RIGEFIELD resident Ashley Alt suffered from postpartum depression when she gave birth to her son seven years ago, whom she says she no longer cares for on her own.
According to her, it was precisely this depression that prompted her to launch her fashion brand, which aims to improve the mental health of women.
"I took off my big t-shirts and my boxers. I didn't do what I usually do, hair, make-up, dress, because that was my job (model and agency job)" , says Alt, married and mother of two children.
Launched in May, the Alt VALT clothing line is a luxury apparel brand grounded in positive mental health. Since then, VALT has featured twice at New York Fashion Week, with plans to introduce it to other US markets this year, including Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago. Consisting primarily of silk and cotton coats and scarves, the brand can be purchased on Instagram @valtbrand or at valtshop.com.
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"I want women to feel important and wear what they want, be who they want to be, say what they mean," she said.
"Run from the truth."
Alt sources all fabrics, materials and finishes for its designs from the Garment District, a fashion hub in midtown Manhattan. Then Emily Hiro, a Manhattan seamstress, does all the work by hand.
One of Alt's goals is to design fashionable dresses for women to wear while waiting for a hysterectomy, an idea that stems from recent personal experience.
“I had a mammogram last week and they gave me a waffle maker to sit in the waiting room. We were 10 or 11 women and we all sat in front of the waffle maker. Alt, who has a showroom in his Ridgefield home studio, said those places can be scary.
"I saw them all in waffle skirts and they looked so sad," she said. "I want to replace it with something that makes women feel beautiful and feminine when they're scared."
She also designs what she calls "event wear," kimono robes that can be worn as a feather duster over tops and jeans or worn outside of the shower as a bathrobe.
He also makes women's clothes in his spare time.
"When you walk into a hotel room and you're dressed in a fluffy white robe…(it makes you) physically detached from reality."
She also makes beach blankets that women can wear when lounging by the pool.
He said he got the idea to make the silk scarf that was left over from the kimono.
"Most of them are sold through exhibitions held by various boutiques and salons," he said.
"Wear what you want."
Walt grew up in Ohio and previously worked at the Chicago Academy of Performing Arts, teaching modeling techniques to students and coordinating photo shoots and commercials with coaches and photographers.
She worked closely with local designers and catwalk models to manage various women's boutiques.
He learned how to start a business by taking courses and doing research.
There were just different fashion courses, sustainability courses to understand market gaps (and understand what niche you wanted to fill). That's what got me out of postpartum depression: listening to motivational podcasts and reading self-help books. I wanted to turn [my interest in fashion] into something with a purpose that could make me money.
She said on ALT that she wants other women to know their life is worth living no matter what.
Her fashion advice is to wear what you want, not what current trends suggest.
"Stay true to your beauty and wear what you love," she said. "If you like going to a thrift or thrift store and buying things…do what makes you feel good."
You don't have to wear all black or white to be "chic," she added.
"You're allowed to have a little purple here, a little orange there, life is too short to be too serious," she said.
Ideally, he says, he would like to have his own store, as well as see his brand at select resorts in the United States and beyond.
"I love being in small resorts…and I love being in souvenir shops where people can go and buy a nice souvenir and remember the good times they had at their luxury resort or during their vacation," she said. he said.
