Amanda Halkias is a New York City-based creative and owner of her very own Helen The Brand.
Established just over a year ago, HTB’s selection of vintage garments and accessories is carefully curated, maintaining a timeless and artful aesthetic. The Instagram bio describes the brand as “vintage for sustainable and artful living”, and the feed and website say exactly the same about Amanda’s stunning design. Halkias founded the brand while working in social media at Rag & Bone after having worked for a New Jersey based brand called Gypsy Warrior. She’s clearly had the perfect experience, as we make our way into an e-commerce dominated era for fashion. She says “being at both of these very different companies over around 10 years allowed me to wear many many hats and learn so many different skills and i use all of those lessons and knowledge to make my own brand today.” The brand is a namesake for her grandmother Helen, described by Amanda as the “most wonderful woman in the world”, in her All About Page, where she outlines a mission statement of sorts with photographs of Helen. So far, her pieces have been featured in Contributor Magazine and her most recent lookbook, for the Spring 2020 season, has a strong 1970s Western theme; including cowboy boots, a hat, checkered patterns and vests.
As New York prepares for an extended pause per Governor Cuomo’s announcement on April 16th, Amanda is finding ways to accommodate clients' needs during this time of uncertainty. Amanda said that because she sources the vintage “so far in advance to when the clothes launch online, it was definitely difficult to realize that the needs and wants of my customers had changed so quickly with very little time to react.” So, to take matters into her own hands, she has included houseware items in her selection of vintage treasures, and in every package, she provides customers with cotton face masks using materials that are up-cycled or vintage.
When I asked Amanda about her sources of inspiration and excitement when it comes to running her business and creating a one of a kind experience, she replied that she gets a lot of the inspiration from movies and TV, from shows like ‘Mad Men’ and ‘Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’. In addition to selecting stunning pieces, Amanda alters pieces and makes them her own, to encompass all that Helen was, which she does with her collections, radiating good intentions and the beauty of life and what you make of it. She keeps a drawing pad handy, to have silhouettes on hand while teaching for the best fits for her brand at thrift stores. To her, this brand is a creative outlet for her many artistic passions; the many artistic disciplines such as photography and design, fashion of course, and “most of all, human connection!”.
Given the uncertainty of the second half of 2020, Amanda will keep running her business out of love. She thanks her customers for enabling her to pursue this business endeavor, and “will continue to listen to what they want” and will act upon their needs and wishes. She plans to launch a second spring collection, and continue each season and hopefully shoot some fashion films to further showcase the brand. In terms of collaboration and brand growth, Amanda lists Sami Miro as one of her top dream collaborators and has plans to work on curating wardrobe for film and theater productions, for her love for creating time machines with clothing must be given.
You can follow the brand on Instagram @helenthebrand and Amanda @thegeminifeed and stay up to date with the latest collections on Helen’s website: https://www.helenthebrand.com
