Located in the heart of Downtown Fremont at The Gather House, LoveEm Couture is the psychedelic, vintage, intergalactic experience nobody knew they needed. Emme Larsen is the founder and creator of LoveEm Couture, consisting of everything from connective artwork, spiritual jewelry and distressed t-shirts.
Larsen talked about how art has always been a passion of hers, but the famous First Fridays in Downtown are what really connected her to the scene.
“I’ve always done art my whole life but it wasn’t something I’d always share,” Larsen said. “I started by making phone cases and distressing denim. I started popping up in 2012 or 2013 at First Fridays. And, I was doing that for a few years. Then, I started working Downtown and that was how I found Market in the Alley. I started popping up there in 2017 or so. This is how I kind of got my start in T-shirts and denim even more.”
From Johnny Cash, to Star Wars, to random brands some have never heard of, Larsen has been taking t-shirts and flipping them into high fashion pieces all because of her own clothing style.
“T-Shirts all started with me making my own Guns N Roses T-shirt because I love rock n’ roll,” Larsen said. “I just fell in love with the look, and when I saw what else I could create with the same style on other shirts, other people really started liking them, too. It was just something fun, sometimes when you’re thrifting you find a gem or something different you never would have found if you just went to Forever 21.”
With distressing being such an on-trend style in the fashion industry today, Larsen was able to take vintage clothing and make it on par with the trends of today.
“I really love that uniqueness,” Larsen said. “It’s one of a kind when you’re shopping.”
With fast fashion making it so much harder for independent shops like Larson’s to make a name for themselves, she feels as though places like Shein and Fashion Nova have really just made her clothing more on style and accessible to wider markets.
“I don’t know if the fast fashion industry has totally affected me because the people who want and love that look will still support and buy those looks from me too,” Larsen said. “It almost has helped make the look and market that I am geared toward more widespread.”
This look of distressing clothes to make them look worn has been around for years and years now. Little shops such as LoveEm Couture are making sure that style sticks around for even longer.
“I’ve really been trying to dive more into my art, doing a lot of pastels and paintings,” Larsen said.
The biggest project that Emme has been working on is her “Nebulas of Interconnectedness.” These paintings are sold in two parts, one the canvas itself and two the stamp that made the print on the first canvas, so two people will have this bond and connect over a painting and they will not even know it yet.
This spiritual connected experience is Larsen’s way of connecting people who did not even know they needed connecting through artwork. With these paintings being just the start of her new artwork, LoveEm Couture is definitely a shop locals and tourists alike will soon be flocking to.
Follow Larsen Instagram and check out her podcast to keep up to date on all of her upcoming projects.
