Big news this week from Washington’s trendiest redheads, Erin Derge and Kristen Swenson: They’re closing their U Street boutique, Ginger Root Design, next month.
Considering the role these two have played in Washington’s fashion community—particularly for eco-friendly clothing and tailoring—it came as surprising and sad news. But fear not, lady-tie lovers: Ginger Root isn’t actually going anywhere. Here’s what the girls had to say:
“We have realized that we can’t do it all. We finally acknowledged that we would have to choose between being retail store owners or being clothing designers and tailors,” Swenson said in a press release. She added that running the boutique left the duo with little time to focus on designing clothing, so they had to choose between keeping the upstairs tailoring studio or the store. The verdict: “Our hearts are telling us that we want to be clothing designers.”
Which means the studio is staying open—and its owners will design a
full collection of sustainable apparel, slated to debut this summer. The
duo say they’re thrilled to return to the design side, and hope to show
people that eco-friendly mustn’t equal crafty and that “modern
tailoring can blend those lines between traditional tailoring and
clothing design.”
The boutique’s three-year run will end mid-May,
after which you can expect more Ginger Root-hosted events, like last
weekend’s launch party for Jennifer Jeremias’s
jewelry. And after the collection’s
launch, you’ll be able to snag Ginger Root’s
designs at the tailoring shop or online. We can’t wait to see what the
pair come up with.
