In June 2020, at the beginning of a global pandemic, Rya Partible was looking for something to wear that wasn’t just comfortable, but that provided comfort. The then freshman was inspired by a favorite hoodie that she wore often in high school that said, “Make sure your friends are okay.” Partible felt there was a need for clothing that meant something to people.
“I wanted clothing that made me feel like I was wearing my heart on my sleeve,” said Partible , who is now a sophomore film production major at Loyola Marymount University. “It was hard for me to find so I created something I wanted to wear.”
Partible started a clothing line called This Is Your Sign LA that features popular streetwear styles including hats and sweat sets. The brand features positive messages such as “Tell them you love them,” and “Let’s walk home together.” And she isn’t the only designer bringing attention, and dollars, to mental health awareness. Deborah Sawaf’s Power of Words is a luxury fashion brand under Thale Blanc. The brand features a similar street style apparel in more elevated way. Covid-19 has been followed by a pandemic of mental illness, and the fashion industry is increasingly taking up the cause.
Mental health is something that is very close to Partible’s heart through her family and friends, but also personally. She said that she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Partible has also lost friends to suicide. In her early high school days, she produced films bringing awareness to the cause and entered her film in a suicide prevention and mental health film festival.
Partible started This Is Your Sign LA with the intention of creating more positive and cute clothing.
“People really needed some positivity and I think they could find meaning in the This Is Your Sign message.”
Partible is also concerned with sustainability and clothing. She acknowledges that there is a major issue with overconsumption and the fast fashion industry. Her business is run by herself with the assistance of an accountant and a manufacturer in her hometown, who makes the apparel for her.
“Fast fashion is very upsetting to me, and I think it’s important to invest your money in small businesses, where you know what the money is going towards, instead of brands like Shein, where you don’t know,” Partible says. “Because money is power.”
Sawaf, the CEO and founder of Thale Blanc and Power of Words, has also seen a trend in clothing with a meaning. Sawaf was born in India and lived in the Middle East before moving to Europe. She eventually ended up in Los Angeles. She wanted to do something substantive and sustainable with her fashion line.
“We are the first high end philanthropy brand so literally, I can do a fashion show, give back 20 percent and walk away from it with no responsibility,” said Sawaf. “But was that going to make even a dent in what I’m trying to do and what I want to achieve? Through fashion I have a voice and I have a platform. And I just thought about it one day and said you know what? Words are powerful. That’s going to be the Power of Words.”
Growing up in a developing country gave Sawaf a different outlook on her purpose. She said she feels like kids need to understand that they don’t need to grow up and make their first million before they give back to their community.
“My father always said that giving away something you don’t need isn’t charity. So, we were never allowed to give away old books or shoes or clothes,” said Sawaf. “Charity is a sacrifice and sacrificing something is the gratification that nothing else can give you, so no material thing can give you the gratification that giving gifts to others can.”
Coming out of the pandemic, mental health has become a hot topic. So many people are expressing the issues they faced and are still working through after coming out of two years of isolation. Students especially, have experienced a complete standstill in their education and their daily lives.
Adrienne Walker, a LMU Cares case worker with a bachelor’s in psychology and a masters in both divinity counseling and social work, said that LMU’s community of care case number has skyrocketed. Before Covid, “we were seeing maybe 12 or so cases. Whereas there was one week we had upwards of 80 cases in a week, and there’s only four full time case managers,” said Walker.
Walker also thinks there’s a wave of people who are still seeking to identify what mental health looks like for them.
Partible has plans to go into TV production and hopes to produce a late night talk show. She wants to continue to grow the brand while she is here in college and then pass it down to her sister, who can run it with the same heart and love that she has for the last two years.
