item in our spring collection. Most of our designs and prints cull from the flora, fauna, resplendent landscape of the mid-Atlantic, and the colorful skies of the Chesapeake Bay area.
Q: You are also a watercolor artist. When did you start watercolor painting? What do you enjoy most about watercolor art?
Gilbert: I have been a watercolor artist since the age of fourteen. It’s easy for an artist to feel hesitant to express talent publicly, which was my story at the time. Years later that I read the words of philosopher Daisaku Ikeda that simply said, “Art is intended to lift the human spirit.” These words caused the script to flip in my heart. Instead of being hesitant to share my art, I began to share my art because I wanted to bring joy to others. It gave my art purpose—this is what I enjoy most. As I began to share more, local art galleries in the State of Maryland began to display my art. Inner Be Leaf clothing has my art and made its way to New York and DC runways. I also love to celebrate the beauty of Washington DC springtime through my watercolors.
Q: Is there anything that we haven’t covered that you would like to tell our readers?
Gilbert: On our website https://innerbeleaf.com a customer can also search for clothing by flower. If they don’t find that flower, we will custom make that dress with the desired flower print at the same cost.
Image Credits:
Photos by Dawn Brooks, designs by Inner Be Leaf
Models: Kortney Love, Alexis Zurdo , Stephanie Baltrus, Lauren Hicock, Midun Maameyaa
