Add Some Sparkl to Your Life

Gabrielle Hall, 25, pushes the limit with her risky glitter choices. The young designer runs her own clothing store, Sparkl, that’s iridescent-themed— and it shows.

Sparkl Fairy Couture, based in Santa Monica, California, offers an array of attire with the distinct selling point of its luminous color scheme of fabrics that change in depth when viewed from different angles. For Hall, iridescence is a lifestyle. It inspires her fabric choices and her personal brand. In her own studio, where she photographs her clothing line, Hall tries to market the shimmer of her shoes, skirts, electronic dance music festival apparel and even face masks in campaigns. One of brand’s specialties is the offering to create custom items requested by clients.  Hall says she can, “Bring anyone’s girly dreams to life.”

Hall, an island girl who grew up in Hawaii who was born and raised in Lihue, was designing and creating from a young age. Shelley Hall, Gabi’s mother, recalls a time her daughter  made a cheetah makeup bag when she was just fourteen years old. In fact, Shelley remembers her daughter making clothes for her Barbie dolls in as early as the first grade. “Gabi would make the Barbie clothes and sew them herself with a sewing machine I got her,” said Shelley. “She wanted to stand out of the crowd and never conform. She would cut her clothes to make it different from everyone else,” said Shelley.  “She even made a dress out of recycling materials in high school.”

Hall left Hawaii when she was only seventeen to study at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles. “I never even heard of the school before. We didn’t even know she applied,” said Garrett Hall, Gabi’s father. “We knew fashion was her passion, but never thought it might be her driven career,” said Garrett.

Gabi, who goes by “G Sparkl” on her website, has featured her clothing on popular online stores such as DollsKill and ASOS. The customer service team at DollsKill vocalized their interest in Hall’s clothing line, highlighting that their customers especially liked the brand’s iridescent footwear. Beyond women’s clothing, Sparkl Fairy Couture also makes canopies, curtains, men’s wear, baby clothes, custom blankets, and bags.

A Yelp reviewer from Seattle, Washington, Ashlie R. says that “Sparkl makes me feel like a Barbie princess.” Alicia Cole, a client that visited the Sparkl Fairy Couture studio, said that, “In a culture full of big corporate fashion companies that consistently seem to put out the same pieces in the same colors and materials every few weeks, Sparkl fashion stands out like the fairy unicorn the brand’s founder seems to actually be.” Cole said she fell in love with Sparkl’s ,”Sustainable, handmade, incredibly special iridescent and pastel creations.”

Cole got a sneak peak of what Gabi was working on at the time, a Satin flower collection that is now commercially available. “She was so kind, humble, and passionate and I walked out of there feeling like I made a friend. It was definitely a day to remember”, said Cole.

Hall previously had a job as a full-time design assistant at Revelry, where she was a design assistant to eight different designers. Matias Doorn, who was Gabi’s boss at Reverely, said, “The first time I met Gabi she was shining, and everyone in the office was like who is this girl? She didn’t walk into the room she floats in. She has separate different energy on a different level always with good energy and good mood. She was always on time and asking questions on how and why I did things this way. Always very curious,” said Doorn. Matias said he knew Gabi was studying at FIDM and she always had a different outfit and was super colorful or sparkle, shiny.

As Sparkl took off, Gabi left FIDM and Revelry to continue to build her brand. Hall’s clothing line is inspired by her middle name, Iwalani, which means “heavenly bird” in Hawaiian. “I’m a fairy, I came up with Sparkl without the ‘e’ to sparkle my whole life. Then couture because Juicy Couture is where I spent all my money growing up—buying the sweatpants,” said Hall.

The fashionista honed creative ways of selling her brand in Santa Monica. “I would go down on the weekends to Venice Beach boardwalk, and build a stand with clothespins. Then I would  roller-skate in a bikini modeling my clothes. I was discovered by the director of BeautyCon Moj Mahara in LA…My bikini designs were reversible from bikinis baby pink, baby blue, lavender, iridescent hologram, and iridescent snake patterns,” said Hall.

Celebrities like Vanessa Anne Hudgens and Paris Hilton can be seen in Sparkl Fairy Couture clothing, sparking an interest in the brand online. Hudgens can be seen in Gabi Hall’s custom Sparkl sequin halter top on her Instagram. Paris Hilton and Vanessa Anne Hudgens could not be reached for comment. “Each collection is a little bit different, I don’t follow exact themes. I go for chic glamour, a stupendous everyday look,” said Hall.

Hall has amassed a total of 35 collections and in the past year. Gabi says she plans on bringing in hats, handbags, and expanding into bed and travel. In the future Hall hopes to make more designs in homeware from duvets, pillows, curtains, comforters. Gabi plans to continue to put out 8-12 mini collections a year.

Covid-19 has affected the business, Gabi said. “It’s hard to sell party clothes when everyone is staying at home. That inspired us to think outside the box to get comfy clothes for Sparkl.”