The Fabric Horse, a darling sewing workshop-cum-boutique in Northern Liberties, may have only opened its doors just this past May, but its eponymous carryall-accessory brand, with its iconic singer-headed horse logo, has been a local favorite for several years. Back in 2002, Carrie Collins, then an employee of R.E.Load Bags, started selling quirky creations of her own design via her personal website. Word of mouth, particularly in praise of her signature bike-lock holster, earned Collins some fashion fame; the enterprise’s growing success eventually warranted a physical space of the company’s own.
The 2nd Street storefront is not only the Fabric Horse’s first retail outpost, but also its sole manufacturing site. Carrie and Alex, her assistant seamstress, make all the available accoutrements on premises, in a laid-back atelier that invites some friendly craftsmanship-voyeurism. One can easily observe the ladies at work with an unassuming peek over the plywood countertops. Behind industrial cast-iron machines, the duo fashion urban-chic accessories from a wide array of fabrics, often juxtaposing quaint, bright-colored patterns with the sort of heavy-duty materials that compose workman’s attire. No doubt hip city-dwellers will be keen on her distinctive flair. It’s hard not to appreciate the way she uses ironically retro mediums to express a thoroughly modern sensibility. Her well-defined aesthetic vision is clearly manifested in the stock pieces readily available for purchase, which include delightfully cheeky fanny packs and utility belts, seatbelt sashes culled from junkyard cars and eco-friendly wallets made out of old vinyl banners. Though the prefabricated items tend to fall neatly within Collin’s vivid stylistic vocabulary, the Fabric Horse encourages shoppers to create a more personal look, customizing any of the standard products by choosing a unique combination of textiles and hues.
All sale offerings aside, the store is worth a visit by its merits as an art gallery alone. The walls are lined with mannequin heads that don zany headdresses, which Collins has been commissioned for or worn herself on various occasions. If you’re lucky enough to attend Collins’ next costume ball, you might get a preview of this dressmaking wunderkind’s next masterpiece.
