Ones to watch: Ace & Jig’s reinventing the wheel, one stripe at a time

Cary Vaughan and Jenna Wilson, the faces behind the Ace & Jig name, seem to be doing things a little bit differently—and we like that. Their Ace & Jig line is still in its early years, but Vaughan and Wilson are no freshmen in the fashion world; their premier line, LaROK, exploded onto the scene in the late noughties with super-trendy looks most commonly sported by the MTV crowd. (Read: kind of cute, but mostly tacky.) Starting LaROK, however, gave them the cred to move forward, which they’ve done with Ace & Jig—in many ways the antithesis to the fast-paced game over-styling and uber-trends.

Their four collections have been centered around textiles that are yarn-dyed and woven from scratch, and have been painstakingly chosen by the girls, who are self-described “textile obsessed.” Vaughan and Wilson borrow ideas and inspiration from flea-market finds and far-away travels, so their woven textiles can look like antique French linen and Japanese Boro quilts. Each item they create is made from a striped pattern, something they hoped would both identify and unify their collections, and so far it’s been doing the job.

We aren’t the only ones who’ve caught the Ace & Jig bug. Gen Art, an arts organization that showcases fresh new designer talent, helped the girls get their styles on the runway for the first time on September 9 of this year. Select styles are also being sold in Madewell locations, which is sure to give them some serious demand. Vancouver’s One of a Few is the only shop to peep these designs, and a list of online shops can be found at their website, aceandjig.com.

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