Courtesy of Citizen Glory
Citizen Glory's God's Color Book collection
When Citizen Glory founder Amber Higgins moved to Fort Worth, everything changed. For six years she had lived in Los Angeles, immersing herself in Hollywood culture through her career as an actress and producer. When Higgins and her husband, Brian, found out she was pregnant, however, they moved back home to Texas to get closer to family. Then, as stories go these days, COVID-19 hit.
As the pandemic began to change life around her, Higgins felt called during a moment of prayer and worship to pick up her iPad and draw. She admits that she was surprised she felt led to visual art, since it was out of her comfort zone, but she enjoyed the way her creativity strengthened her focus on God.
After sharing her pieces with family and friends, Higgins began hearing people say that she should put her designs on clothing. After partnering with manufacturers, she started apparel brand Citizen Glory at the end of May 2020. Her mission for the brand goes back to the inspiration she feels during her time of prayer.
“The true heart behind Citizen Glory is, I want believers, unbelievers, all people to understand God’s love for them — no matter what your background is," Higgins says. "It’s to be able to have an experience. It's more than just clothing. It's more than just fashion. My heart is for people to have an experience with a God who loves them.”
On the brand’s website, small inscriptions accompany the designs to point to Higgins’ inspiration for the piece. For example, Higgins describes the vision for her design inspired by the Garden of Eden, the place in the Bible where God put the first humans.
“It's basically all these beautiful bright colors, like bubbles, and it’s just magical. It feels like what the Garden of Eden was before sin entered into it,” Higgins says. Designs like Garden of Eden can be found on everything from sweatshirts and joggers to backpacks and blankets.
Along with her bold designs, Higgins recently came out with a line of solid color clothing called God’s Color Book. She is excited about the mix-and-match opportunities the simpler clothes bring to the brand.
This expansion points to Higgins’ vision for the future of Citizen Glory. “Eventually, it's going to be like a one-stop shop where anyone and everyone can come and find fashion. Comfortable fashion, lounge fashion, to high end fashion,” Higgins says. She compares her goal for Citizen Glory to Nordstrom, complete with a brick-and-mortar location that will enable her to better provide the experience of the brand’s mission.
In mid-August, Citizen Glory releases its fall line in collaboration with the brand Anonyme. If you’re looking, though, that won’t be the only place you see Higgins — her production company, Ten Four Films, recently produced a music video for Christian artist Erica Renee McKinney and will soon be producing a feature film.
To find out more about Citizen Glory, visit citizenglory.com.
