"Confident, Unique, Sexy: Aidah Collection: Aidah Fontenot dishes on where her versatile collection and muse will take her"
By Kristina Hernandez
On Tap Magazine
May, 2009
Transplanted California girl Aidah Fontenot imports the sunshine and bright colors from the West Coast into her beautiful and versatile collections. She's been making her own clothes since grade school and now has her own D.C.-based fashion line. With her dazzling smile and engaging personality Aidah embodies her tagline: be unique, be confident, be sexy. She makes each piece individually to order and hand paints her signature design onto the clothes, giving her clients something different and beautiful every time.
On Tap: Describe the concept of your designs.
Aidah: I want every woman, no matter what her size or shape is - I make everything from petite to plus size - to feel confident and to feel sexy in what they are wearing. I want it to be effortless. I use stretch fabrics, my clothes are super comfortable, easy to dress up or dress down.
On Tap: What inspires you?
Aidah: Everything I do is inspired by nature and natural elements. When I moved here from San Diego it was kind of a culture shock for me since it's so urban here, it's not the beach, so my expression changed when I came here. It is now a balance of the natural and the urban chic.
On Tap: What is unique about your collections?
Aidah: All of my patterns and designs are simple. I just pay attention to the way a woman is shaped. The woman makes the clothes rather than the clothes making the woman.
On Tap: Have your designs been influenced by the recession?
Aidah: It isn't particularly because of the recession, but I think a lot of designers over-price their clothing, so my dresses and other clothes are very reasonably priced to stay competitive. To be able to dress the everyday woman is my philosophy.
On Tap: Favorite item in your own closet?
Aidah: The Brooke dress from my collection because it's extremely versatile. I wear it around the house and then I can just put on a belt and heels and I'm out the door.
On Tap: Who would you want to dress if you had the chance?
Aidah: Michelle Obama! I thought since she's the First Lady, she'd be conservative and not want to wear my stuff, but it would go so perfectly on her and fit her so perfectly.
On Tap: Where will your collections to be in the next few years?
Aidah: I'm now working on my men's collection. It will be available in the fall and will be loungewear for men: turtlenecks, t-shirts, lounge pants.
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"Washingtonian Magazine Designer Spotlight: Aidah Collection"
By McLean Robbins
May 04, 2009
What happens when a classically trained artist and photographer gets an itch for something different? She seeks out a new medium. Or at least that’s what happened in the case of Aidah Fontenot, a 26-year-old artist turned fashion designer based on Capitol Hill. In [spring] 2008, Fontenot launched Aidah Collection, a clothing line that combines shapes for women of all sizes with bold colors and hand-painted accents, including her signature swirls and spirals.
"My clothes are designed for real women with real figures," she says. Each piece is hand-crafted to flow around the body, which means there are no zippers, buttons, or clasps. Instead, the clothes are adjusted with ties or belts.
Fontenot grew up in San [Diego]. By the time she was 15, her artwork had been exhibited in the San Diego Museum of Art and the Centro Cultural in Tijuana, Mexico, as well as several private venues. The next year, she began her first fashion endeavor, Aidah Designs. While studying photography and graphic design at the San Diego School for the Performing Arts and San Diego State University, she made clothing for friends and family. Although she counts a few designers as inspirations (Narciso Rodriguez and Carolina Herrera among them) she says that her background as an artist encourages her to seek new inspiration in everyday surroundings. Eventually, Fontenot hopes to expand her collection to a small gallery space, where she can focus not only on her clothing but also on her paintings, photographs, and mixed-media art. Many big-name designers release seasonal collections, but Fontenot unveils just a few pieces at a time. New spring items show soft blue, buttercup yellow, and slate gray, blended effortlessly into a natural palate. Her modern take on a jumpsuit - a shorts-and-shirt combination that ties at the waist or around the bust is one of her unique creations this season.
When asked what she thinks the First Lady would choose from her collection, Fontenot laughs: She has already made outfits for Michelle Obama and daughters Malika and Sasha she's just waiting for the right opportunity to deliver them. After all, what better way to launch her line into the national spotlight?
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"Aidah Collection Unveiling at Ibiza Nightclub"
by Alexandra Varipapa
The Georgetowner Newspaper
May 28th, 2008
Aidah Collection, a new fashion line by Aidah Fontenot, includes clingy, body conscious dresses in neutral colors, mostly dusty pinks and greens. Aidah's fashion show, started with casual day dresses in muted colors and moved to dresses that would be more appropriate for cocktails after work, ending with a long red satin gown. The highlight of the line was a green kimono inspired dressed that was cinched at the waist with a black lace ribbon that would be great day to night.
The majority of the pieces are made with a stretch cotton jersey. The pieces can fit anywhere from a size two model to a size 10 or 12. "It just happened that way," Aidah Said. "I studied a woman's body and made the clothing so that it would be flattering for everyone."
Aidah, who is from San Diego, was inspired by nature and the surroundings in that area. The pieces are done in subtle and natural colors that enhance, instead of compete with, a woman's natural beauty. Aidah, who used to be a graphic designer, designed the patterns and graphics that are on just about all of her pieces. They were organically inspired, and are oftentimes hand painted on.
"I wanted to do something that was relaxed but that you could still feel great in," Aidah said. "You can sleep in it and still be comfortable."
Aidah is shopping for boutiques to sell her line and has a new website starting up from which you can place an order. She also wants to get into yoga and loungewear and men's wear as well, starting with ties.
