Dynasty George: Creating Whimsical & Romantic Timeless Sustainable & Maternity Friendly Dresses With Skilled Artisans

Dynasty George is a slow fashion brand that is ethically made and sustainably sourced while celebrating artisans and craftsmanship.

We spoke with Brooklyn-based designer Dynasty Casanova about her small business, sustainability philosophy and motherhood!

When and why did you start Dynasty George?

I started Dynasty George part time just as a creative outlet. I was working in the fashion industry full time but it wasn't very creative and the corporate workplace was very daunting for me. I realized I had so many school projects sitting at home, clothing I made while I was a student at FIT and I wanted to sell them. So I really started Dynasty George as a way to sell my dresses I made while in school. I would use my instagram, kind of like a tumblr, posting mainly inspiration and aesthetic photos. When I started building a small community online, people would comment on my aesthetic and style. I found the creative outlet I was looking for. During this time I saw the documentary "The True Cost" and it showed me the ugluy truths of the fashion and fast fashion industry. I knew I could create a brand that didn't exploit people, continue to pollute our planet, and was as romantic and whimsical as I am.

How do you define sustainability?

I would define sustainability as not being wasteful and using materials and methods that aren't harmful to the Earth or people. I think the biggest attack against sustainability is pollution. Water pollution, air pollution, textile pollution are all problems we see the fashion industry cause. When we overproduce and pollute too many natural resources, the Earth and the people who rely on it are the ones that suffer. Our landfills are stocked to the brim with textile waste. If we could reuse those garments and fabrics to make fashionable pieces, we could decrease the amount of textiles decaying on our soil. If new textile is used, at least let it be from a natural fiber so it's biodegradable and can be composted.

What are the ways in which your brand is sustainable/ethical?

My brand is ethical because we create small batch production, our garment worker artisans are paid above minimum wage, they work normal hours, and in healthy work conditions. When you do a production run of 500,000 units per style per color, you get an overpopulated factory filled with workers who are underpaid and vastly overworked. Our new factory is small, owned by a husband and wife, woman led, and built with ethics and humanity in mind. I was so honored to work and Facetime with one of the owners through our sample making process. We would Facetime with our sons and had a mutual understanding of the challenges in being a mom and business owner. It made us both very patient with each other and understanding when our sons would jump in or cry during our meetings.

Our brand is sustainably sourced because all of our dresses are 100% cotton, either deadstock saved from landfills or handwoven by Indian artisans. All of the prints are deadstock cotton fabrics, our factory helped us source. The cotton poplin that was handwoven was technically deadstock too, as it was fabric they had already in stock. However, for production we are hiring and paying more artisans to weave the exact amount of cotton we need so there's no overproduction. Our Ophelia dress, which is one of my favorite styles, is going to be one of our rare pieces that will be handwoven by artisans and embroidered in India. The fabric itself is such a labor of love and shows off the true artistry of our company. I hope as our company grows, we can indulge more in working with artisans and amplifying their crafts.

Has being a Black woman inspired your brand? If so, how?

Yes, my culture is a big influence on my style and aesthetic. I am Puerto Rican and Trinidadian and was raised by my Latina mom and grandma. Our apartment was full of plants, vintage floral couches and crochet lace curtains. There's a rustic Caribbean theme within all my styles. My family is from the farmlands of Puerto Rico, which is what we call the "campo," which really resonated with the cottagecore trend. Overall, growing up as a black girl, there was very limited representation of where I saw girls that looked like me. Someone actually commented on one of my photos that they were bullied for "acting white" and dressing in this kind of aesthetic. It made my mission feel so much more important. The message that black people can occupy any space we want. We are not subjected to one kind of clothing style or lifestyle. Black girls should see themselves are Princesses, fairies, madens, hippies, etc. I love seeing Black women takeover the "royalcore" and "cottagecore" aesthetics. It's important we see ourselves represented in all spaces to show people we belong there. I love watching rom coms and movies like The Notebook but it's rare to see Black couples represented in these kinds of love movies. It sends a message like "we don't do that." So when people see Black girls wearing my whimsical dresses it sends the message "Yes, we do this, we belong here. This is our space to occupy."

Has being a new mom inspired your brand? if so, how?

Being a new mom inspired my collection more than I initially realized. All my dresses are maternity friendly, which really wasn't intentional at first. During my pregnancy, I gained the most weight I'd ever have. My son was born 10 lbs, so you can imagine how big I was carrying him and all the extra water, etc. My clothing and style is so important to me, it really is a part of who I am. So, when I couldn't fit in my favorite dresses anymore, it made me really sad honestly. Not wearing my usual clothing made me feel a bit disconnected from myself. So, all our dresses either have elastic above or at the waist or no waistline at all. It makes the styles versatile and allows the clothing to grow with you as you grow through life. Being able to still wear a really cute and unique dress while pregnant or postpartum is so special. It's very important for me that my customer feels beautiful at all times, whether she gained or lost weight, and our designs give each customer that confidence.

What has been the biggest challenge with your business/brand thus far?

I think my biggest challenge has been fear. I was so scared to invest and work on my brand full time. I would also consider it then put my job and other things before my business. I was so scared to invest all my time into and not be successful, Now that I've put in so much time trying to launch it I realized my fears were silly and I wish I would've done it full time earlier. I mean everything happens for a reason and I've learned so much from the initial launch to now. The second is money. I worked with a factory in India so I could have inventory and sell faster. Making each dress from scratch took very long and I wasn't charging enough to make a real profit honestly. So, I hope the Kickstarter I launch in March to fund production is successful so I can produce and sell my dresses at a steady rate.

Where do you hope to see the future sustainable fashion?

I hope we can make more eco-friendly fabrics. I would love to experiment with different kinds of plastics to see what new material we could weave it into. Plastic is very wasteful and ends up too often in our oceans. If we could reuse that plastic, break it down into fibers and weave into fabric, we would save SO many plastic items from entering our oceans. I hope to see less production as well. I would love to see less corporate companies making 500,000 units of one item and more start up / small businesses making 25-200 pieces of one garment. I think it would help fashion be exclusive and unique again. It would help people value their clothing more as well. Instead of buying 50 items that cost $20 each, you will buy less items at a higher price point. You'll be investing in products that aim to eliminate waste and will last you longer.

Spring/ Summer 2021