When Mariah Keopple got the email, she wasn’t awake to see it. She had spent the entire night refreshing, waiting, hoping — stuck in the time-zone limbo between Central and Pacific, worried she hadn’t made the mark. Fashion in Flight, one of Seattle’s most celebrated emerging-designer showcases, was supposed to notify her hours earlier. Nothing came. Keopple went to bed bracing for disappointment. “I was like, Oh my gosh, I didn’t get in. They didn’t like it,” she says. “And then I woke up to the email saying that I was in.” For a professional hockey player who had never presented a full collection before, the moment was electric — and terrifying. Excitement hit first. Fear followed immediately. “I’ve never done something to this magnitude before,” Keopple admits. “If I have the opportunity, I’m going to do it to my full potential, I’m going to knock it out of the park. But I was terrified at the same exact time.” But fear has never stopped her. Not on the ice, and not while building Riah the Label [https://riahthelabel.com/], the clothing line she began in her free time long before stepping onto the Fashion in Flight runway. A RETURN TO HER CREATIVE ROOTS The collection shown in Seattle, 12 looks constructed in just two and a half months, wasn’t born from a formal fashion background. Keopple is self-taught, learning techniques from YouTube, a love for arts and crafts, and trial-and-error. The foundation of her line is something meaningful: “RIAH is all about elevating your wardrobe and creating your sense of self-expression through your own clothing with peace of mind that these are curated pieces in a sustainable manner. Truly, one of a kind limited curations.” As a kid, she was endlessly artistic. She colored in fashion books, sketched ideas and loved arts and crafts. But as academics took priority and an Ivy League path came into view, that side of her faded. It wasn’t until her first season in Montreal, surrounded by teammates who encouraged her to post her work, push herself creatively, and treat her ideas seriously, that she stepped back into it. “I kind of tapped back into my creative kid side,” she says. “My teammates really pushed me to start posting, to do more. A lot of props to them – they really pushed me to do it.” That encouragement shaped the spirit of Riah the Label: feminine, structured, expressive, and distinctly hers. The first piece she ever made was a corset — a motif that became the anchor of her Fashion in Flight collection. “I formed all 12 looks around that idea of a very confined femininity,” she explains. “But you’re embracing it and expanding outward from it.” Kanan Bhatt-Shah (PWHL VP Brand & Marketing) discusses new Seattle Torrent brand BRINGING FEMININITY TO AN ATHLETE’S BODY Riah the Label exists in a rare space — fashion created not just for athletes, but from an athlete’s lived experience. Keopple is intentional about showcasing silhouettes, textures, and shapes that highlight rather than fight the realities of a powerful hockey body. A major source of her inspiration comes from her travels, from living in different cities, and from watching how people express themselves through clothing. “I really got into noticing people’s aesthetics in college,” she says. That research became the basis of her academic thesis on self-expression through clothing, and it still informs her work today. Every idea goes into her notes app or Pinterest boards – small flashes of inspiration she builds on between practices, workouts, and travel days. Self-expression isn’t a luxury for her; it’s fuel. A TEAM THAT SHOWED UP IN EVERY SENSE When her Seattle Torrent teammates learned her collection would be featured in the show, [https://thehockeynews.com/womens/pwhl/keopple-s-line-set-to-take-flight-at-seattle-fashion-show] they didn’t hesitate. Many had met her only days earlier. They went anyway. Walking down the runway that night, Keopple saw them in the crowd and felt her eyes sting. “It was so amazing,” she says. “A group of girls that barely know me, some had just met me two days before, showing that support. I was getting teary-eyed. I’m so grateful.” Even players who were away messaged her for updates, checking in between their own commitments. “It just goes to show our team and our culture,” she says. “I’ve felt supported ever since I got here.” That support mattered even more given how demanding the lead-up to the show was. Fashion in Flight took place during the second day of training camp – the busiest, most structured stretch of her offseason. Completing a 12-look collection on that timeline required discipline on par with professional sport. When she finally arrived backstage before the show, stress gave way to relief. “It was like a big weight lifted off my shoulders,” Keopple says. “Everything was done. I was finally here. I had to enjoy it.” WHAT COMES NEXT FOR RIAH THE LABEL Keopple’s first collection was only the beginning. For all the pride she has in the show, she also sees everything she wasn’t able to fit into it – techniques she didn’t yet have time to learn, details she couldn’t perfect in a two-and-a-half-month sprint. Now that she has a foundation, she’s eager to build on it. “There’s definitely more to come, even within this collection,” she says. Her dream is to release pieces to the public instead of having just one of everything. “I would love to do that. And I got so many amazing compliments about certain outfits. It was good to see what people really liked.” Even during the season, she keeps designing. “I feel like I’m always working on something,” she laughs. “I have a couple things in the works. I’m very excited, I just don’t know the timeline.” HER ADVICE: START IN YOUR CLOSET, STAY ON YOUTUBE For anyone who wants to express themselves more through fashion, Keopple believes the first step is simple: take inventory. “Look at your closet — see what you have and don’t have,” she says. “Fill the gaps. Get rid of what you don’t love. If you don’t love it, you don’t need it.” She struggled with that at first, but once she let go of pieces that didn’t represent her, creativity followed. As for aspiring designers? Her advice is the same tool that carried her through every seam, zipper, and late-night frustration. “My advice is literally YouTube,” she says. “That’s how I learned everything. And if one technique isn’t working, there are so many people teaching things in different ways. Branch out and look everywhere – it’ll keep you from getting overwhelmed.” A DESIGNER, AN ATHLETE, AND A WHOLE CREATIVE IDENTITY Mariah Keopple never set out to become a runway designer. She followed a spark — a childhood instinct she’d forgotten – and let it grow. Riah the Label isn’t a side project; it’s an extension of who she is: an athlete with a creative soul, someone who refuses to choose between strength and softness, structure and expression, hockey and art. And if her debut collection is any indication, she’s only just getting started.
