‘People want to know where their clothes are made’: Aurora Factory Fashion is bringing local styles home

Four designers are currently involved in Factory Fashion’s small batch manufacturing initiative. The tailoring students are trained in skills from basics to couture to produce the garments. Lisa Rumford Elston, one of the factory’s instructors, explained that the program allows local designers to participate in an important “locally made” project.

“They want ‘Made in Colorado,’ and it’s like farm-to-table or the beer industry,” says Rumfjord Elston. “People want to know where their clothes are made. And if we can say they’re made here in Denver and Colorado, it’s going to be fun to see that happen.”

Hart van Denbvurg / CPR News

Hart van Denbvurg / CPR News

Ramfjord Elstun is an award-winning bride and lingerie couturier who has worked on this idea for the past eight years, so she was thrilled when Barker Ma asked her to join the program.

“I’d love to have all the experience levels to work with,” said Rumfjord Elston. And the faster we get to higher-level skills, the faster we can bring in more designers.

And the clothes they make are as diverse as the people in Colorado. Around the bright space, there are rows of sewing machines, workbenches and sergers, waiting for the next batch of artists to get to work.

Norberto Mojardin, one of the designers working with Factory Fashion, says the program is more than an opportunity to grow his own business. The Mexican-born designer’s work draws inspiration from various Latino cultural elements, and he also owns Beto Hair Studio.

“It opens doors not only for myself, but for my community, for designers, for our youth, our children — but also adults — who don’t consider themselves designers,” Mojardin said. “Oh, I’m just a seamstress, and I always tell them: ‘No, you’re not just a seamstress. You’re a designer, and you can create, and you can do more than you think.’

Barker Ma said the school not only helps people learn how to make clothes, but also how to get their work in front of people who will buy it — it helps them start building a following.

“I think part of the challenges that young designers face, especially when they’re trying to bring their local clothes to market, is that they’re typically driven to LA to source. And so you know, they’re getting into people’s producers who want the lowest they’re going to be. You may want to sell five to 10 pieces or 50 pieces – or less – as a small designer.

Hart van Denbvurg / CPR News

Hart van Denbvurg / CPR News

And Rumfjord Elston says having the opportunity to learn from others and gain experience with the machines can be transformative for new designers… just like Factory Fashion offers.

“Designers really, when they start their line, don’t have access to the kind of equipment or the level of skill that a facility like this has to offer,” says Rumfjord Elston. And we can call on more people to help us here, the staff and designers here.

The program is part of a larger conversation about bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States and re-evaluating business school education.

“What we were able to do and find out during the outbreak was that sewers were and are an important person to be employed in this country,” Rumfjord Elston said. “We didn’t have it. [home economics] 30 years in high schools. The technology to restore advanced manufacturing to the garment industry requires more than a grandpa’s-sewing-machine-at-the-kitchen-table mindset.

And the refined factory fashion is more widespread to attract more people to the industry. It also focuses on the inclusion of immigrant communities and those leaving the prison population.

“You know, we have opportunities for these people to start working and start careers that provide benefits and financial stability,” Barker said.

And Barker Maa has big dreams: She says she dreams that one day the program could help students on their path to citizenship.

“You know, we’re trying to train in a high-skill environment,” Barker said. “So if that’s what you’re looking for, we’re working hard with local nonprofits to provide a path to citizenship and a place to call home. So these things are important in addition to the love of fashion and the joy of what we do. But, I think there’s a lot here that we’re trying to explore.