Meet Kimberly Ring | Fashion Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kimberly Ring and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kimberly, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Unconditional love. Briana Shanée taught me that. Leading with love so that every step of my brand, business, and experience is sharing my best self and showing up with love. There is so much negative in the world that my main idea of success is fostering environments where people can love themselves, their lives, and see great examples of unconditional love. And living a life of luxury. I’d be lying if i said living a soft, easy life as beautifully captured by some of my favorites ItsAshForde, HisFortuneTeller, and TrapezoidMouth is not topping my list of success landmarks. Following Chantal (TrapezoidMouth) really shaped what my ideas of success and living are as she is vocal about creating a private life for herself to enjoy the fruits of her labor. She is definitely one of my top inspirations in life. So, I’ll know I am successful when everyday I wake up in love with myself and the life I have created.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I needed to create clothes for myself, the people who inspire me, and the people who look up to me. In finding my passion. I distinctly remember sitting in my aunt’s kitchen and discussing the limited high-fashion or luxury brands for plus-sized women with intentional business practices, so I wanted to create it. I wanted a space so I decided to work towards it. Also, it brings me joy and in the words of Abraham Hicks, joy and pleasure are great achievements in life, so I continue to pursue it. The final push was finding workshops and resources that helped me trust in myself and my calling enough to go chase it. So with all of that, Le Bague was born. It is currently a resale shop for up-cycled pieces I have created and an alterations business to help people love the clothes they are in, but I am working to release a Ready to Wear collection that plays into the fun, feminine energy I have been experiencing and inspired by lately. I am also working on a product that will revolutionize self-care routines and I am extremely excited to share what I have been developing.

Outside of Le Bague, I work as a model and travel agent. A large part of my drive in creating these businesses is to translate my standards into business practices. I have worked for a number of companies with huge names and histories behind them but little focus on execution or attention to detail. So I like to remind people of the benefits of human interaction and building a community. If you ask my family, they would probably tell you it is because I like being in charge and doing everything my way. I suppose it is a matter of the chicken or the egg.

My business has been focused thus far on upcycling, thrifting, and re-working one’s closet. From that foundation, I am creating a space for people to develop long term relationships with their garments. I pull designs, techniques, and practices from recycled pieces and each piece I pick up from the thrift store acts as a textbook, teaching me new styles, techniques, fabrics, stitches, etc. Additionally, learning to sew in this way impacted my understanding of quality and craft. Using pre-owned pieces as garment patterns, inspiration, or instruction exposes the quality of a garment, especially when considering where it will end up in 20 years. WithWendy on Youtube played a huge role in my understanding of how to make the most of my resources and practicing new techniques with those resources.

All of these factors play into my decision making with textiles, manufacturers, and collections. While not every piece will be made from pre-owned garments, every piece will be made with the quality to last a lifetime. That is a huge lesson I have taken from building this business and my brand. To me, having a positive impact on the world can be as simple as taking lessons and knowledge from the past to enhance our current experience. The people who came before us did not work as hard as they did to survive, all for us to ignore their work and the knowledge that came from it! Again, it’s really making the most of your resources.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
To start off the trip, I would definitely be planning a visit to my favorite nail tech LoungebyLayla in Allen for mani-pedis, followed immediately by a museum date. It’s always best to start a trip with a bit of self-care and I absolutely love spending time at the DMA and the Perot so getting to share that with a friend is a must. When hungry throughout the week, we’d visit Drake’s in Highland Park, Georgie at Knox Henderson, Il Bracco in Preston Center, Hibiki in Deep Ellum, Hudson House in Lakewood for happy hour and dessert in Plano. The name on the dessert one is a bit x-rated so I’ll let you do your own research 😉 Our nights would range from drinks at Truck Yard, Whiskeys, or Strangeways to dancing at TMC, RoundUp, or It’ll Do Club. To keep dancing, I would take them to a class at Zensual in Richardson for fitness, creativity, and fun. We’d do a little shopping of course but I am a rollercoaster freak so I’d force them at some point to spend the day at Six Flags. To send them off, I’d take them for brunch at Dream Cafe or for coffee at La Reunion in Bishop Arts District.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to shoutout my family, the people who have been through my lowest points and still choose to love me every day. Anthonys, Hunter, Nicole my sisters, my elders, my mom and aunt especially as they built my foundation for sewing. Also shoutout to all those who know they are the bomb- keep lighting it up.

Website: www.etsy.com/shop/LeBague

Instagram: @lebague.handmade