STORY

 

Ashley Ashoff is an American born designer living in Paris. Originally from Northern California, she grew up in the country two hours north of San Francisco in Mendocino County. She spent her childhood in nature and then moved to Santa Barbara, specifically Carpinteria to attend boarding school at Cate. She then went on to study Textiles and Apparel Design at Cornell University where she earned a Bachelor of Science. She played both Division 1 Soccer and Lacrosse at Cornell and also presented collections in the annual Cornell Fashion League shows. She also spent a semester studying at Parsons Paris School of Design during her time at Cornell.

She spent her summers working in NYC and LA for designers such as Mara Hoffman, Donna Karan, Linda Loudermilk and Carol Young.

After graduating, Ashley spent a year traveling. She found herself being drawn to Paris, making that her home base throughout her travels. At the end of the year, she returned to Northern California where she has her atelier. She began compiling all of her inspiration from her travels, researching, sketching and working on the creation of her label, “Ashley Ashoff”.

Ashley wanted to enter the fashion industry with a unique product that no other designer was custom making. Many women wear scarves that are heirlooms. Scarves have a story to go with them and are often regarded as precious as jewelry. They are novelty items. There is a beautiful art to wearing scarves, and with the addition of a scarf to an ensemble, you have created a look that can be both sophisticated and tailored and at the same time sexy and edgy. She has created a market for what she likes to call “Couture Scarves”.

As Founder and Lead Designer at the Ashley Ashoff Design House, Ashley is the driving force behind the company's design and production of luxurious, expressive and unique products. As a student at Cornell University and Parsons School of Design in Paris, she sought inspiration through an extended examination of the impact of contemporary philosophical movements in the belle époque, and influences as diverse as tadpoles and architecture to the texture of trees.

Her investigations brought her to view the philosophical tradition as a function of the state of human nature; the need to understand history, to contextualize the present and the need to reach out to the future. In her work, she seeks to represent this complex relationship between natural states and particular moments in history. She seeks to capture moments in time, each as unique as the textile on which it is abstracted, and to allow a modicum of expression to the more discreet and discerning dresser.

Ashley's exuberance and romanticism are palpable. Her scarves are fun and chic, playful and thoughtful. She opens doors to stylish worlds of exclusivity to anyone willing to appreciate beauty.

Her designs are worn by a number of celebrities worldwide, and she has been written up in publications such as Women’s Wear Daily, Vogue Russia, Vogue France, Nylon, Teen Vogue, among others.