For designer Katrin Reifeiss, fashion is about capturing the beauty of color and pattern.

Her simple, yet elegant one-of-a-kind pieces make one feel beautiful and special. She is committed to the things that capture her imagination and spirit such as the dye technique Shibori. The Shibori technique fuels Katrin's passion to handcraft beautiful, artistic patterns with the thoughtfulness of design. Katrin designs for women who want to relate to something about the pieces; one is often drawn to the subtitles and authenticity of her designs. From the dye process to the end product, Katrin loves seeing the pieces she creates come alive.

In 2006, Katrin debuted a hand-dyed skirt called "wrap it baby" and in 2007, created her first full Shibori dyed collection of dresses, skirts and accessories. Currently, Katrin teaches Shibori at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Shibori is a Japanese shaped-resist dye process. To produce the unique designs, the cloth is shaped and then secured in various ways before dyeing. Shibori gives fabric a three-dimensional form by folding, crumpling, stitching, plaiting, or plucking and twisting. Shibori is not tie-dye; with Shibori the dyer works in concert with the materials, to give them full expression.

Spontaneity is the magic of Shibori, made possible by exploiting the beauty of things that happen when dye enters shaped cloth. The Katrin Reifeiss line is exceptional as the patterns are derived from an age old craft, yet the design and style of her line is very contemporary.

Social responsibility — purchase for a purpose

After traveling to Cambodia in 2010, Katrin fell in love with Siem Reap — especially its people and culture. In Siem Reap, Katrin came into contact with The Silk Lab Project, a fair trade, not for profit business, which was set up in 2005 to create social and economical security for disadvantaged women.

Katrin believes in giving back, whether through personal time or funds. Wanting to respond in a positive way to this effort, she created The Silk Lab Scarf Set. 100% of the profit from the sale of this set will benefit The Silk Lab Project.

Handcrafted in Brooklyn, sewn in Manhattan

Katrin does all the Shibori and hand-dyeing and design in Brooklyn, while employing a pattern, sample and production maker in the New York garment district. This is Katrin's effort to offer clothes and accessories with a handcrafted element while also supporting jobs and small businesses in the NYC garment district.