RESPLENDENT RETAIL Just as Huntsville’s food community has joined together to enhance the local experience, Huntsville’s retail and fashion community are uniting as well, and no up-and-coming urban development would be complete without some truly special shopping. Huntsville clothing designer Ellena LeJuene founded the Alabama Fashion Alliance in 2011 for the purpose of creating a support system for local artisans. “My passion is to see small businesses, especially in the fashion industry, be successful where they are without feeling like they have to move somewhere else,” says LeJuene. Made up of primarily local business owners, LeJuene said that during their first year, AFA took anyone willing to volunteer. After attending fashion weeks in Charleston, Mobile, and Nashville, LeJuene was eager to bring a fashion week to Huntsville, and was able to put on AFA’s first fashion week in July of 2011. “With the first fashion week, we had to build everything from the ground up,” says LeJuene. “I was making calls to designers all over the state of Alabama. I was doing searches on the internet for Alabama fashion designers and model coaches. I put the bones of it together. And I was very fortunate to have hit on some frontrunners.” Now leading AFA into its third year, business-savvy LeJuene has smartly constructed a committee of fashion-forward powerhouses right here in Huntsville, each offering a variety of talents to the organization, including backgrounds in human resources and marketing, hair and makeup, modeling and design. “This year, our focus has been creating workshops and seminars,” says LeJuene. “We are using the strengths of our committee to share with models. We have such great talent on our committee. You kind of become the mentor and the expert in the area. To me, I’ve grown more by interacting with other people.” LeJuene’s hope for AFA is that it will eventually become a vehicle for Alabama designers to show their lines and get picked up by retailers. More than anything, she hopes that it will serve as a means for local designers to support one another. “Everything I’ve learned, I’ve learned through failure,” says LeJuene. “Success by yourself is very hard, but if you have the numbers come along side of you, it helps greatly.” “We went to great lengths to make sure aesthetically we didn’t disturb what was surrounding the building. We took an old building that was a department store and gutted it and preserved the walls along Washington and Holmes. We left the exterior and tried to keep the look and feel of an early 1900s downtown building, but everything inside is new.” —Sasha Sealy, Belk Hudson Lofts
Adding to the downtown area’s already wide variety of shopping, which includes Harrison Brother’s Hardware, the Switchouse, The Toy Place, and Personal Couture, just to name a few, the Clinton Row Project is just one more new venue where shoppers can scout out one-of-a-kind merchandise. Located at the corner of Clinton and Jefferson streets in the old Downtown Storage Units, local artists and designers have converted the small storage units into their own boutiques and showrooms. With an eclectic mix of clothes, jewelry, and art, Clinton Row is a chance for artisans to show their collections, and most importantly, learn from other designers and artists. The Alabama Fashion Alliance is housed at Clinton Row and hopes it will eventually become a launch point for local designers. “We are trying to get to the point where we have an evening where we invite owners of stores to come in and see the collections,” says LeJuene. “We can even gauge how marketable these collections are.” One of this summer’s new, fun events showcasing the Clinton Row Project has been their Girls’ Morning Out on the second Wednesday of each month. “Nine to twelve months from now, we want this to be the thing to do for women,” says Chad Emerson. “It’s comfortable, unique, and inexpensive.” Beginning at 10 a.m., ladies can come in for shopping, mimosas, mini-massages, and even make-up touch ups from resident make-up-artist Nancy Finnegan. “I’m excited about being in a location with great vendors and great surroundings for my current and new clients,” says Finnegan. “Clients can come in for appointments and enjoy shopping before or after I’ve done their makeup. It’s been a great spot for me, and it’s only going to get bigger and better.” After a shopping excursion to Clinton Row, patrons can also make a quick stop in to Belle Chèvre’s new downtown location, adjacent to
september/october | noalastudios.com |