In anticipation of Aspen Fashion Week, March 11-14, we sat down with David Peck, designer for CrOp by David Peck, to talk about his brand, the upcoming collection and the inspiration behind it all. His answers were both genuine and intriguing; leaving us incredibly anxious to see his winter 2012 collection come down the runway next week. Here is what David had to say:

Describe the CrOp customer. The CrOp customer is definitely not defined by her age. We have customers from 13-80+! She is globally aware and loves classic design, but likes to put her own twist on things. She loves color and prints, and understands quality.

What do you love about designing womenswear? I love making women look beautiful. Nothing makes me happier than to see a woman feeling confident and glamorous in one of my designs. There’s also an element of fantasy that is permissible in designing for women that doesn’t really exist in menswear.

Tell me about your favorite trends for spring. Prints and color! I love clothes that are happy. They totally change my mood. I like when prints tell a story – always a good conversation starter.

What can guests expect to see from CrOp’s winter 12/13 collection at Aspen Fashion Week? Any new fabrics, colors, or silhouettes? I played around with volume quite a bit for fall. I was really drawn to the idea of playing with couture shapes from the 50’s and 60’s, but in lightweight, transparent fabrics. Another element that I particularly love are our dresses that look like separates (talk about making getting dressed a cinch) and the separates that look like dresses.

How does your inspiration process start? Every season I’m inspired by a story and a cause. There’s usually something rattling around in my brain that is begging to be unleashed once it’s time to working on a new collection.

What is the specific inspiration behind your winter 12/13 collection? This season I wanted to explore my family history and heritage. The TV show “Who Do You Think You Are?” inspired me to start researching my family tree on ancestry.com. My wife’s family immigrated to America through the Lower East Side, and a trip we took to the Tenement Museum there gave me lots of ideas about colors a patterns.

We know your childhood summers in New Mexico and Colorado have inspired your style. What is your favorite memory and how has that translated into your designs? Actually, the two summers that I spent at Aspen Music Festival were some of the best times of my life. The “Autumn Leaves” print for Fall 2012 is taken from photos that I took during my time there.

You have generously committed 10% of your profits each season to a cause affiliated with that collection’s source of inspiration. Any ideas what cause your winter 12/13 collection proceeds will benefit? For Fall 2012 we are supporting Covenant House. They work to eradicate teen homelessness. The organization was actually started in a tenement building in the Lower East Side, so I love how it brings us back full circle to the inspiration.

Tell us about your commitment to sustainability and fair trade. Sustainability is such an important topic, and one that has been important to me for as long as I can remember. Fashion creates waste, so we try to eliminate that as much as we possibly can. No one approach can entirely solve the problem. That’s why we approach everything we do a produce from a global viewpoint. There are several questions that we ask when we are evaluating whether or not a material is one that we will use: Can it be organic? Are the workers who made the fabric being treated fairly? Is this a product that can be sourced domestically? The list goes on, but the more of these questions that can be answered positively, the more likely that it will make the cut.  We also own and operate our own factory. We make sure that our workers are treated well, and are paid a fair wage. I love that we have been able to create so many jobs domestically by putting training systems in place that allow for job growth and development.

David Peck has gotten the entire AFW team extremely excited to see his entire winter 2012 collection walk down the runway Sunday, March 11th.  We love the statement that his clothes make and the philosophy for which his brand stands.  Get your tickets and come preview his entire collection at Aspen Fashion Week.  See you there!