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Thursday, May 17, 2012

FASHION

Leotard-Like Knitwear We Actually Want to Wear

Growing up as a competitive gymnast in Atlanta, Caroline Hust spent much of her day in a leotard. When an injury forced her to withdraw from the sport, Hust probably believed she had retired the uniform for good. But last fall, her collection of knit playsuits, inspired by the humble tumbling mat romper, won her $10,000 plus a mentorship with Kate Spade New York Creative Director Deborah Lloyd as part of the Elle magazine "Fashion Next" competition for emerging designers.

Caroline Hust

Caroline Hust

Caroline Hust's knitwear collection

Admittedly, the knitwear designer chose the playsuit as the unifying silhouette for her senior collection at Rhode Island School of Design for it's form-hugging lines. And it was these figure-enhancing silhouettes, plus the precision of the complicated knit patterning combined with the bold color blocking and stripes, that wowed the judges.

Caroline Hust

Since her graduation in almost a year ago, Hust has been living in New York and working as a design coordinator for sleepwear at Victoria's Secret Pink. "In my free time, I'm still knitting my own designs," she says. "I have a little studio set up in my room of my apartment with my knitting machine at my yarn. She's also collaborated on mini collections with friends: "We've worked on creating knitted oversized sweaters, underwear, socks and of course more playsuits experimenting with structure, pattern and color."

Caroline Hust

Caroline Hust

Hust, who sees herself owning her own knitwear company in five years or less, often spends time on eBay. "I'm on a continuous quest for the perfect yarn!" she says. Having long been inspired by traditional textile patterns of men's suiting from the '30's and '40's, as well as the female silhouette of the '50s, Hust also trolls eBay for samples and vintage patterns. "I used to pour over the samples from the Costume and Textile Collection at the RISD Museum that were available to me while I was a student," she says.  Now she can search eBay. "My best purchase by far is my Brother knitting machines and ribber attachment. I would be lost without it."

Her current eBay wish list runs the gamut from knitting materials to R&B music to "anything with chickens on it."

1-2: "Vintage and high-waisted pants, skirts, shorts plus oxford lace-ups... This is my uniform."

  • 3. Brother Knitting Machine

    3. Brother Knitting Machine

    "My best purchase by far is my Brother knitting machines and ribber attachment. I would be lost without it."

"My best purchase by far is my Brother knitting machines and ribber attachment. I would be lost without it."

4-7: "It's good fun to see what's out there [for knitting]. As a knitwear designer, I love experimenting with materials I'm drawn to—in particular, good quality yarn."

8-11: "My family has a house in the North Georgia mountains with a beautiful vegetable and flower gardens.  I can't hide my southern roots. I love anything with chickens on it."  

12: "I'm a sucker for R&B classics.  They keep me in a good mood."

(photo credits: Catherine Asanov)

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