Inspired
F
By Meghan Hinton
color•chalky•summer sexy•style•detailed•jazzy•fall •fitted•practical•wrap•tight•nuetral• •bold•fashion•cape•winter•velvet•fly• occasion•formal•mix•match spring•
‘Once Vintage’ Now Inspiration
ashion is ever changing, yet vintage is always in style. When thinking of fashion, Buffalo New York is not the first city that comes to mind; until now. Only two years ago, in 2011, did Molly Maureen Hoeltke, of Clarence, create an inspiring couture collection which constructs vintage and hand-made pieces from recycled garments and quality vintage fabrics.The label, “Once Vintage”, embodies handmade touches that give extra attention to detail, making each piece truly unique. Hoeltke started her clothing line based on a reoccurring dream she had while living in New York City. She had no sewing experience, but many beautiful drawings that she wanted to make into actual articles of clothing. Using modge podge and scrap fabric, she started what is now a dream come true, literally. Hoeltke began her fashion journey by becoming a wardrobe stylist. She had always been an artist, and she loved to design things. Through much hard work and many missed subway stops due to ideas overtaking her attention, Hoeltke asked questions, inspected clothing at stores, went to exhibits, and watched an array of period sensitive movies. By extensively doing some background work in order to open up some design doors, she began to find exposure in the fashion industry. All the dots slowly started to connect, combining her education in entrepreneurship from University at Buffalo, lavish drawings, inventive designs and a reoccuring dream that would not rest. Since the official beginning of “Once Vintage” in 2011, Hoeltke’s clothing line has had heavy involvement in the Buffalo area. Her line has been seen at Buffalo’s major annual fashion show, Mass Appeal, for the last two years; and has also been exposed in Buffalo Magazine, Buffalo Spree, Auxiliary Magazine, Buffalo Rising and on Buffalo.com. With considerable success in such a short amount of time, Hoeltke plans to keep things rolling. She has entered the production process to have her original designs become available for wholesale to the mass public in the near future. But, with big dreams comes with more work. “Don’t get stars in your eyes, this industry isn’t much glamour. It is simply hard work, just like anything else,” said Hoeltke. She is able to make it through each lengthy day by not getting overwhelmed and by being flexible and improvising when things don’t go exactly as planned. Molly Hoeltke is a great inspiration to those who have a dream. She is putting Buffalo’s name on the map in the fashion industry, and in turn making a name for herself in the world of success. Her advice towards making a dream become a reality is dedication, determination, a passion for that dream, and of course support from such a loving community, such as Buffalo. To buy any of these limited edition pieces of the “Once Vintage” collection, featured in the Incite photo shoot, go to oncevintage.com or stop by Lotions and Potions on the corner of Auburn and Elmwood in Buffalo.
Page 21