8,000 Nerves pairs pretty patterns and silhouettes with bold color and a fresh-as-May way of doing a print. The line is a nervy mix between retro-saturated and modernist simplistic. 8,000 Nerves stood out to me the first time I stumbled upon the line. It had been a long time since I’d seen all of my favorite styles packed into one dress–geek chic, preppy, demure, collared, neck-bowed, boldly patterned, mod, sleek. And on top of all this, the garments are made from powdery-soft, delicately flowing materials. Light becomes brittle when it touches this material. And your skin feels like you just put on a something made out of a butterfly. Though 8,000 Nerves is so much more than the color it dares to embrace, I decided to feature some of my favorite colorful pieces from the line. From Red all the way to Violet, the line proves color is wonderful and should be applied generously.

Instead of the overly decadent uber girly allover floral print trend that we are seeing everywhere, 8,000 Nerves features an ironic single stem–and it’s not even facing the “right” direction. There designs are dissolving the all too oft stone-faced fashion persona, yanking open the curtains and shedding copious light onto it’s smile. Fashion can be both fun and charming AND smart and this is what 8,000 Nerves understands. But make no mistake–8000 Nerves is as serious as the color the line dares to embrace. It is art in the form of fashion.

I love how 8,000 Nerves plays with girly bows and frills and welds them with simple shapes and harsh contrasts. The brand incorporates forms and styles that you don’t often see together and the outcome is this frail edginess–this sneaky, mischievous, but utterly dainty ballerina tiptoeing over the line between expectation and innovation. They’ve given some brains to frills.

I had the pleasure of chatting with the super sweet and passionate Efi Green of 8,000 Nerves to see what inspires the four sisters to kick up a new kind of fashion dust.

Grand Abandon: Tell me about 8,000 Nerves. How did you get your start and who is behind this special line?

Efi Green: I started 8000nerves in 2011 as a collaboration with my 3 sisters. We’ve all worked in the industry in both the creative and technical fields so we thought it only seemed natural to combine our knowledge and talent to create 8000nerves.

GA: Tell me about some ups and downs of the fashion industry.

EG: Well, it is tough out there. Creating a brand is much more than making pretty clothing. There is a long stretch between having an idea, making it real, and making people care once it is real. In the end of the day, we are making a product and there is so much to invest in getting people to believe in the product. People want to know what’s behind it, and if you can get it on someone important to wear it, suddenly the brand has that much more value. When you’re passionate about what you do, others begin to believe in it as well. We know we can make great stuff. The challenge is to get it out into the big, big world.

GA: What inspires your designs? What does your creative process look like?

EG: Well, we get inspired by what is going on in the market. I like to take bits and pieces of the market so that we stay on trend, and mix it with all of our innovation. The secret is to make something familiar, but new. I love texture and color so that always gets me loopy. I get inspired by lots of stuff…vintage shopping, movies, music, things that make me laugh… I generally start with some basic concepts and add, subtract, and change… I start with an initial idea and let myself run free in the possibilities. I build and keep building until I feel really good about what I’ve created. There is always room for adding and changing, but at one point I need to make final decisions and run with it.

GA: You include a lot of repeating imagery and details ie. animals, shapes, the collar form, and a lot of color. Tell me about this.

EG: I love humor and vintage things so I started designing mainly with that in mind.  The line is evolving as we grow from super quirky to more sophisticated and feminine.  I’m excited to see how the line will continue to develop.

GA: I toss this idea around a lot and I think it’s interesting to hear people’s opinion on it. It can be argued that art brings hope or that it causes us to reflect on ourselves and the human condition. How is fashion MORE than just an aesthetic preference? How is fashion, like art, meaningful on an intellectual/spiritual/human level?

EG: I love this question.  Man, I have personally grown so much as a person by developing this line.  It is easy to create in a room all by myself, but to create something that people want to spend money on can be a challenge and this venture of creating 8000nerves has been a very deep exploration for me.  It has put in perspective the things that are really important to me and has driven me to keep chugging forward even when things get tough.  We don’t want to be just another fashion line out there in the market.  Our philosophy is for a woman to feel empowered and confident in herself.  Doubt about yourself and fear will hold you back in the world and we want to spread the message that we are all allowed to be individuals.  You only live once so don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something, and dress the part of the free spirited, colorful person that you can be!

GA: What do you think represents an “8,000 Nerves” woman?

EG: A strong, free spirited woman. The idea is to embrace the notion to love, live life to the fullest, and put aside all the negative stuff that makes us unhappy.  Search for what makes you happy, and when you find it, puts lots of it in your world.

GA: Can you name a song or a musician that reflects or inspires 8,000 Nerves?

EG: I love Raw Geronimo! Her music and personality is always inspirational!

GA: Who is your personal style icon?

EG: Mary Quant who was ballsy enough to invent the mini skirt

GA: What is your favorite fashion era?

EG: I love the 60′s with all the colors and collars.

GA: What was your style growing up? How has it evolved?

EG: Hahaha.  Personally, I was kind of a weird kid.  In terms of fashion, I was very eclectic.  I always kinda just wore whatever I wanted, and still do.

And now, a few takes on songs from The Voice Project that put me in the mind of the 8,000 colors of 8,000 Nerves. Feel the color<3