Seattle women launch vintage ski suit brand TaraShakti with Capitol Hill pop-up

For the Seattle women behind the new ski fashion brand TaraShakti, it all started with an annual girls trip to Whistler Blackcomb — and a bunch of onesies. 

One of the women in the group had recently undergone surgery for brain cancer and, wanting to celebrate life with fun on the slopes, requested that the group ski in onesies. TaraShakti founder Tara Clark scoured eBay for eye-catching vintage ski suits and brought them skiing.

In the onesies, the skiers attracted attention from other women on the mountain who stopped to admire their style. The women felt confident, open to conversation, and proudly in touch with their true selves. That trip also set into motion a business idea that crystallized this winter with the Shakti Shack ski fashion pop-up that will operate on Capitol Hill through the end of March.  

“That’s what onesies do,” said Clark. “They allow you to be you. Skiing down a mountain in a silly one-piece suit shows your willingness to be open and share. And you just never know what opportunities might arise that can change your course of life.”

Clark, a serial entrepreneur whose projects include those “IN THIS HOUSE, WE BELIEVE …” yard signs, made it her mission to get more women on the slopes sporting fashionable onesies with TaraShakti, a passion project that challenges a space historically dominated by white men.

“Women are used to hiding their bodies and wearing baggy clothes to hide their curves,” Clark said. “Well, these fit crazily well. Women look phenomenal when they put them on and they start to light up. When you’re lit up, people respond to you differently.”

Clark, along with co-founder and chief operating officer Quan Ralkowski, launched the vintage ski suit brand with an emphasis on crafting high-performance suits that double as fashionable outerwear that you can wear anywhere. TaraShakti also aims to be a brand with purpose, with goals of bolstering inclusion for women on the mountain, particularly women of color. Beyond its fun ski suits, the company hopes to expand mountain access through scholarships and sponsorships.

At the Shakti Shack pop-up, the full line of suits and other accessories will be available to try on for purchase or rental (and are available for purchase online at tarashakti.com). Additionally, the pop-up will host a speaker series that features artist Lamont Joseph White, whose art adorns the shop, plus Sherpas and other outdoors experts.

The colorful, flashy suits are designed to flatter all body types, and can be worn as a one-piece outfit or unzipped to be worn as separate pieces. Each suit has seven pockets, six of which can fit a cellphone, and includes RECCO transponder devices for safety. Onesies are available in sizes XS to XL, with plans to expand the line to suit a wider variety of body sizes.

“[Our suits are] bringing a different way to the outerwear industry by having a feminine fit,” Clark said. “Instead of unisex with a masculine fit, we’re unisex with a feminine fit.”

The brand’s existing apparel lines honor the women who served as the inspiration for the company during its early days — including the Holly Collection, with bold vertical stripes on a suit that “ignites the star power in every woman.” The collection is named after the friend whose onesie idea set the TaraShakti snowball in motion, who died in October 2021. Future lines will be named for inspirational Black women from the 1970s and ’80s. 

Lacking a background in design, Clark consulted a local Sherpa-owned company, Khangri Sourcing, to create the suits, which are made in a factory in Kathmandu, Nepal, where workers are paid above the standard living wage. TaraShakti contributes $50 for every suit sold to the Northwest Sherpa Association and the Swedish Ben and Catherine Ivy Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment, both of which were instrumental to the creation of the brand. 

“I was told by many people that that was not the way to approach starting a business, that you had to be profitable before giving away,” Clark said. “If I’m not able to be profitable, then I shouldn’t be in business.”

Clark initially set out to launch TaraShakti at the height of the pandemic, but sourcing and supply delays and shutdowns forced a step back. The downtime allowed Clark to cultivate relationships, which led her to Ralkowski, a longtime e-commerce professional whom Clark brought on as co-founder and COO in October 2022.

Impressed by Clark’s dedication to quality design, fabric selection and fit, Ralkowski was excited to join the project.

“There’s something to be said about a woman designing for other women and understanding how our bodies work,” Ralkowski said. “Even the basic mechanics of going to the bathroom and being able to unzip your pants instead of taking the entire onesie off and having your arms drag on the floor is meaningful.”

The suits are designed for real women, and the women featured in promotional photos on the brand’s website are real women, too — Clark and Ralkowski want customers to know the onesies are designed for them.

“Initially [women] are a little tentative to put [the suit] on because it’s form fitting, but as soon as they do, they start smiling and they see their body differently and get recognized differently,” Clark said. “It’s really important to be seen as you are in all your uniqueness because it really does impact the dynamic of how you interact with the world.”