This article originally appeared in the Money print issue, in stands March 2025. It has not been updated and some information may be out of date.
Passion, especially that of young entrepreneurs, comes at a price. The University of Utah is home to many students whose creative passion lies within fashion design. However, passion without financial backing is difficult to maintain. It is their life’s balancing act.
Students like Brennah Strange and Caitlin Draper must advocate for themselves in order to maintain equilibrium between the cost of life and the love of fashion.
A Passion Project
Strange found solace at the sewing machine beginning in fourth grade. The father-daughter hobby that began as pillow-making slowly evolved into a talent for clothing design by the time she was in high school.
She found that the outdoor gear that she wanted to wear was all brown and grey, lacking any individuality. This inspired the curation of her sustainability-focused outerwear brand in 2022. As an avid winter sport enthusiast, Strange’s brand took on the name “Hook Chute,” in honor of her favorite ski run. She even built a community of brand supporters that evolved into a monthly run club.
The U became Strange’s greatest resource as it allowed her access to a variety of grants that she could apply for to fund her passion. Doman Innovation Studio, an incubator for product development at the David Eccles School of Business, partnered with Strange and helped to fund one of her first solo fashion shows.
“Fabric is not as cheap as people think it is,” Strange said. “I don’t get wholesale prices because I am buying small quantities, so it gets pretty pricey.”
With the help of Doman’s allocated funds, she put on an outdoor trail show in the mountains, which is something she would like to continue.
On the Rack
With the help of the Lassonde microgrant, Strange has evolved one of her runway looks into a ready-to-wear piece. She launched her first purchasable item on her website on March 1, 2025, with plans to pursue a complete fashion label after graduation. Even with the grant’s help, Strange still makes sacrifices in her “fun money” fund to put that money towards her brand.
“Hook Chute is such a passion project for me,” she said. “I enjoy putting money into my brand.”
The original plan for the drop included a pair of climbing pants. However, Strange quickly realized that since the majority of her brand’s audience is in college, the predicted $180 price tag would not be feasible for many of them to spend.
“I don’t see a ton of college kids willing to spend that much money on pants,” she said.
Instead, she opted for an activewear tank top, which she will only charge $70 for. Strange believes that for the first drop of her brand, quantity of sales is the most important way to ensure profit, even if it means sacrificing a piece of the vision to get there.
As Strange prepares to carry her business into post-graduation, she is the most concerned about losing the resources that the U has been able to offer her.
“I have a lot of big ideas that I want to do once I graduate,” she said. “I think trying to get them funded or finding ways to save money for them is going to be the hardest part.”
Putting Stock in Bonds
Strange has been able to keep costs down by doing all of the grunt work herself. Still, she expects to hire another seamstress once the brand begins to grow.
Draper, CEO of the Fashion in Business (FIB) organization at the U, echoes Strange in that the best way to combat financial worries as a student entrepreneur is to allow yourself to delegate.
“Rely on others,” she said.
Draper designed for the first annual FIB show in 2023, debuting her space-age, 1960s-style retro brand, Earth Curse Disco. As excited as she was, she was also hesitant to share what she was working on with others. She put the full force of the project’s financial burden on herself.
She eventually realized that she had to begin letting people in. Her brother, grandmother and parents became the support she needed. This helped her realize that her brand’s creation, in a way, helped strengthen her bonds with them. She realized that she doesn’t have to do it alone and that everything doesn’t have to be opulent right from the start.
“I think that there is a lot of pressure starting a brand,” she said. “But do what you can, how you can, and see where you can go from there.”
