Wild at Heart

Christi Braswell’s earliest lessons in fashion came from her grandmother, Ann Stevens, and her great-grandmother, Avis Livingston. Both women raised families in the Ridglea Hills neighborhood of Fort Worth, and both set an example for the future fashion entrepreneur.

“They were always well-dressed, and I admired that,” Christi recalled. “I loved their fur coats, and [I] later inherited them.”

Last year, Braswell began her first venture as an entrepreneur after spending 12 years raising her son, Roman Braswell, as a stay-at-home mom. When Christi realized there were few options for relining her grandmother’s and great-grandmother’s coats with custom silks, she began learning about the silk industry and patternmaking.

“I’ve learned a lot about silk over the past year,” Christi said. “I like quiet luxury. What is luxurious to this person might be different to you. I lined one coat for a girl who sent me a photo of a cow. I made it look fashion-forward and pretty. It is meaningful to her.”

Photo credit: Amber Tice Photo

Wild Silks launched in March. The company designs and sells an exclusive range of scarves, twillies [a twilly is a long, narrow, double-sided silk scarf], and jacket linings and is barely five months old, but her business connections and partners already span the globe and include Italian fashion houses Silkpro and Silk Lab Italy and New York City-based Lost Pattern New York.

Andrew Hunt, who took over ownership of local furrier David Hunt Furs in 2018, was an early supporter of Christi’s vision. She was a regular customer who — like thousands of North Texas women — brought her coats to David Hunt Furs for safe storage every summer. When she told Andrew that she was learning to realign fur coats with custom silks, he had an idea.

“Why am I buying lining from a third party?” Andrew recalled. “Why don’t I work with her?”

The partnership allows Wild Silks to use David Hunt Furs’ store and showroom. When new and long-time customers purchase a new fur coat or bring in an heirloom to be relined, they now have the option of customizing the lining. Christi sets up a time to meet with the customer at the store to discuss what they want.

Starting with a questionnaire, Christi notes favorite colors and what themes or specific designs they want to incorporate. Sometimes, the customer has a picture or a favorite pet that they bring. Then, she works with her design partner, Molly Stevens, to draft three to six digital mockups for the customer. Andrew said the partnership has been beneficial to both their businesses.

Although Christi exclusively handles customer conversations – her favorite part of her job, she said – much of the design work happens collaboratively between her and Molly. Both women contribute unique designs to Wild Silks’ scarves and twillies. Molly describes her creative process of taking Christi’s notes and bringing them to digital fruition.

“We start with what [the customer’s] likes are,” Molly said. “They may have a particular design or color in mind. Then, my creative mind takes over. I like to come back with a few different options for them to pick from. The silk printing process retains the essence of the original art. I enjoy seeing the vision come to life from the design I create. When you finally get to touch it and wear it, that’s my favorite part. It’s gone from inside my head to being out in the world.”

Andrew said the blending of silk and fur options at his store is a “peanut butter and jelly” combination that customers appreciate.

“Adding [Wild Silk’s] scarves to our inventory made sense because that’s a big thing for the stock shows,” he said. “With my experience on the fur side, I have been able to help Christi navigate that world while using my store as a home base. Customers love her because she is very genuine, and everything comes from the heart.”

Fort Worthians approach furs differently than Chicagoans or New Yorkers, Andrew continued.

“People up North buy furs for warmth,” he said. “Here, it’s more for fashion reasons. You may want to wear it to a rodeo or with jeans. You want something versatile that will stay in style. When you have daughters, you can pass it on to them. I’ve known people’s grandmothers and moms who have coats that my dad [David Hunt] started them with. It’s a really personal thing.”

Younger women who inherit their mother’s or grandmother’s furs and don’t want a full-length coat can work with David Hunt Furs and Wild Silks to repurpose the outerwear into a fur shawl, purse, vest, jacket, or even a rug. Christi said it’s the fur that matters to the women who inherited the coats, not necessarily the form it later takes on.

Photo credit: Amber Tice Photo

While the idea was born from a desire to find linings for heirloom fur coats, Wild Silks is increasingly focused on creating custom scarves and twillies. Any product sold by Wild Silks is of the highest quality, sold in eco-friendly packaging, and crafted by women earning fair wages.

“Our scarves are hand-rolled, not machine-rolled,” she said. “That is a very traditional method that is rarely done anymore. The businesses I work with give these women gainful employment so they can provide for their kids. That’s important to me because I’ve been a stay-at-home mom until recently.”

Christi recently visited Northern Italy to see firsthand the work of Wild Silk’s top silk producers. She always leaves the artisans she visits with small gifts as a sign of her gratitude and an example of Texas hospitality.

“If I meet with someone, I bring a product, and I leave it for the team,” she said. “I want them to have a piece of Texas. It shows them something about me and where I come from. My designs are different from theirs. That was fun for them. They were proud to show me the behind-the-scenes of their factory and were eager and excited to work with someone from Texas. They call me the ‘Texas girl.’ I was nervous [to meet them] at first, but the visit gave me the confidence to know that I’m good at what I’m doing.”

Christi plans to travel around three times per year to meet the silk producers she works with in person, stay up to date with world trends, and be inspired by other cultures.

She said the countries involved in fabricating and printing designs on silk are masters in different types of silk and printing techniques. Some of her scarves are printed in Europe, while others come from China.

“One company may do better with lightweight, breathable silk while another is better for thicker materials or hand-rolling,” she said. “Anywhere you go, people are making cheap stuff and high-quality stuff. I want to be versatile, and I’m picky.”

In September of 2024, Christi is attending New York Fashion Week as the guest of Yong Wang, CEO of Lost Pattern New York. She will use the opportunity to make new friends and business connections as she grows Wild Silks’ footprint. Many of her current connections have started with cold calls to silk producers and printmakers. Not every call leads to a business connection; sometimes, the deal depends on whether their personalities mesh.

Photo credit: Amber Tice Photo

The silk maven often jokes that one of her most significant assets is her love of talking to anyone she finds, but there’s more to her socializing gifts than gabbing. Anyone who knows Christi personally (myself included) knows she’s an equally attentive listener who can meet people on their level and make them feel immediately valued and appreciated.

Christi has scheduled meetings with big-name retailers interested in purchasing her silk products for the fall of 2024. Andrew said their collaborations will continue to grow, as well. Fort Worth is not known for launching original luxury clothing lines that sell nationally and internationally. However, that could change in the coming years, given the fast growth of Wild Silks and the new connections Christi and Andrew have made over the past few months.

The explosive growth of Fort Worth and its growing reputation, thanks in part to our “cowboys and culture” heritage, as well as the popularity of new Western-themed shows on major streaming services, are creating new opportunities for a Fort Worth-based clothing brand to benefit from Cowtown’s growing cultural and economic footprint.

Christi said her growing product line is and will likely always be customizable and unique.

“My passion is personalizing fabrics and silks to make each coat unique,” she said. “I love having a third piece, whether that’s a belt, scarf, jacket, or handbag. It completes the look. Personally, I can put on a fur coat over athleisure wear. Whatever makes me feel good, that’s what is in style for me.”

Molly, who is in her twenties, said Wild Silks appeals to women of all ages. The tiny but mighty duo is preparing to launch TCU-themed silk products that should prove popular this year. Plans are in the works to feature prints based on original works by local artists. Molly added that the first samples of Wild Silks’ new ties and bowties for men recently arrived.

“Fort Worth feels small, but it is also so big,” she said. “There are so many things you can do with silk, which means we can continually grow and do so many things with it and not just stick with the scarves. We’re excited about seeing where it can possibly go.”

Wild Silks’ Western sensibilities, Molly added, will always be at the core of the company’s design work. Andrew said the feedback from locals about the new custom silk linings and scarves has been “great” and that Wild Silks’ full line of scarves and twillies is ready to meet heavy demand this fall.

Photo credit: Amber Tice Photo

“[Christi and Molly] love the products, and [that’s seen] even in the presentation of the boxes,” he said.

Wild Silks started with fur linings and then branched out into silk scarves and other silk products. Now, the design of each new product doesn’t feel like starting over, Christi said. She is already researching how to print on new textiles, like intricately woven jacquard fabric, and design garments from scratch. (Hint: She’s open to launching a clothing line.) The fashion world always favors bold new ideas, Christi said, adding that she plans to do everything she can to focus on her future business relationships with people with whom she has personal connections.

After graduating from TCU with a degree in psycho-social kinesiology, Christi Braswell spent most of her adult life focused on raising her son. The recent jump into entrepreneurship was inspired by her familial elders who tirelessly worked as firefighters, engineers, and other fields. She also wants to set an example for her son while proving to herself that she has what it takes to build something beautiful.

“It’s an exciting time,” she said. “I now believe in myself and know I have it in me to do this.”