Lucette is one wildly, beautifully unapologetic being. Her softness is relentless and her creativity fierce. She is the heart and hard work behind the ethical clothing brand The Wylde. I honor and admire Lucette in ways I can't quite put words to...as I studied fashion in college, worked in the industry for a few years, and therefore understand how all-consuming and difficult it can be to run a clothing company, much less a fully sustainable and ethical one. What Lucette has created is incredible because it's not just the clothing, but the message + movement behind The Wylde that makes it so revolutionary. It's so clear how it's flooded from her spirit, and how it's reminding women worldwide of the beauty and the wildness in their relationship with Mama Earth and with their inherent sensuality. Read on for her gorgeous words.
What environment did you grow up in? How has that place impacted your journey thus far?
I was born in Vail, Colorado and started skiing before I could really walk properly. Moving to Australia when I was 5 and then having always lived by the ocean I definitely transitioned into a beach baby, though stick me on a snowy mountain and I will be happy as can be and carve my way down the slopes. I crave the salt and sun on my skin and would much prefer to live on an island. Always being outside in nature and learning about the rhythms of the earth from a young age has really impacted my way of living and the way in which I choose to continue living in harmony with the earth. Choosing natural, organic and sustainable options, over synthetic and chemical based options is definitely a number one priority for me and that definitely comes from understanding and learning about the planet and our eco systems and how precious this life is to make and influence positive change.
What is your work?
I always find this one a hard one to answer. In short I am a creative. An Artist.
As a whole, I am the designer and director of The Wylde. I’m also a photographer and shoot approximately 80% of the content for The Wylde as well as run the business. I also work as a graphic designer, photographer for other companies and brands, creative director, writer, painter, illustrator, ceramicist and actor.
I find that any creative task that comes my way I am willing to take on or to learn. Most of the time it doesn’t feel like work as I really enjoy being creative.
What has been the biggest opposing force on your journey with The Wylde thus far?
Probably fast fashion and surprisingly social media. I feel like in this modern day, as a society who is consuming so much at such a high speed we want more and more and new, new, new in our faces all the time. We rarely stop to even think about what we are consuming or taking in. Trends come and go and with them too so does fashion. It can be challenging with such a demand to run a slow fashion brand that orders in such small units and has a higher price point because consumers are not always willing to buy quality over quantity and would prefer to buy 5 x dresses over 1 x dress (even though those 5 are probably made poorly, with synthetic textiles and will only be worn a few times then disposed of).
I think social media also makes it tricky as so many people want to be an ‘influencer’ now that it also stops people from spending, girls who may have been customers before start to expect clothing for free in exchange for posting. I can’t begin to express the number of requests for free clothing I get a day. It blows my mind and can also make it really hard because I didn’t start a company to just give everything away, especially when a lot of the women messaging for free product also do not understand or align with the very values of The Wylde and the message that we are trying to put out in terms of Sustainability in the fashion industry.
What ignites your soul?
Creativity. Diving deep into a vortex of uninhibited design and nurturing the fire to continue creating. In whatever form. Whether I share it with the world or not, art brings utter joy to my heart, hands and mind. It’s like a deep meditation to me.
What do you currently feel compelled to create?
More ceramics! It’s an art form that has been very engrained into my life since I was a little girl but it fell to the back burner for quite a few years. I have been creating again and can’t wait to continue doing so and will hopefully share the pieces that I am making soon.
But I am also hoping to create space with this art form, to bring women together and to feel the earth between their finger tips. It’s such a beautiful and grounding practice and has brought me back to earth in a lot of ways.
How did you learn to tap into your intuition? Do you have rituals in doing so?
I think I have always been very connected to my intuition, the problem is actually listening to it. We all have an innate connection to our intuition but it can be hard to tap into that inner voice, which comes from the heart and then really listening and following it. When we doubt it in the process, we doubt ourselves too.
I’ve learnt not to be so hasty in making decisions, which can be hard when you need to think fast but when given the opportunity to really sit back and feel into what’s right for me. It's important to take into consideration what my heart is telling me is best to do.
Sit back. Take a deep breath. Asess the situation. Feel into your body. Feel into your heart. Ask yourself questions. Does this feel good when I think about it? Drink some tea. Take some time. Don’t jump the gun so to speak. Even when we have to think fast, just take a moment to take a few deep breaths, and same thing.. see how it feels in your body and listen to that little voice inside.
What does “Beauty” mean to you?
It’s an energy more than a physicality to me. I think whenever I use the word beautiful it’s not to even describe someones exterior but more so the way I feel them as an energy, as a person. I’m not sure there are even words to describe it. It’s a feeling.
I wrote a poem about beauty last year:
There is no greater beauty than that of a woman unashamedly comfortable in her own skin. Imperfectly perfect.
Who decided that there should be constraints on what society deems as the beauty standard?
We prod and poke, starve and malnourish, embarrass and shame over our bodies..
The only one tru home we will ever have.
Hold yourself with grace and an ever burning passion to be wholly you.
With every mark.
With every scar.
With every bump.
With every freckle.
Be proudly in love with every inch of your skin.
For your body loves you more than you could even imagine, from the minute you were born it has carried you.
Feel into that love.
And remember, you are made of love.
