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GRAVITAS MAGAZINE GravitasMag.com | 67 because it was stage 0 so I never felt like my life was in danger. It was more like, "Sigrid, you have to take care of this. You can't let it go." But, I didn't feel like my mortality was imminent. How did the yoga retreats come together? The retreats included 15-16 women going to a beautiful place like Tuscany, Vermont or Mex ico and really tak ing time to get to k now each other. Women are moving so fast that they don't have time to think or focus on themselves. e retreat is really a sisterhood of people that care deeply for one another. ose k inds of values and the things that I think are important are what I hold onto: the desire for peace and serenity, natural beauty around me, and my well being. I tr y to keep my life aligned to my personal self. I still take a couple hours out ever y day to do yoga. What sparked this new chapter with HSN? It was all the people involved. I was doing an inter view with Lisa Lockwood with Women's Wear Daily, who I had k nown for years. She says, "My roommate used to be Mindy Grossman. A re you interested in talk ing to her?" I was like 'Yeah!' We got a direct line to Mindy, and she responded immediately. I think they felt that they didn't have any thing at HSN that was similar, and the fact that I am a real designer and I live an hour away was a golden opportunity for ever yone. Do you believe that female designers better represent what women want in fashion today? Unfortunately, designers have to think about what their boss wants, or what their buyers want, or what their merchandiser wants, or what their salesperson wants and they rarely really have a chance to think about what the customer wants. Now, I watch what real women wear. I understand about a woman's silhouee and how the fit, production and construc- tion of a garment maer to women. Now that I am on T V, I can talk and show consumers all of these things. What advice would you give young designers? My first impulse is to say don't be seduced by what you think it's going to be. I oen tell people don't use your own name when you are an apparel designer because if you decide to sell your company, you've sold your name too. However, the fear is if you don't use your own name, who will recognize you? I'm grateful that now I have my name back to use again. If you want to experience ever y thing in life, the small moments and the big moments too, sometimes you have to dive in. I think that perspective makes me realize that nothing lasts forever. I didn't really plan for the future and now being my older self, I'd tell my younger self to think about life in stages and make sure you're ready for whatever happens next. Where do you find inspiration for your new collections? Relationships helped me get this started. Somebody I k new put me in touch with a design and manufacturing company in New York. I met their designer, who I felt like I had k nown my whole life. As it turned out, she actually came to my yoga retreat in Mex ico last Januar y. e whole design process actually came easily. I went back into my archives, into my closet, and pulled out some of my favorite things and newer things that I had been wearing in Florida. I think women of all ages k ind of relate to fashion, but they have to find something that is appropriate for their bodies and their lifestyle. I still want to look feminine and I want to have a lile sex appeal, but I don't want to look like I'm tr ying to be 18. When I design clothes now, I want to give women that sk inny pant that doesn't cling to your leg , but sk ims your silhouee. In my new collections, I created Inner Beauty, a twill tape that is printed with words " joy, beauty, balance, love" sewn into the lining of the garment. It's like a lile hidden message just for women, and it reminds them that there's more to life than just clothing. What would you like your legacy to be known for? I would like to be k nown as someone who unified the principles of creating a balanced, healthy lifestyle. Women all want it, even if we don't k now we want it, and when we experience it, it's just magical; it's amazing. If I can bring that to people by speak ing , by being on television, by designing clothes or things for their home, then I' ll feel like I've really accomplished something. If I can bring that message to others in a fun, visual, pre y- designer way, that's what I will do. Ever y thing I do has to be authentic to who I am today, with a balance of visual, creative fun and spiritual enlightenment. D From her SIGRID OLSEN Studio for HSN/ Feb 2016 collection. It will preview online the week of February 15th and on air Feb 26th, 1-3 p.m. & 6-7 p.m. ET

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