What does one wear to a dubstep show you ask? All black. How about an Excision show? Definitely all black. Now what about Excision’s inaugural festival, Bass Canyon? Black, black and more black. And all those reasons are why I choose not to wear black (well, until the last day anyway). Bass Canyon, held at the Gorge Amphitheater in Quincy, Washington took place this past weekend and it invited all the headbangers to congregate for an epic weekend. I knew that the backdrop would be incredible and I knew that I wanted to stand out. For this event, I paired with a handful of labels to create eye-catching outfits that would stand out in a crowd (and make some new friends). Below are the details of my four looks at Bass Canyon 2018.
Thursday – NuLights “Pretty In Pink”
To kick off Bass Canyon’s pre-party, I decided to show up in a brightly colored bodysuit from NuLights. I found NuLights on Instagram while searching for inexpensive pieces that could be paired a lot or styled in many ways. I choose a rainbow bodysuit with zip up closure to give a slimming effect. Because it was cold outside, I paired this with a fuzzy jacket, my LED parasol, and pink glasses that transition well from day to night. The result was a super fun, “Pretty In Pink” look. Because I was the only one in all pink Thursday night, I spoke to a ton of people and made a ton of friends.
More Information on NuLights:
Web address: nulights.com
Facebook URL: http://facebook.com/nulights.co
Instagram handle: @NuLights_Co
Mini bio on NuLights: At NuLights, we strive to provide a community for party people and rave enthusiasts who are excited to express themselves and make a few friends along the way. We believe that we can make a difference in the world by sharing the PLUR culture and making people happy. This is why we focus on creating how-to guides and providing tips in the area of party-throwing and rave-going. We also have a great range of party lights, accessories and rave gear to better equip you for your next event. Our overall mission is to bring people together by improving their party and festival experiences.
How did you get started in this business? After spending years DJing at bars, events, and festivals I was inspired by the power of parties and festivals to bring people together. I started NuLights help bring people together and to further the PLUR revolution!
What is your favorite part about festival fashion and your business? Hearing about our customers festival experiences, we love to hear about how epic their last rave or festival was!
Whats your favorite piece in your own shop? I’m a huge Carl Cox fan, so my favorite piece on our store would have to be the Oh Yes, Oh Yes! Tee.
Fun fact about your business: We are called NuLights, because we started off by selling party lights to students throwing their own house parties and events.
Years in business: 3 years
Friday – Rainbow Duchesse “Bass Bear”
Rainbow Duchesse is a designer and a friend of mine who has been making rave outfits for as long as I can remember. She made outfits for me for Ultra Music Festival each year while I was living in Miami. When the opportunity came around to partner together again for festival fashion, Kristina was loaded with ideas. She took my opinions and input on colors and fabric to create my gorgeous one-of-a-kind “Bass Bear” outfit for Friday of Bass Canyon. This outfit was also a bright pink, making me standout once again in the crowd. What was great about this outfit was that it came with a hooded vest, complete with ears for when it got a bit chilly in the evening. The skirt had slits on each side and could be adjusted depending on where I wanted to wear the skirt on my hips and the bodysuit was a stretchy fabric. The outfit (and the pictures) turned out great for the Bass Bear look!
More Information on Rainbow Duchesse:
Designer Location: Dallas, TX
Web address: etsy.com/rainbowduchesse
Facebook URL: Facebook.com/rainbowduchesse
Twitter handle: @rainbowduchesse
Instagram handle: @rainbowduchesse
How did you get started in this business? Kristina, our fearless leader and the Duchesse herself, would make custom clothing for herself to wear to shows and concerts. Friends and strangers alike were (and are) drawn to her unique style and began requesting their own custom creations. Eventually, she began listing pieces online and taking orders from as far away as Australia!
What is your favorite part about festival fashion? We love the freedom of expression! Whether you’re wearing a cute spandex outfit, a blingy bra, hippie pants, or just glitter, at a festival you can be whatever or whoever you want.
Whats your favorite piece in your own shop? What do you enjoy creating? Our favorite pieces are the Peacock Princess and our Poison Ivy bodysuit. These pieces embody our love of highly and character creation. The Duchesse is in the Details!
Fun fact about your business: “Duchesse” is a type of satin as well as a title.
Years in business: 9
Saturday – Rolita Couture “Reflective Bass Head”
By the time Saturday rolled around, I was no longer in a pink mood. I saw so many girls who had on fishnets and were donning the punk/headbanger look and I wanted to find my own spin on it. I found Rolita Couture after seeing so many women in the rave scene rock Rosa’s creations. I knew that I had to have a few pieces from her site. I decided to center my entire Saturday outfit around Rolita Couture’s Utopia Wrap Top because I knew it would add a pop of color in the night. The material looks a bit like a deep rainbow in the day and at night, when flash and lights catch it, it can either go into a super bright rainbow mode or look silvery white which I love. I don’t like showing my midriff too much, so I added a jeweled fishnet style top over my Rolita Couture Wrap Top to add a little extra sparkle and cover myself a bit more. Pair these tops with fishnet stockings and boots and you’ve got one sparkly look!
Web address: www.rolitacouture.com
Facebook URL: https://www.facebook.com/rolitacouture
Instagram handle: @RolitaCouture
Mini bio on you/your business: Rolita Couture started on September 27, 2013. I was sitting outside the house with my husband, at that time boyfriend, and looking through rave fashion on Instagram. Some girls were selling rave bras, and he told me “you can make something like that and sell it”. At the time I was a full-time student and worker so initially, I thought there was not enough time to open a business. A few days later my dad’s health was compromised and my sister reached out to see if I could help with his health bills. At this time I only had $700 to my name. Erick’s idea kept crossing my mind but still had not acted on it. I started looking to get a transfer to be a nursing assistant because I was tired of being in housekeeping for 5 years. I wanted something better for myself and Erick’s idea once again had me thinking “Why not? What do I have to lose?” So I finally did it. 1 year later with Erick’s support I was able to quit my job. Just 4 years later Erick quit his job and joined me on this crazy adventure with Rolita. I want to inspire women to feel sexy and confident in their clothing. Knowing the struggle personally with 44” hips, I hated going to the store knowing sizes were going to be a problem. I want everyone to feel amazing and not to have fitting issues. Raving and the EDM community is such a huge part of my life I want to dedicate my life & career to promoting body confidence and self-love. To support each and every one with peace, love, unity, and respect, while we unite together underneath the electric sky.
What is your favorite part about festival fashion and your business? Festival fashion is something completely different than what we wear every day, it’s a way of self-expression. I love how colorful we can dress at a festival and we can wear whatever we want without being judged.
Who is one designer/manufacturer you’d love to collaborate with? Dolls Kill. I love their style. Some of our items can be found on their website but I would love to make exclusive designs for them.
Whats your favorite piece in your own shop? Crush On You bodysuit. It’s a lace-up bodysuit perfect for girls like me who like to look sexy but don’t want to show too much.
Fun fact about your business: I transformed my mother in law’s house into a manufacturing studio. The dining room is been used for packing and inventory, one of the living room is used to sew, the studio is used for cutting fabric and one of the bedrooms is used to store the fabric.
Years in business: On September 27 we will have been in business 5 years doing this hard work.
Sunday – Rave With Mi Gente “Biker Bass Babe”
For this look, I made the accessories the key to my outfit. I started with a Rainbow Duchesse hat that you’ll see used in another look in the future and decided to create an all black and pink bass babe look. I recently received two versatile black accessory pieces from Rave with Mi Gente (a black harness with silver details as well as black fringe armbands) that I decided to pair with a Freedom Rave Wear bodysuit and plain black shorts. The result? An awesome Biker Bass Babe look, perfect for a warm final day at Bass Canyon. I have a full Rave with Mi Gente outfit that I’ll rock at Burning Man, so I’ll save the details of this female-owned business for then.
