Writer: Jinessa Lewis
Photos: Tonya Rock Photography
In a world where trendy fast fashion dominates the clothing industry, it’s rare to find someone who understands what you really want.
For Laura Gerlach, fashion isn’t about what’s “in.” It’s about what lasts in your closet and community. That’s why she started Wild Features Collective from her home office in Nevada.
The boutique initially served as a resale platform with a beautiful curated collection, but Gerlach had bigger ideas in mind. With her online storefront, Gerlach prioritizes intentionality, timelessness and versatility. She’s recently created more customized collections, designed specifically for the brand.
Wild Features Collective has a boho-contemporary feel with subtle Western roots that reflect Gerlach’s farm background. Even so, she incorporates soft textures and a neutral palette to make the brand feel modern and timeless in ways that appeal to customers even outside of Iowa and the Midwest.
“I want my style to bring a really high quality aspect but still have that rooted and homey feel to it,” she explained.
When she was a student at Iowa State University, Gerlach considered majoring in fashion merchandising but ultimately opted for animal science with a minor in business entrepreneurship. After graduating in 2017 and working in animal science for several years, she eventually decided to focus on entrepreneurship and launch her own brand, Wild Features Collective, in 2022.
In May 2024, she introduced the Collectively Kimberly collection, a special collection that honors her mother, Kimberly, who passed away the previous November.
It “holds the different pieces of my mom,” Gerlach said. “The designs each have their own meaning and story behind them, how she transformed and how she taught me to be someone who can continuously transform myself, adapt and not be afraid to go out and do things.”
With the new collection, Gerlach set out to create American-made clothes that feel authentic and meet her standards in every detail, from fit to fabric to color. She partners with a cut-and-sew manufacturer in California, commissions hand-drawn designs from Fruited Paint in Pella and has them printed by B5 Branding, a family-owned business in Ames.
Eventually, Gerlach hopes to expand Wild Features Collective beyond clothing to include home decor and other lifestyle pieces. She’d also like to work directly with local artisans to offer customers more personal and meaningful items.
“We have tons of big businesses and brands that are very transactional, and that’s just not how my business is,” Gerlach said. “I want people to keep coming back. I want it to feel like an experience, and Collectively Kimberly is an experience of its own.”
Legacy of love
Laura Gerlach’s late mother worked at the Johnson County Courthouse and annually rallied her friends to help collect socks for survivors of domestic violence. Today, Gerlach keeps her mother’s tradition alive, continuing that effort through a campaign she’s renamed the SocKK Drive. (The double “K” is for her mother, Kimberly Kurth.) In its first year, the Wild Features Collective team collected 1,400 pairs. As part of the campaign, $1 from every Wild Features Collective purchase and $3 from all Collectively Kimberly items go toward purchasing more socks to donate.
Shop the Collectively Kimberly collection, along with denim, sweaters and other trending pieces on the Wild Features website, wildfeaturescollective.com.
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