Contestant #5: Deb Henriksen

Give it up for Ms. Equillibrium, our latest victim in the road to Fashion Project Tamarac Square!

Name: Deb Henriksen

Company name: Equillibrium Clothing

Years designing: Organically all my life; as a profession, about 6 years.

Bio: Growing up in Naperville, Illinois, Deb Henriksen's interests were heavily focused on drawing and sewing, but she also spent time around Motocross and instructed skiing at a local resort. After a family trip to Keystone during her sophomore year of high school, she fell in love with the mountains and eventually moved out here to attend Colorado State University in Fort Collins. She's called Colorado home for the past seventeen years.

Her interests in our environment and wildlife habitats resulted in an Environmental Health Degree from Colorado State's School Of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences. But this is also when she discovered her love of skateboarding and snowboarding, something that would have a huge impact on her future life.

Deb worked in her field for five years but eventually gave it up to found Equillibrium Clothing. Now, she is constructing clothing that show originality, independence and ethics. From the core, for the core!

Denver celebrity you'd most like to design for?
Anyone who Loves Equillibrium! Non-discriminate of celebrity status.

What inspires you? (No fair saying everything; be specific.) Nature, Boarder-Lifestyles (sk8 & surf especially), Art/ Artists, Politics/ Ethics, and Music (punk and Rock especially) all inspire me... all are passionate interests for me, and that makes them inspiring.

Favorite Denver eatery?
Snooze & Stuebens

Favorite local boutique?
Equillibrium Boutique, Fabric Lab and Mona Lucero

Favorite fabric?
Hemp, bamboo, organic cotton, recycled polyester blends... in form of jersey knit, fleece, twill, canvas, whatever! I love many textiles, but my favorites deliver for fashion with out heavy pollution and discharge during manufacturing. The options are more exciting now than ever!

Favorite way to finish seams?
This one depends on the garment being constructed and fabric used. Knits=serged edges; woven=French seam.

Prints or solids?
Both

Dogs or cats?
Both

Kate Moss or Linda Evangelista?
Kate all the way.

Favorite guilty pleasure?
Chocolate!

Last book you read?
Can't remember...

Red chili or green chile?
Green

New York or L.A.?
Both

Chloe Dao or Jeffrey Sebelia?
Jeffrey for sure!

Loose or tailored?
Tailored

Jacqueline Kennedy or Jackie Brown?
Jackie-O

Town or country?
Both

Silk charmeuse or silk shantung?
Silk charmeuse

Couture or ready-to-wear?
Both

Curvy or androgynous?
Either... both shapes have things that work and things that won't. Curves can be beautiful, as can straight lines.

Paris Hilton or Lindsey Lohan?
NEITHER!!! Both equally lame.

Michael Kors or Zac Posen?
Zac Posen

Jeans or slacks?
Work Pants

Bill Ritter or John Hickenlooper?
Both

Escalade or Prius?
Bio-diesel pick-up

Vogue or W?
W (although they're Vogue, too)

Favorite current couture designer?
Jeffrey Sebelia

Favorite past couture designer?
Vivienne Westwood

Sleek or volume?
A healthy mix

Form or function?
Function with good form!

Favorite place to travel for inspiration?
My mind...

Favorite place to travel for fabric?
California Mart

Polkadots or camouflage?
Both, of course!

Pretty or edgy?
Pretty with an edgy contrast...

Heidi Klum or Tim Gunn?
Tim Gunn