Discover the incredible history of this great brand ALEUTIA - WAY BEYOND FASHION

Fashion in SL is constantly growing, big brands work to bring the best from RL, to our second life. But few people know the stories behind each brand, how did it all start? We had the pleasure of interviewing one of the greatest female fashion designers in SL, Catalina Staheli, who told us how Aleutia goes beyond fashion, beyond SL. Let‘s get to know the incredible history of this great brand.

Hello Catalina, first I would like to thank you for taking the time to share Aleutia‘s story with our readers, it is great to have you here with us.

Tell us a little about how it started, what motivated you to create a women‘s fashion store in SL?

Four years ago, an opportunity arose for me to learn how to design. I was excited about it as I enjoy learning new things. The opportunity was also an interesting experiment to see if, from a very remote location in northern Alaska, I could create a business and make it profitable. The reason for this is that if I could, I could turn around and teach others in the community to do the same. Too often those in the remote northern villages of Alaska are faced with very few options after high school.

In my village, there were about 600 residents and only about 40 jobs. It makes employment difficult when residents have to leave their homes, families, and culture to go find work elsewhere.

So there was a plan to create the store and see it make a profit, but there was a dream as well to help make positive change for my students, to give them more options for their future.

Have you always been a fashion lover, or was it the opportunities you found here in SL that led you to work with that?

I love everything about a well put together look. I love editorials where you can see creativity and self-expression leap off the pages. Before I began designing, I had been a blogger and photographer in Second Life. While I still try to snap a picture now and again, the blogging had to be put to the side just due to time constraints. Between teaching full time and keeping Aleutia going, I barely have time to refill my coffee sometimes. *chuckles*

What was your biggest inspiration to define the style that the Aleutia brand represents?

I would say that where Aleutia is now is a creative outlet for designs that make a woman feel good. Whether it‘s a nice maxi dress to enjoy the summer in or a beautiful mermaid bikini to go play in the waves with, my designs are a reflection of a quote that I heard once. „Reach for the moon. Even if you miss, you still land among the stars.“ With each design, I am pushing myself to do more, to be better, and to create something new.

Do you consider it important to follow events, news and fashion trends in RL for inspiration in your creations in SL?

I do actually! I follow the trends in real life, keeping up with what the fashion world is doing and seeing what trends the bloggers and street stylers tend to delve into. However, this can be a bit dangerous as we all can find the same pictures on pinterest and I think part of what we as creators in SL need to do is to take the inspiration from what we see and then make it our own.

Do you have a favorite fashion designer? Anyone you admire, and who also inspired you as a designer?

Hmm....I‘d say Coco Chanel comes to mind with her philosophies on life. She had such a remarkable spirit about her that just inspires me in so many ways.

We know that SL is constantly changing, many updates and news all the time, in your opinion, how to keep yourself as a strong brand in the midst of constant changes?

Hmm.....that‘s a good question. I think it is, for me at least, in large part due to the amazing team I have working with me. Moonsoul Kiyori has been my blogger manager since the first year and I‘ve worked with others who have had the time to be inworld while I was at work teaching all day. Right now I am blessed to be working with the very talented Briony Writer as well and the three of us form a good, cohesive team. They give me advice or their thoughts and we make a decision on how to move forward.

In your opinion, what is the importance of events for the fashion industry in SL? Do they really help with advertising and sales?

I think events have a place in SL when it comes to exposure and helping showcase your work for those who may not have run across your name or store before. It‘s a very nice feeling when I get an IM from someone saying „Oh I found you at so and so“.

Aleutia is a strong brand today, with a large number of fans in addition to the incredible creations, this is the result of dedicated work and certainly done with a lot of love. What do you love most about all of this? What is that moment in your work that makes you the happiest?

I think what I love most is when I see people wearing things I‘ve created. The other day, the poster for Second Life‘s 17th Birthday came out and when I opened the poster, right there was one of my outfits and I didn‘t even realize I had started to cry until I felt the tears. I was so honored and amazed and humbled. It, to date has been the best moment about Aleutia for me.

How do your work with Aleutia here in SL contribute to your projects in real life?

Being a teacher these days comes with a laundry list of duties and the days can be long, the stress high, and the paperwork never ending. But, I absolutely love being a teacher. I love working with teenagers and seeing in their faces the hope of what tomorrow might bring. Like many teachers, I always end up spending money on school supplies, classroom needs, etc. You hear stories about teachers getting a second job to support themselves because the pay can be so bad depending on where you live and then on top of that, if you want to do projects with the kids or get supplies or things, it comes out of your own pocket too. And so I made the decision early on that Aleutia could help with that. 100% of the profits from Aleutia are used for purchasing school supplies, classroom things for teachers, providing professional development opportunities for teachers, and more.

When did you realize that you could use your work here in SL to help these children in real life?

It was a dream I had, to teach my students what I know and give them that foundation in 3D modeling skills. So many of them love computer and video games and showed a real interest in learning more. And it would have been another option for a life beyond the mine or leaving the community to try and make

When did you realize that you could use your work here in SL to help these

It was a dream I had, to teach my students what I know and give them that foundation in 3D modeling skills. So many of them love computer and video games and showed a real interest in learning more. And it would have been another option for a life beyond the mine or leaving the community to try and make it in Anchorage or Fairbanks, where often village kids struggle with how big, noisy, and fast everything is. Too many try to do it, signing up for college classes or going to training, only to end up back home in the village a few months later, too homesick or overwhelmed to make it. I had created an entire year long course, with weekly lessons and projects and offered it to the district I worked in, saying „Here! Let‘s do this as an elective with the kids. Let‘s make this a way to create

new opportunities in this digital age that students can relate to and find paths forward in“. But it wasn‘t meant to be and in the end, helped me make the decision to wrap up my time in Alaska and move forward. And so even as we do this interview, I‘m in the process of moving on to a new adventure, where I‘ll be teaching in Thailand, still balancing life as a teacher and a SL content creator and still looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.

Wow... your story is really incredible, I am very happy that you shared it with all of us, I am sure that many felt inspired by your journey, thank you very much. 21 Sisters in SL Magazine