Last month I had the opportunity to visit one of the top spas in the United States. While there, I needed to pick up a few things to wear at the pool and I fell in love with the SITA Couture brand. When I asked the Spa Director for more information, I learned that SITA Couture was one of the hottest up and coming resort apparel companies in Los Angeles.

The company was founded by former dancer and model, Sita Thompson. It’s styles are inspired by Sita’s unique life experience. She was raised on an organic farm with both Mexican and Native heritage. As was custom, she learned to sew as a young girl, and at 11 years old started making her own patterns. At the age of 17, she moved to Paris to begin a career in fashion. For the next twenty years she traveled around the world, immersing herself in cultures, becoming fluent in several languages, and learning about fabrics. This experience is infused into each unique style. Native weaves, hand loomed in her father’s village, are sewn into the beautiful collection.

This month I had a chance to sit down with Sita at her home in Los Angeles and learn how this fashion powerhouse has built an all star apparel brand in LA that is eco-friendly and gives back to the community.

Why did you start a fashion business?

I never intended to start a fashion business. I had a much bigger vision. My goal was to help the planet and be an inspiration for vibrant health, life abundance, and spirituality. It just so happens that fashion was my vehicle for doing that.

When I started creating apparel, I was actually trying to address challenges that I had with style and fashion.  I’ve always had a strong body. I was never skinny. My frame was a little larger on top and smaller on the bottom. So I was always asking myself, “Am I a small or a large?” Some small dresses were perfect on the bottom, but I couldn’t squeeze into on top. This made me feel really awkward. As I got older, I realized, I couldn’t be the only one having these issues. With all of my experience, I just knew that I could create something that we could feel good in at any given moment.

All of us women feel pressure to look our best, so having styles that “fit well” and help us to feel good, whether it’s in the public eye, or just feeling good about ourselves going out to the grocery store is so important. I started my line with styles that helped solve my fashion dilemmas, but when I shared my clothes with others, the results were remarkable. I started to see that I could really inspire comfort and ease around this often stressful area for women. My inspiration became an obsession to make women everywhere look and feel amazing.

Tell us about SITA Couture…

SITA Couture is a luxury lifestyle brand, based here in Los Angeles. Our line focuses on three aspects for the modern woman: comfort, versatility, and sensuality. Clients include women from all walks of life, who want to feel as good as they look. Our customers find us at the top luxury resorts, spas, and yoga studios around the world like The Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton, and Destination Hotels or at our website www.sitacouture.com.

There are three reasons women really love the line. First, I’m a big fan of comfort, and love finely constructed pieces that travel well. As a result, many of our dresses are lined for extra ease and support. We have built in shelves and elasticated straps to take away the need for bras in lieu of breast freedom. We have hand crocheted belts, cutwork lace details, and beautiful hand weaves built into our collections. Second, everything in our collection goes together with everything else. That means almost every top goes with every bottom. The line has been designed to mix and match. That’s a big deal for women. We need to have options! This makes our line so much easier for gals on the go. Third, many pieces in our line have been designed to wear in different ways. For example, a tunic as a mini – or – a coverup as a dress.

What’s at the core of SITA Couture as a brand?

Sustainability is what is important to me. To be cruelty free, manufacture locally,  empower the economy, inspire the youth,  and produce with  sustainable/ recycled fabrics that are traced to the source. I want our customers to know what they’re wearing and how it was produced.

Simultaneously, we are very cause centric. We support Women Against Child Trafficking and are passionate about educating and raising awareness around breast health. We design all of our pieces with breast health in mind.

Why are these things important to you?

Because it’s just who I am. It’s how I was raised. I grew up on the land with these principles. I am absolutely committed to integrating these values into our company culture and operating standards. When I’m not working on the line, I travel around the world educating, lecturing, and blogging about health, life abundance, and sustainability.

Where else did your inspiration come from?

I’ve been inspired by my travels around the world and a variety of era’s. My grandmother was a beauty queen in the 50’s. My mom a hippie in the 70’s. My dad is an organic farmer down in Mexico.  I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, went to college in Europe, and a few years later moved to India.

This unique upbringing gave me a lot of exposure to amazing style and art around the world. I studied the craftsmanship and  fashion everywhere I lived. I learned the intricate details of how people designed and wore their clothes around the globe. I studied the

colors, the drapes, and histories. What I’ve done with SITA Couture is combine everything I’ve learned into a line that makes women feel amazing. When you look deep, you are sure to find something for “every-body”.

What is one thing that you learned in Europe, India, and Mexico that have made your life and line  what it is today?

Having lived in each of these places for years of my life, I genuinely believe that the world is my home.

When I was in Europe from late teens to early 20s,  what I really learned was structure, shape, and garment construction. Structure breeds confidence for both the creator of the garment and the one wearing it.  My years in Europe were all about self discovery and structure. I love all things Europe. I love how most people speak a variety of languages, are well read, and generally so versatile. Having the chance to live there, studying languages and interning in fashion was definitely an exciting and adventurous time. I constantly revert back to my European structure with each collection!

India was all about glamour and elegance.  I learned about draping in India. My name is Sita who is Ram’s wife in the Hindu religion. I was named by the well known western guru Baba Ram Das when I was a baby. Fast forward 25 years later living in Mumbai, it’s true that having the name of an Indian goddess is kind of tabu for a westerner in India, but I think my passion to be so involved with everything from classical Indian dance, design, film, and entrepreneurship, allowed India to embrace me with that name. I was even awarded by the former Prime Minister of India for being “American by birth, but Indian by heart and values, and a role model for society”. I had a dance troupe in India and worked as a brand ambassador for multinationals re-launching in the country. . I was obsessed with the Indian textiles and embroidery and incorporated them in all of my costumes, public appearances, and performances. This time in India is when I started seriously working with garment construction and design. I had the a-ha moment  to combine the structure I learned in Europe with the beautiful draping I learned in India to create my first synergistic pieces. They consisted of structure and flow, which gave the women who wore my pieces elegance and confidence. It felt like every piece I created looked amazing on every body. When looking at my line, you can definitely see cuts and names of styles inspired by India!

Mexico is where everything tied together. On a recent trip to see my dad in Michoacan, he took me out to meet with the Indigenous native weavers, and that’s when the breakthrough happened. I was like, “Wow,” these weaves are amazing and I want to share! My dad has been down there farming  full time for the past 30 years. We have a restaurant in the center of the charming pueblo of Uruapan called Los Organicos. On the ranch, he organically farms native corn, quinoa, chia, charcoal, and a variety of other native super foods. His focus is nutrient dense foods, permaculture and environmental preservation.  The local artisans beautiful work from my dads village tell the stories of birth, life, love, and harvest in all of their weaves. Wearing the roots of the story of life is in every stitch of their work. The colors, textures, and designs speak to all of us.” So I decided to work with the natives of the region and incorporate their weaves, their stories, into my line. I felt like I was wearing my roots. Then I thought, “Why can’t everybody wear their roots?!” These are everybody’s roots! It felt like designing their weaves into the line was giving this experience to everybody who wears the line.  It’s been such a thrill to spend more time down there in the last couple of years and start to incorporate the native weaves from the Perwupuche Indians from my dad’s home town. Spring /Summer 2018 is the launch of this story. Everybody

is in love with this collection. You can feel the depth and beauty in every style! Just as amazing is that every piece of clothing sold gives back to the Indigenous people and  helps to support and preserve this artistry.

How has Los Angeles played a role in your business?

L.A. is the fashion and entertainment capital of the world. Everyone looks here first for everything. They watch the movies, television, music videos… this is where they get their fashion sense. At the height of Gucci, Tom Ford, said that his favorite place in the world was Los Angeles because, “Los Angeles was the center of it all”. Los Angeles is the home of diversity and versatility. It’s an international multi-cultural hub of art, film, music and fashion. It’s no accident that everything you just read above would all tie together in the City of Angels!

In addition, LA is home to the best design schools, talent agencies, most talented technicians, videographers, and photographers. I ecture at these design schools. I work with these models. I constantly collaborate with these industry leaders to find inspiration. Los Angeles keeps you on the cutting edge.  We also have amazing apparel manufacturers, making it possible manufacture locally. And because of the diversity of people and cultures here, we are constantly exposed to all kinds of incredible textiles, and new technology.

Of all the places I’ve been in the world, the best place, and perfect place to have my brand is here in Los Angeles.

What does style mean to you?

Style tells our story. It shows the world what we believe in, how we feel about ourselves, and what we aspire to be.

I feel the more confident and comfortable you are in your own style, the more effective you will be in your life. The style that drapes your journey is important … and women suffer over this. What I love most about having an apparel brand is that I get to create looks that feel on the outside, the way I want to feel on the inside…. and share this!

I hear you may be coming out wIth a men’s line this summer…

We have lots of requests for a men’s line, so we’re finally kicking it off. You’ll see a sneak preview of some styles at Style Magazine’s LA Fashion Week. Just like the women’s collection,  the men’s line is starting with a few key staples that will merchandise well with the the rest of a man’s wardrobe.  It’s very exciting!!

Any final thoughts…

Remember that each one of us makes a difference and that every decision we make counts. My hope is that we work together and inspire others to be cruelty free, understand the power of their purchase, and inspire our youth.

Let’s live life to the fullest. Smile big, and love with everything we’ve got!

Special Thanks to:

Photography by Todd Vitti

www.vittiphotography.com

Makeup by Nancy Jambazian

www.nancyjambazian.com

Video by Blair Simon

blairsimonvisuals@gmail.com

Location; West Hollywood

*To watch behind the scene video for this feature

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