Couture Carolina

Couture Carolina Runway MG&B

Debut:

Exlusive!

Charles Josef Interview

Ruins Reclaimed: A Post-Apocalyptic Fairy Tale

Contents 4

5 8 11 22 24

Editor’s Letter An Introduction

Runway Fall Fashion

Carolina’s King Of Custom Clothing

Editorial

Ruins Reclaimed

Carolina Cares: The Eco-Chic Closet

Op-Ed:

Asheville Unchained

Editor’s Letter When I first decided to undertake this endeavor, it was because the stories of the street styles from Spartanburg to Winston-Salem deserve to be told as elegantly as the wearers assembled the ensembles.

For the unicycling nun of Asheville, for the boutique owners association redesigning downtown Raleigh (I’m looking at you, Cathy & Ari), for the international exchange of Charlotte Douglass International Airport and the historic port-city of Charleston, Couture Carolina is a love-letter to the trendsetters.

“Couture Carolina is for the clean-cut brother in the velvet suit and paisley tie on King Street, his sister with the rainbow hair in the 50’s dress in the Queen City, and their conservative parents hosting the soiree at the new country club tucked away in the Appalachians.”

In this pilot issue, you will find collection reviews of Asheville’s own KatDog Couture by Kati Foster, MG&B from sixteen-year-old BFFs, and a collaborative collection from Aiperi Yusupova of Kyzyrgistan and her financial partner Yves Dusenge of Rwanda, who met in college in Greensboro.

You will also find a portal to a land of industrial nature in the editorial Reclaimed Ruins, a postapocalyptic fairytale offering ensembles reminiscent of fairies, druids, and nymphs growing over an abandoned train station. This was probably the most fun piece of the entire issue, working with such talented Asheville area models, designers, and insiders.

The characters, creators, and collaborators credited in the pages that follow are the artistic future of Carolina. Without drive, ambition, dedication, and talent progress becomes stagnant – especially in the arts. The future belongs to the innovators, the makers, and the rejuvenators. There will be obstacles, there will be difficulties, there will be naysayers and saboteurs, but they only win if talents give up and bow out.

Express yourself without saying a word by wearing the pieces that make your soul radiate with pleasure. As the song goes, “you always dress in yellow when you want to dress in gold.” (Hilary Duff, Why Not.) For those who dress in gold for a week straight and for those building up the courage to find their color, Couture Carolina is for you.

With Love and Light,

16-Year-Old BFFs Collaborate on First Collection

MG&B A senior at the North Carolina School of Math and Sciences and a junior at an Asheville high school tagteamed a creative collection of Juniors clothing, which debuted at the first annual Asheville Fashion Week.

I was running a bit late to Asheville Fashion Week Day 2, and arrived just in time for the evening runway, featuring five collections. The most surprising was the emcee’s announcement: MG&B.

MaryGrace Larsen looked at her bolder partner Brook Ullman and they flipped a coin to decide on MG&B.

The collection is playful, innovative, and chic. From a white turtleneck dress decorated with plastic spoons to a pink bicycle print romper to a green taffeta bubble skirt, these girls have proven themselves to be the next generation of fashion design.

In my Q&A, full article to come, I discovered that the girls hadn’t slaved away for four months to produce a full scale collection. Instead, the were assistants for GAGE Talent & Modeling Agency which produced the week, and were given an empty runway slot. Having been friends for years, each girl had a few pieces that were runway ready, and they just moshed it together into a “collection.” It worked.

A few days after Asheville Fashion Week wrapped, I met them over lunch for their first interview. I wanted to get to know these young creative minds.

My first question was surprisingly difficult: MGB or MG&B? Softspoken

Too adorable.

Watch the debut runway footage online.

Hoods and Cloaks and Capes, Oh My!

KatDog Couture

At Asheville Fashion Week Day 3, KatDog Couture by Kati Foster stunned an appreciative audience in The Millroom of The Taproom of Asheville Brewing Company.

Equal parts fairytale and Gypsy, the collection featured recurring themes of hoods, brocades, and woodland layers. It felt like the wardrobe would belong to a mix of Red Riding Hood and Robin O’Locksley, yet it is touchingly practical.

Kati is a local visionary growing a cult following for her measured whimsy and earthy humor. Her personality shines in this collection, as does her admitted personal obsession with hoods, which will definitely be trending this holiday season, along with capes Image by Max Ganly Photography Models: Victoria Rae, Betsabe Fregoso, Alya Ayers, Kati Foster, Aubrey Huntley and Nichole Martinez.

and cloaks.

KatDog Couture’s A/W 2015 collection is both magical and practical for walking through white woodlands and chilled autumn air. Her sense of design structure and attention to detail enhance the notion of living in a child’s storybook. Snow White and Maid Marian would be delighted to find such creations in their clothing trunks.

You can find the collection online in her Etsy store or at Avedian Coast on Lexington Ave, Downtown Asheville.

Watch the Runway footage online.

Sweet, Sleek, & Holiday Chic Charlotte Fashion Week No. 5: The Story featured up-and-coming designer Aiperi Yusupova on Day 4.

Her work is simple, sophisticated, and sensual. From the fine silks to the dainty chains to the bold color choices, the collection is noteworthy.

The designer herself is a petite Kyzurgistani, studying in Greensboro, NC. Her character shines through this luxurious collection of vibrant, fiery reds and gold chains. The dresses are effervescent, timeless, and gorgeously draped silks and chiffons, with a hint of rocker edge.

Amidst the white walls, white runway, and crystal chandeliers overhead, the models channeled grace and power in chic and clinging gowns that would be right at home on a marble staircase of a Southern mansion. The drapery is soft, stunning, and creates movement for the eye and stimulation of the senses.

I had a brief conversation with Aiperi and her financial partner, Yves Dusenge, the next night at the finale ball. Yves is quiet, intelligent, and Rwandan.

Aiperi is serious yet bubbly. Aiperi is the spokeswoman for this endeavor, and Yves is quite happy to be the silently supportive partner.

Aiperi and Dusenge have already released a S/S 2016 Collection in keeping with industry standards, and are finding financial and sartorial success with each release, designed for the confident and daring woman unafraid of attention.

Aiperi Yusupova is a talented designer with an eye for details and a fundamental understanding of fabrication and structure. She is well on her way to becoming a major player of the fashion scene.

Carolina’s King of Custom Clothing

Chatting with Charles The first time I heard the name Charles Josef was on the lips of an emcee at The Product of the 20s Spring/Summer 2015 Fashion Show in February, featuring several local designers in a single show.

Over the summer, I observed his newest collections on the runways of Asheville and Charlotte fashion weeks. A chic and glimmering gold taffeta ballgown, modeled by svelte Sarah Merrell came down the catwalk and I realized that I must meet the genius behind the gorgeous gowns. On a chilly autumn afternoon, midweek, I called Charles at his Asheville atelier and the following conversation ensued, raising a curtain on Carolina’s King of Custom Clothing.

Kaitlin: How old were you when you learned to sew?

Charles: 5 years old. It was a wonderful experience learning from my grandmother. When a child is interested in learning something, it’s not like learning at all, but like perpetual playtime.

K: How much influence did your grandmother have as you grew up?

C: She continued to help me perfect my skills as I moved from hand sewing to wanting to make clothing.

She imparted a sense of good taste. She was born in 1898. She probably would’ve become a designer herself in today’s world. She worked in the Garment District of New York City.

where they come from.

K: When did you start your own business?

C: Right out of college, I moved to Charlotte, where my family was from, in the mid-90s. I did collections of Swimwear that were popular in resorts, and bridal and pageant wear, until there was a fire in my district. Then I moved to Atlanta.

K: What was Atlanta like?

C: Atlanta is great; a lot of people with good taste. It is a good place to establish yourself if you have the skills and a quality product. I still have Atlanta clients who travel to Asheville for their wardrobes.

“There will be a couture candy bar before you know it. ‘Couture’ is so overused that it doesn’t mean anything to me.”

K: Were your parents supportive?

C: They were neither here nor there. My grandmother was my biggest cheerleader.

K: What was high school like?

C: It was difficult.

It wouldn’t be as challenging today. Growing up gay was difficult because of the ridicule I was subjected to but it didn’t affect me much because I knew that any bad experience would pass. As an adult, you’re free to do what you want.

K: Did you go to college?

C: I did go to college for fashion design.

Many classes, I couldn’t get into when I wanted to take them. So I would buy the textbooks a year before and teach myself, then go through the motions when I could eventually take them.

K: It was an independent study?

C: That’s exactly what it was, yes.

K: Was college any easier?

C: College was great. People mellow out in college.

They’re experimental and accepting, regardless of

K: Have you ever worked with a celebrity client?

C: I’m sure I have but it isn’t a big deal to me.

Work is work. I did design some dresses for Liz Taylor’s Fragrant Jewels campaign, and in my interior design work, I did a set for Season 2 of The Vampire Diaries. Nothing else comes to mind.

K: What is your favorite project over the years?

C: [thinks about it for several moments.] It is difficult to choose just one. My sister’s wedding gown was a lot of fun. I enjoyed doing that for her.

When I was in Charlotte, I did some work as a doll artist. There was this doll Billy the Gay Doll, I designed several outfits for that went to production. I don’t do the Swimwear collections anymore, but my swimwear is in high demand, and I try to help clients out with that if I can. Clients always want more Swim and Menswear.

Menswear clients always come back.

K: You’ve gone on the record as saying that your favorite clients are Mothers of the Bride?

C: That’s a specialty of mine. That client demographic is established. Brides don’t always know what they want. My clothing has a lot to it. Luxury, fine textiles,

the Mother of the Bride knows these things and care less about who made it than that it is well made. And these clients, more than any other, always come back and tell me how they felt in their designs.

K: Where does your inspiration come from?

C: Places like Biltmore and traveling to different places, I’m inspired to create a dress that fits in that place, like the Chelsea Flower Show Opening Gala in London.

My spring dresses are designs that would be the perfect dress to wear to the Chelsea Flower Show. And people inspire me. When a client comes in, I’m inspired by who they are and what will look best on them and make them feel good.

K: What music helps your creative process?

C: Uplifting, I guess. I don’t usually play music when I’m working. Quiet time works better, or water sounds. Waves on a beach or a mountain waterfall, river, or creek really get my juices flowing. Those are the most beneficial.

K: When you were 5 years old, what did you want to grow up to be?

C: A doctor, because that’s what I was told all my life.

It was dictated to me until I was an adult, and at the time, being a veterinarian or a doctor

“When a child is interested in learning something, it’s not like learning at all.” sounded

K: What was Asheville Fashion Week like?

C: There’s a lot of points I can touch on there, but I’ll focus on the positive. It was nice being in Asheville to show my work and my range. I’m a professional. I know how to execute a collection, how to put on a fashion show. It was an acknowledgement. People are surprised by my level of skill and goods offered in Asheville, that they don’t have to travel to Charlotte or Atlanta or New York to get it.

K: Would you consider yourself a Couturier?

C: I consider myself a Fine Designer. Couture has been bastardized. There will be a couture candy bar before you know it. “Couture” is so overused that it doesn’t mean anything to me. Being a Fine Designer means something to me.

K: How do you spend your free time?

C: I spend it with my dogs, I adore them, and I spend it with my cousin who owns an Asheville restaurant [Bean Vegan Cuisine]. I enjoy my work, and that is a Catch-22, because when I’m not working for a client, I’m working on a design I want to make and experiment with. I also sculpt, which is my only significant activity to be considered a hobby.

pretty cool to me.

I was on that path right up until my later years of high school. Children are not often encouraged in their artistic passions.

People in business don’t support artistic pursuits with children. You inspire the child and they can live on it, versus this attitude of a starving artist.

K: Do you believe in a higher power?

C: Absolutely. I was raised Catholic but I follow Science of Minds now. It is “a spirited community that celebrates and recognizes God.” As people, we are all one, and it has become something of a religious movement.

K: Any questions or comments?

C: My grandmother taught lots of people, who went on into the fashion industry. She was very giving of her skill and skillful. Her name was Mary Cadwallader, and she passed in the early 90s, in her 90s.

Charles is an undeniable creative genius, and an asset to Carolina’s fashion community. It was an honor and a pleasure getting to know such a beautiful soul. Whatever your needs for that upcoming holiday soiree, Charles is the man to make your dress dreams a breathtaking reality. His Asheville Atelier is located at 348 Merrimon Ave.

Ruins Reclaimed A dilapidated train station sits by the river in a deep mountain valley, the brick and stone covered in spray-paint vignettes from a hundred unknown artists.

These expressions of souls are covered again as nature grows over what man created and abandoned. As man holds a certain disregard for Nature, Nature always Reclaims what once was hers... the Ruins of mankind.

A Post-Apocalyptic Fairytale

Carolina Cares Eco-Chic

Sustainability in fashion is an issue worth exploring. As frivolous as couture shows can seem, they are a necessary catalyst for artistic creation in wearable forms, but there has to be a balance. The fashion cycle ends in oversaturation, and in fast fashion, becomes discarded within two years. So how can the industry off-set the waste?

There are several different approaches to this issue, each exemplified in the mission and fashion show of Redress Raleigh, a North Carolina initiative to promote fashion sustainability by providing a platform for local designers and independent businesses to showcase their products.

The 2015 Spring Fashion Show was on May 29th at the Lincoln Theater and is an annual event that kicks off a textiles conference.

Redress Raleigh is on a mission: “Redress envisions a world where eco-fashion is no longer a high-end ‘trend’ or a mass-market greenwash, but rather an accessible option to most people. It is our goal to be a catalyst for change within the mainstream fashion and textiles industry, making it more environmentally and socially respon-

sible.”

ing to the excitement.

Allison Bowles launched her brand, Artemis Clothing Co, and opened the show with a collection inspired by the Parisian neighborhood Montmartre and the film Amélie.

This initial collection is effortless, classic, and modern. The most memorable piece was a simple sheath dress with a sweetheart neckline and strapped racerback. The straps are black, the rest white. But what makes this dress so interesting is the print that begins at the knees: a hand drawn cityscape of Montmartre in browns and yellows and grays.

Rock Kershaw’s splatter print peplum blouses and long sleeve tunics were edgy, cool, and simple.

The statement collars and neck pieces stole the show, including a steer skull chest piece.

Fashion can be sustainable and eco-friendly without “The main idea I want to convey to the audience is that ‘shock sacrificing and awe’ factor. Having managed anything. theater shows from 30 years, I

The next collection presented by Elizabeth Strugatz was primarily handmade jewelry, from the company Wired, Twisted, and Stoned. The collection was primarily statement pieces, “like someone dumped my grandmothers jewelry box and put it all on,” said the woman sitting beside me.

As the excited crowd muttered to each other, Press Ink took the runway, the brainchild of Chad Graves and Teri Stern. “I’m looking to reinvent the t-shirt,” announced Chad on a recording. An audience favorite was a gray background t-shirt with horizontal stripes made of black forks, available in the Etsy store. “Helping Hands,” $20.

don’t do anything without putting on a full production. I also want everyone to notice the creativity and intricate details that go into all of my arts and crafts designs,” Kershaw told Redress Raleigh.

“There are all different kinds of people who live here and it all connects to the idea that creativity has no boundaries--the only limits in design and in life are the ones people place on themselves,” Manjri Lall tells Redress Raleigh of the inspiration for her newest line of all natural silks, incorporating words from a community chalkboard on Glenwood Ave. Her scarves and wraps are feminine, intricate, and absolutely stunning. From florals to abstracts, there is something flawlessly chic about her work.

“The only limits in design & life are the ones people place on themselves.”

While the dramatics were taken up a notch with a black queen character in a cloak, lined in metallic silvers, the most stunning piece was a metallic scarf with hand painted faces in the “print,” the model’s arms carefully painted in an exact replica of an Asian portrait The Lincoln Theatre was packed with VIP Seating and a Standing Room Only pit, the dim in the scarf. lights, dark interiors, and maze walkways add-

Kim Kerchstein presented an Orchids inspired silk collection for Leopold Designs, in memory of a departed father. The kimonos, wraps, and scarves comprised a sensual, sophisticated, and sheer resort-wear collection.

Last, and most inspiring, was Stephanie Trippe’s company Pretty Birdie Co, an exclusively hemp textile collection. She magically crafted a pair of soft-textured tailored jeans, and presented a wearable socially conscious wardrobe, from office to casual to date night.

While the show was fun, and theatrical, the reason why people gathered rang prominent throughout the evening: fashion can be sustainable and eco-friendly without sacrificing anything.

Silk is a natural, sustainable resource originally from countries like India and Japan. Cotton and hemp are also natural and sustainable, though hemp is made from Cannabis, which has seen a lot of legislation limelight recently.

Up until the 1930s, Cannabis was accepted, and even a required, crop for farmland in the USA. With the invention of nylon fibers and the paper industry made of North Carolina timber, Cannabis was outlawed.

Hemp fabric is soft, natural, renewable, and generates little waste of byproducts or energy. Like cotton and silk, hemp can be sewn into luxurious, flattering silhouettes for men, women, and children. Some would say that it is the answer to the eco-conscious prayer.

Eco-conscious and budget-conscious are not adversaries, necessarily. Making your own clothing with the DIY movement is always an option. But for those less crafty, it can be as simple as going to a local shop and asking which lines they carry are eco-friendly.

Not only does this support local economy and local designers, it also helps protect the earth from harmful industrial wastes, human worker conditions, and even animal rights. Sustainability is an issue that is linked to several other issues that plague the fashion industry.

Redress Raleigh is a step in the right direction by giving new designers a platform to present their eco-conscious efforts in fashion design and leaving it to the consumer and the boutique buyer to use the power of the dollar to stand up for sustainability.

Elegant

Economics

Local Lavish Laboratories

Homogenization. It is happening in downtowns across America. Big box companies explore new markets and a single storefront moves into a local downtown. A sibling or rival storefront soon follows, and in a short matter of time, an explosion of huge retailers takes over. Local retailers cannot compete and eventually fold. Homogenization is the reason every downtown looks like every other downtown.

By spending your fashion budget with local designers instead of big name companies, you send a message. When a big company comes in and loses money, that is expends resources to open shop and then makes nothing, after two quarters or a fiscal year in the red, they will consider closing shop and leaving. The problem is that if a local shop spends two quarters in the red, they do not have the means to ride it out.

So how can people keep it from happening to their town? The small cities can take measures such as passing city ordinances or informing the public. Nantucket Island, Mass. passed one such ordinance limiting businesses to fewer than fourteen identical businesses and fewer than three standardized features.

For an atelier addict, shopping at a big name store is inconceivable. Alternatives to Nordstrom and Saks Fifth Avenue are easily found in Carolina, from Asheville’s Elementality to Charleston’s RTW.

Bristol, R.I. adopted a city ordinance that bans formula stores larger than 2,500 square feet or that take up more than 65 feet of street frontage downtown. Smaller formula stores have to apply for a special use permit and must not detract from the district’s uniqueness or contribute to what it calls the “nationwide trend of standardized downtown offerings,” reported the Asheville Citizen-Times this summer. Asheville, NC is a unique example. The big company stores are located on Tunnel Road or Airport Road, in Biltmore Village or Biltmore Square.

In Downtown Asheville, a single big company store stands: Urban Outfitters.

Locally made fashion goods are usually locally sourced as well. Buying a pair of cotton trousers from Pretty Birdie Co. keeps your money in Carolina, and supports both the designer and the cotton farmer she sources from.

In return, you have piece of mind in knowing that your product is durable and well made without concerns of labor law violations or negative environmental effects, as Pretty Birdie Co. is also a company committed to being eco-friendly.

What you find on the rack at a local boutique is usually a limited product and potentially a oneof-a-kind, just like you.

Couture Carolina