The stacks of fabric in Shabd Simon-Alexander’s Brooklyn studio appear to be sorted by region: South American, Central American, North American, Asian… Their traditional weaves and vibrant colors tell very different stories, but they all speak the same language to Simon-Alexander. “If you go into indigenous communities anywhere in the world, people are making this stuff. You find the same shapes they use again and again and the same designs. There’s something really basic and human about them.”

Mainly sold online (and at one dedicated boutique in Japan), Simon-Alexander’s womenswear line is a comfortable, slightly eccentric and chic mix of native fabrics and her own hand-dyed silks and cottons. And while her past collections reflected the muse of indigenous folklore, for fall Simon-Alexander shows more of the mysticism and wonder associated with her name as an artist. “I have a lot of stories in my head when I’m making stuff, and I don’t necessarily expect other people to see that. It’s just clothes in the end. I just make them because I’m inspired by something.”

As she shows me around her space, we talk about the magical realism of Latin American literature and the distinct ties to art and design. We talk about children’s stories. Browsing her current collection, I feel the same sense of wonderment I felt when reading Peter Pan or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a child. Spacious, galactic dye patterns soften manufactured graphic prints and dreamy pastels hide behind bright plaids. “With most of the things I work with, I have one source of inspiration and then I try something—and then I see something else in it. Then I make a mistake and it goes somewhere else and by the time I get to the end, it’s somewhere else I wasn’t planning.”

Though Simon-Alexander loves designing wearable, beautiful clothing, she admits that if another medium fit her inspiration, she wouldn’t hesitate to use it. Photographs and wall hangings adorn her studio and boxes of ceramics line the floor. A few gnarled sticks wrapped in brightly colored threads lean in the corner. The functions differ, but I can see similar inspirations behind each piece; the sticks have the same saturated hues and mysticism as a dress or a sculpture. “I just really love having my hands in things. I’ve been doing a lot of ceramics recently, and I work off of my photographs a lot.”

Because each piece in her line is carefully hand dyed and stitched, production is kept to a minimum, but the designer is looking to expand. In the meantime, Shabd lovers can shop online.