Dre's Takes: Building the Fall Collection

Every collection starts with a question. For this one, it was: what does it feel like to be in the middle of something? Not at the beginning, not at the end — but right in the middle, when you're still figuring it out. That's where the Fall 2026 collection, "In Between Places," was born. This Dre's Takes takes you inside the creative process — where the inspiration came from, how I edited down the colors, and why I think building something new is one of the healthiest things you can do for your mind.

Where It Started: The Inspiration

I've been in a season of transition. Building a business, building a brand, figuring out who TIY is and where it's going. There's an uncomfortable beauty in that in-between space — it's not failure, but it's not arrival either. I wanted the collection to hold that feeling. I wanted the colors to say: "I'm here. I'm becoming. And I'm not afraid of the middle."

Some of that comes from being an athlete — you learn to sit in the space between training and competing, between who you were last season and who you're becoming this one. But a lot of it comes from somewhere people don't always expect: fashion.

How Fashion Week Shapes Everything I Build

Long before TIY, I loved fashion the way some people love music — as a language. I still follow every season the way other founders follow earnings calls. There's something about Fashion Week — New York, Milan, Paris — that resets how I see color, mood, and movement. It's not that I'm copying a runway trend into a hair tie. It's that fashion week reminds me, twice a year, that a color is never just a color. It's a decision about who you want to be for the next few months.

That's the lens I build every TIY season through. Before I ever touch a swatch, I'm thinking about what the runways were saying — was the mood grounded or electric, moody or bright — and I translate that down into something you can actually live in: a hair tie you wear to the gym, to work, to a wedding. Fashion week gives me the feeling. TIY is where I figure out how to make that feeling wearable, every day, for you.

The Color Decisions: What Made the Cut

Choosing colorways is one of the most personal parts of building this brand. I hold every swatch and ask: does this feel true? Does it belong? We had over 30 initial options for "In Between Places." The final collection has the shades that passed that test — the ones that felt both personal and universal. The ones that felt like fall, and the ones that felt like fashion week just walked straight off the runway and into your hair.

What I Want You to Feel When You Wear It

I want you to feel held. Like you don't have to have it all figured out to look — and feel — like yourself. Like wherever you are in your journey — in-between, arriving, or starting over — there's a TIY color that says, "I see you." That's what this collection is built to do.

Why Building Something New Is Good for Your Mind

Here's something I've learned building TIY season after season: creating something is one of the best ways I know to process a season of change. When life feels uncertain, I don't wait until I have it all figured out — I start making something. A mood board. A swatch wall. A first draft. It doesn't fix the uncertainty, but it gives it somewhere to go. If you're in your own in-between season right now, my honest advice is the same thing I do: make something, even something small. It helps more than waiting for clarity ever does.

Shop the Fall Collection

The "In Between Places" Fall Collection is available now. Thank you for being part of this journey — for building this with me, season by season. This one is for you.

FAQ: Behind the Fall Collection

What inspired TIY's "In Between Places" Fall Collection?

The collection was inspired by the feeling of being in the middle of a transition — not at the beginning or the end of a season of change. It translates that emotional in-between space into a palette of moody, earthy fall colors.

How does fashion week influence TIY's collections?

Dre, TIY's founder, has a background in fashion and follows every fashion week season. Before designing a new TIY collection, she looks at the mood coming off the runways — grounded or electric, moody or bright — and translates that feeling into wearable, everyday colorways.

What colors are in TIY's Fall Collection?

The "In Between Places" Fall Collection includes shades like Vino, Jungle, Rosé, Plum, Panther, Clay, Sand, Milkshake, Euphoria, and Arctic — a mix of moody, earthy tones and the last of summer's brights.

Why is creating something new good for your mental health?

Working on a creative project during a season of uncertainty gives your mind somewhere productive to go. It doesn't resolve the uncertainty, but it can ease it — which is why Dre treats building each TIY collection as much a personal practice as a business one.

Ciao Ciao ,
Dre