Today we’d like to introduce you to Anika Mckelvey
Hi Anika, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My line started when I had an idea to design a long hoodie that would be stylish and comfortable for when I was traveling. I’ve always had a love for fashion, but I didn’t know much about designing clothes or even how to draw. So I took a 6 month on-line course on how to launch a clothing line. During the time I was designing the hoodie, I went to see a doctor about my varicose veins. My veins weren’t a medical issue, but I wanted to improve the look of my legs. I was told that since I travel a lot, I should wear compression garments and that would help them from getting worse as well as to improve overall circulation. That’s when it all clicked and I realized there was an opportunity to merge the comfort of loungewear with gentle compression. So I started with the idea of designing one hoodie that quickly evolved into a whole line of compression and non-compression pieces. I’ve been working on my brand for 2 1/2 years and finally launched last week. LAS stands for Land, Air, Sea which also represents my children Landon, Ariana and Siena.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I don’t want to define it as smooth or not smooth. It has been a journey and I have learned so much about the fashion industry and about myself. This is an amazing chapter in my life and I embrace all the opened doors and bumps in the road. But yes there has been some challenges like all businesses go through. One of my biggest challenges was working with the manufacturers on how to get the compression sleeves attached to other fabrics because some of my compression pieces only have compression in the sleeves. Compression is typically used in activewear and medical garments, so blending it seamlessly into soft, breathable loungewear required a lot of trial and error, but we finally did it. Beyond the technical aspects , there were also the typical challenges of starting a new clothing line and business. Like fabric sourcing, administrative duties and work/life balance.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about LAS Travel Loungewear ?
LAS stands for Land, Air, Sea, which also represents my children Landon, Ariana and Siena. My line is a reflection of my personal style and life. I designed this line with me in mind. I like getting dressed up, but anyone that knows me knows that I love to wear casual clothing most days, but in a stylish and put together way. I also love to travel with my family. So that’s what I did, I created pieces that only look good, but feels food and comfortable.I wanted to create something you could wear all day long whether you are you running errands, driving your kids 4 hours to a soccer tournament , relaxing at home or traveling around the world. What sets me apart from most brands is that I brought 2 worlds together. Most loungewear brands focuses on softness and comfortability and most performance brands focuses on compression, but I bridged the gap. What I am most proud of is that I didn’t give up on my vision. I was met with some people that doubted that is could be done, I did too sometimes when the prototype didn’t come back the way I wanted it. But I kept trying and I love the final results.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
I love connecting with people. I would love to collaborate with fellow designers, influencers and creative minds that align with my vision, whether that’s co-designing a piece or partnering on travel-friendly fashion content. In fact at my launch event, I met so many creative minds that I will be doing something with in the future. As well as I am raffling off the opportunity to have my next addition to my brand named after the lucky winner so they will be apart of the LAS legacy. My pop up is open the whole month of February for people to come in and see and try on my line and enter the reaffle. Spreading the word would be the best way for anyone that wants to support me, as well as wearing my brand and giving me feedback to grow and improve. Every message, every tag, every story of how my designs have made travel or daily life more comfortable truly means the world to me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lasloungewear.com
- Instagram: @lasloungewear
- Facebook: Las Loungewear
- LinkedIn: Las Loungewear
Image Credits
Luccia Lowenthal
Frantz Photography
Erik Kellar
