ABout House of Caswell
The painting story
This pastel painting titled Still Life is the inspiration behind the first House of Caswell collection. It tells the story of where I came from, and no matter where I go from here my past will always be part of me.
I helped my husband with his band Berried Alive since the beginning, and together we built a streetwear brand around the concept as well. At one point we were both so involved with it that it became our whole identities. I started to feel lost, like I didn’t remember who I was without him or Berried Alive.
I wrote a song called Still Life about how I felt at the time, the confusion and loss, and I painted this still life so it could be the single art for the song. The band’s logo and monogram print serves as the wallpaper behind the fruit. We never released the song. Maybe we will someday, but if not that’s okay, because the artwork and the collection it inspired reminds me of the depths I’ve climbed out of to start something new.
The Still Life collection is a call to remember the past in all the best ways, but to keep looking ahead as well, because our current situation doesn’t have to be our permanent one if it isn’t working anymore.
Founded in 2025 by artist and musician Kaylie Caswell
House of Caswell is an emerging high-end womenswear clothing brand that seamlessly blends the realms of fashion, fine art, and fashion history. Founded on a deep passion for creativity and self expression, House of Caswell aims to redefine contemporary attire by infusing artistic elements into everyday and special occasion garments.
The brand is poised to cater to discerning women who seek to showcase their creativity while maintaining a polished and professional appearance. Our mission is to empower modern women to express their unique personalities through elegantly designed apparel that harmonizes artistic expression with timeless sophistication. By drawing inspiration from diverse art forms, we strive to deliver collections that are not only stylish and cohesive, but also intellectually and culturally enriching.
The color story
I have been a lifelong lover of color. I spent countless hours as a child listing every color name I found in my crayon box, from colorway listings in catalogs, and all the makeup colors used in fashion magazines. I filled whole notebooks with nothing but lists of color names. Colors are so important.
So colors are always going to be of the utmost importance to the House of Caswell brand. I wanted to share a little about the color palette for the first collection, how I got to it, and what it means to me.
The Still Life collection is meant to be a bit of a transitional collection. Maybe it’s transitioning between stages in life or maybe just between seasons, but there is something about embracing the new while still remembering the past in this collection. There are garments for both warm and cooler temperatures. Every piece can be layered and combined with every other piece to fit the current mood or feeling.
I love the primary colors used in the collection because this brand is something new, and when you’re starting something new you start with the fundamentals. Most of the colors are mid to dark in value, with the one pop of yellow-green for contrast and interest. I believe you need contrast in your wardrobe, just like you do in art.
When I was working on this color palette, I started by image tracing my inspiration artwork in Adobe Illustrator. I tried this in several different ways. First, full color, then black and white, then limited to 30 colors, and finally a limit of 8 colors with the color saturation turned up. This combination of colors, 3 blues, 3 reds, a green and a yellow-green, spoke to me and I knew I could base a full wardrobe around these colors.
The Rorschach Pattern
Every artist’s work tends to be a little bit autobiographical, and I each piece I create tells a story from my life. The story behind this particular pattern is that I was a psychology major in college.
I always had big dreams of becoming a fashion designer from early childhood, but when it came time to enroll in college, my dad had cancer and my sense of safety was lost, and it no longer seemed like a good idea to go somewhere far away to chase a big dream. So I stayed nearby for a while and I studied another interest of mine, even if it wasn’t something I necessarily wanted to pursue as a career. I don’t regret the choice because I love science and enjoyed learning about psychology and my minor, which was biology. I also started dating my husband during that time, and now I’m fulfilling my dream of being a fashion designer anyway. I just took a different path to get here.
So this pattern from the collection reminds me of a time I spent learning just for the joy of learning itself.
Plus, I really really love Frasier, and this pattern reminds me just a tiny bit of the wallpaper in his apartment in the Frasier reboot!