Style of success

from RED Magazine Spring 2021

by Metropolitan State University of Denver

In Memory

Q&A

FOR MSU DENVER ALUMNA BRANDI SHIGLEY, FASHION ISN’T ABOUT

HAVING AN EYE FOR HOT TRENDS; IT’S ABOUT HAVING THE COURAGE TO BE AUTHENTICALLY YOU. // BY PEYTON GARCIA

Brandi Shigley has been a player on the Mile High City’s fashion scene since she graduated from Metropolitan State University of Denver in 1999 with a degree in speech communication. She’s as bright and bold as her signature style, but her calling card is her unquenchable desire to help other creatives through her consulting business, Fashion Denver.

How would you describe your signature style? Memories, comfort and super-eclectic. Everything that is on me is usually thrifted, hand-me-down and local. Fashion for me is being able to express who I am and what my heart is outwardly, and I find that expression in the treasures I find on racks at the thrift store and in hand-me-downs.

How did you break into the fashion biz? When I was a young, I was obsessed with making paper purses. Flash forward, and I started a handbag business after graduating (from MSU Denver). I didn’t study fashion; I just put out what my heart wanted to do. I was just some girl learning how to make a handbag and breaking my needles on my sewing machine. I also taught myself how to build and launch a website, and then literally within four months I was selling internationally — London, Paris, New York, Chicago.

Tell us about Fashion Denver. My passion really lies in helping people see their own potential. I help designers start their businesses by providing the services that I had to learn on my own: how to build a website, how to build your brand, how to plan an event. Since 2004, I have produced quarterly fashion markets bringing 20 to 40 local designers under one roof. They’re like fun fashion flea markets; there are three fashion shows throughout the day, and it always benefits a local organization.

How did MSU Denver help you find success in fashion?

MSU Denver was instrumental in shaping my future. My professors understood my personality, understood the way I learned and allowed me to be who I am. I had a professor named Carl Johnson for Intro to Speech who changed my life. He told me, “I want you to speak about what you’re passionate about.” And that experience completely changed everything about education for me. But even more so, it influenced how I went out into the world.

DARRAL FREUND

Pitch perfect

Roadrunners right-hander Cade Crader pitched a perfect game March 27 against CSU-Pueblo in a 13-0 win. It was the first no-hitter of any kind in program history. “Probably around the fifth or sixth inning, I kind of glanced up and realized a good portion of the game had gone by and I hadn’t given up any hits,” Crader said. “The adrenaline was pretty high going into the last inning, but I was just trying to keep composed and just finish it off and not think about it too much.”

RELEVANT. ESSENTIAL. DENVER.