Inside the Atelier: Charles Harbison Designs with Intention from Los Angeles

Charles Harbison is redefining what it means to create with intention in American fashion. The Los Angeles-based designer and founder of Harbison Studio builds collections not by seasonal demand, but by story, intuition, and artistic integrity. His garments—bold yet tender, architectural yet fluid—reflect a deep reverence for craft, community, and sustainability. Rooted in personal memory and shaped by a background in architecture and textile design, Harbison’s approach is as intellectual as it is intimate.

Whitewall sat down with Harbison, who shared the evolution of his studio model and how optimism and ethical responsibility define his vision of luxury. At the heart of it all is a belief that clothing can be healing and a radical act of beauty in a world that so often forgets its value.

Charles Harbison on Designing at His Own Rhythm

WW: Your approach to fashion is different from a traditional house with seasonal collections. What inspired you to create this more fluid, artistic model for Harbison?

CHARLES HARBISON: My career is rooted in more collection-based businesses, on a seasonal calendar—with upwards of four collections a year. Working at multiple brands during the 2010s, I realized there was often a compromise to the artistry of fashion because of that cadence. So little of a collection gets to be about story, newness, and artistry.

Harbison was born out of my love for the artistry of fashion—my love for textiles, story, and beauty more than for commercial clothes. I realized the designers I admired—like Azzedine Alaïa—didn’t hold themselves to the traditional calendar. He showed clothes when they were ready, and buyers responded because the work was beautiful.

WW: Sustainability and community seem central to your DNA. How are you redefining luxury through those values?

CH: I want to return to what luxury really is. For me, luxury should be rooted in culture and sustainability. It’s about creating an experience that exists outside the natural world. That means thinking about people and the world we live in. It’s not luxury if it impedes the planet or harms communities.

I was raised in the working class in North Carolina by working people. I have an appreciation for craft and for intellect. When I think of luxury, it’s through that filter—what feels greater than the sum of its parts. It has to be beautiful, but it also has to be ethical and rooted in truth.

“My girls, my guys—they’re the ones I’m designing for,”

-Charles Harbison

WW: You have mentioned being more connected to your clients since moving to L.A. What has that shift meant to you?

CH: Resting more on this model of client-focused design has changed everything. Before, in New York, it was all about the industry. Moving to L.A., having red carpets be part of how I sustain my business, then growing a direct-to-consumer model—it’s made it more personal. I can be responsive to my customer, to what she wants and how she lives.

Now, my clients are at the center. The stores are more ancillary. That’s not how I was taught, but it’s what’s made the most sense. My girls, my guys—they’re the ones I’m designing for. And when they connect with the work, it’s not because it’s just hanging on a rack. It’s because it means something to them.

Structure and Surface 

WW: You’ve said that Harbison was born from watching your mother transform through clothing. How does that early connection continue to influence your design process—and your collaborations with the women who wear your pieces?

CH: It’s everything. I still defer to my girls. I still love being with them, hearing them talk about their bodies, watching how they wear clothes. I remember being in the room with my mom when I was a child, while she was trying on clothes. I think she had a sixth sense about my love of beauty and maybe even my queerness. Those memories are central to Harbison’s aesthetic.

Gold, red, cream—these are colors she wore beautifully. In many ways, I’m recreating the feelings I had watching her become more herself through fashion. That intimacy, that reverence—it still guides my design process.

WW: Your background in architecture and textiles gives you a unique approach to structure and surface. How do those disciplines inform the visual language of your collections?

CH: Thank you for saying “structure and surface.” That really is how I think. I studied architecture in undergrad because it felt like a balance between art and science. But I quickly found it stifling. In my early fundamentals classes, I started working with fabric, with paint. I realized I loved constructing something and then applying a surface to it—something tactile and textured.

Even now, my process is about that duality. I sketch, I build silhouettes, I think about materials—all at the same time. My design board might have flats, sketches, mood images, all together. I’m always trying to make sense of all the things I love—story, form, texture, silhouette—and bring them into harmony.

Shaped by Los Angeles

WW: Your Met Gala look for Jordan Casteel was a stunning blend of elegance and intimacy. What was the story behind that design, and how did you approach dressing an artist for such an occasion?

CH: I had dressed Amy Sherald for her Whitney opening, and that was the first time I really created custom for another artist. I felt so validated—being commissioned by an artist to make wearable art. When Jordan approached me, I felt honored. These are women who are not only incredible artists but Black women navigating the art world with full agency. I wanted to bring something theatrical, political, but subtle.

We explored dandyism through the lens of clowns and minstrels—historically, people who didn’t have access, but who performed the illusion of it. With Jordan, that illusion becomes real—because she has access now. She’s a co-chair of the Met Gala. So the look became a statement about identity, artistry, and power. The exaggerated boutonniere, the cloud-like silhouettes—it felt grand and caricatured but still so chic.

“There’s flora, light, color. I’m no longer afraid of optimism,”

-Charles Harbison

WW: Being based in L.A. rather than New York offers different perspectives. How does this influence your creative process and what feels newly possible as a designer right now?

CH: I moved to L.A. for my well-being. New York built me as a designer, but I was forcing a round peg into a square hole. In L.A., I have access to nature. It’s healed me. There’s flora, light, color. I’m no longer afraid of optimism.

For me, chic is a wink. A sun-kissed face. Bedhead. Coming out of the ocean. L.A. allows me to live in that feeling and create from it. It’s affected the aesthetic of the collection, and also how I operate.

WW: What do you hope people feel when they wear Harbison—and what kind of cultural legacy are you working toward?

CH: Joy. Joy is so healing. So rebellious. I want people to feel confidence, optimism, lightness, humor. I want to build a house anyone can opt into, regardless of size, background, identity. A wonderland open to everyone. It’s the creative pursuit each of us takes on every single day. So let’s make it beautiful.