Rory Worby: A Fashion Artist
It’s almost become cliché to hear in fashion… “OMG! She’s an artist!” In the case of Rory Worby, it’s true. To simply call one of Rory Worby’s scarves, caftans, dresses, pillows or kimonos a “garment” or a “pillow” is doing it an injustice. Each piece is hand crafted into a one-of-a-kind work of… well… art. The creative force behind every piece coming out of her studio is none other than Rory Worby herself. She hand stretches, hand paints, hand washes & finishes every piece that bears her label. No two are the same, even when she’s trying to make a matched set. Her artistic interpretation and the nature of the materials themselves, yield wholly unique outcomes each time. A Rory Worby creation truly blurs the lines between fashion and fine art. Her studio and her current collection represent the culmination of her fashion-forward vision gained from twenty-five years in the apparel industry, as well as her formal training as an artist. Rory studied studio art and illustration before landing in NYC’s garment center, where she ran a studio of over 50 artists, hand painting fabric for both apparel and home furnishings.
Her work has graced the runways of some of fashion’s most iconic designers – Halston, Mary McFadden, Anne Crimmins and Sassoon to name but a few. Today, in her own namesake studio, Rory is personally responsible for the entire creative process. Each piece is a one-of-a-kind work of art inspired by nature. She starts by pre-washing finest grade silks to ensure a soft hand. Then, just like an artist’s canvas, they are stretched on a frame and hand-painted using environmentally friendly dyes applied with Japanese sumi brushes, non-toxic water-based resist, and natural sea salt. The colors are fixed by a steaming process, then re-washed to extract any remaining dye. The fabrics are then ready for their final transformation into finished garments and pillows. Rory uses a sewer located in Stamford, CT who is an Afghan refugee who fled the country with her family to avoid Taliban retribution. She has brought her lifelong, honed skills in hand sewing from her homeland to our shores and now constructs every piece that bears the Rory Worby Studio label. The collaboration yields results in both detail and fabrication that rival the finest details of couture. Her latest honor is being selected as a finalist in the Fashion Group International’s prestigious “Rising Star Awards” in the category of “Scarves and Fashion Jewelry.” She’s winning applause and accolades (and sales) from many of the industry’s insiders and we’d love the opportunity to have her story be told to your readers. A fun final tid-bit… Rory Worby’s first venture in fashion was during high school, when she used to paint t-shirts and sell them on the beach in Fire Island. Creativity was in Rory’s blood from the start!
Here is her website: www.roryworby.com