Trinity is home to incredibly inspiring individuals and we are lucky enough to have strong relationships with our alumni. I recently spoke with Fashion Designer Camilla Bradley, Class of 1999, to chat about everything from monograms to martinis.
Can you please provide some background biographical information about who you are and what C.K. Bradley is? How did you get the idea to start C.K. Bradley?
CKB is a preppy lifestyle brand that started on Trinity’s campus in 1999. It quickly grew to be in over 400 boutiques with several CKB shops in fun places to visit. I grew up in NYC, went to Columbia University for 3 years before transferring to trin trin…The idea was easy…having come from NYC and Columbia, I was one of the few perspires on campus, and upon arrival to Trinity, I was one in a sea of monograms and popped collars. I HATED not standing out, so I started sewing ribbon belts at the Hall for fun in colors nobody had ever seen (preppy was NOT in style at the time, but as we all know…it never goes out of style). Lilly was out of biz, but people still had vintage Lilly, so different preppy clothes and accessories were not easy to find. Back then the LL Bean tote was a staple along with Gucci loafers and cashmere cable knits…BORING….THUS, I began hot gluing and sewing. Literally, and people wanted to buy the clothes off my back. It was a no brainer…
How has your brand changed from what you originally envisioned it to be over the years?
As soon as preppy became mainstream, it was no longer inspiring to me…so original and fun was the way the brand evolved. I think the brand has evolved as I have evolved, but ultimately, it is not about a style, but a feeling…and that feeling is contagious when i get it right…and the idea that clothes can make you DO things, and FEEL things is what gets me going, and always has. I may have wanted my clothes to make you skip or climb a tree in your ballgown or do the unexpected…and I STILL want that, but I don’t go around skipping in my ball skirt anymore (especially when 8 months pregnant…although I can’t say I haven’t tried!). The brand is still about infusing inspiration and playfulness in any way shape or form.
What or who inspires your fashion?
My mom who died when I was 2, BUT left me an incredible wardrobe and pictures of how to wear it (My warehouse in RI pays homage to a lot of her stuff). Also, architecture….I am more interested in shape and form than I am fashion.
How does setting (from the campus of Trinity College to New York City t Newport, RI) influence your designs?
The students inspire me at Trinity STILL….and I actually have a FAVORITE customer who is a freshman this year (I plan on secret design collaborations with her for the rest of you!) And New York City and Newport are just my local haunts…I know that parties, and I know what I design makes people stand out…it is never about trend or fashion, but form, fun, and doing the unusual in an addictive way.
What advice do you have for aspiring entrepreneurs and current Trinity students?
There is NOTHING you can’t accomplish…I LOVE the quote: If you can CONCEIVE it and truly BELIEVE it, you can ACHIEVE it. Not sure who said it, but I live by it. If you are inspired, that is 1/2 the recipe for success. So do what inspires…and the rest will come. Create your own class (I could do this my senior year…I think you probably still can?) This is a GREAT opportunity to really follow a path that you create, and sets you apart. Go abroad! Getting a taste of other culture can breed the most incredible concepts, ideas and inspirations, and make you realize what is beyond the little cocoon we live in.
What is your favorite design to date?
I couldn’t begin to answer this….
Do you have a signature design touch?
I don’t do black. To me life is about color and reinventing the rules. And just like I love the unexpected in life, the unexpected in clothing i love too…linings of jackets being bold and unexpected, the backs of dresses – reeling in attention from behind…and hiding my initials in all the prints in design so that you can’t really tell that it is not part of the print.
Does your own personal style ever influence your designs? If so, how?
Absolutely! I wanted a super sexy 70’s Bond girl ski outfit that didn’t give me camel toe and smell like the 1970’s, so I started Apres by CK Bradley…I wanted pom pom hats that weren’t hand me downs from the cedar closet riddled with moth balls…so I made them with detachable pom poms so you could go fur, or yarn pom – or just perform a trick at Apres between shot skis and wings…my life is my design…(They are coming soon with fun things like Devils, Elephants drinking martinis, ski bunnies, antlers…and the list goes on)