Local designer find success at a young age

8/13/2019 Local designer find success at a young age

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he fashion world is a toughplace. There is no hand holding,no spoon feeding its dog-eat-dog for new fashion designers,and although many try toreach success, very fewmanage to make it tothe top.

For a few of Chattanoogasown fashion designers, thisprospect doesnt seem asdaunting. After all, they are allunder the age of 25 and havemore experience under theirbelts than many designerhopefuls dream of having.Be prepared to see theircollections in stores, on therunway and on your friends asthese three trailblazers begintaking the world by storm,starting in their hometown.

Local designers ndsuccess at a young ageBY MARY BETH TORGERSON

RITE OFFASHION

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WALDalking to Madison Waldropis like talking to every othereloquent, worldly 40-year-oldthat you know only shes just 15.

The budding evening,cocktail and bridal designer beganher artistic journey at 13 years oldand has since graced the pagesof the New York Times, watchedher fashions come to life on therunway and is even slated to openher own studio on Broad Streetthis month. In spite of her startlingsuccess at such a young age, Wal-drop shows a grace and humble-

ness that is far beyond her years,putting most of the emphasis onproviding opportunities for othersand being a good role model.

The business is somethingthat has moved very quickly andhas evolved on its own. Im very fo-cused on what I want and what Imseeking to become, says Waldrop.And I think as long as Im helping

others through my dhancing the beauty making them feel codesigns, thats my b

When you makfrom Designs by Mcent of the purchaseto KEYS, a charity cthe business that sumeeting one or mor values: Kids, EducaService. One effort supports is the SHOa program begun byher sister, McCall, wshoes and socks for

at the Community Klike a chain reactionso many other peopKEYS open so manreally what means thme through all of thThats the nitty gritof the company and who I am as a perso

Waldrop has ma

DESIGNS BY MALYSE | AGE: 15

Madison

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sacrices as a teenager to bring her dreams to reality, such as working long hours and choosing to take online classes ratherthan traditional school to focus on her business. Althoughsometimes the process has been overwhelming, she creditsher upbringing and support system for helping her along and ultimately loves every minute of what she is doing.

Being that design is such a passion for me, it doesnt feellike work. I think that kind of brings that fun aspect into it.Even though its a lot to take on, its been good, Waldrop says.I think from an early age, I knew that what you were givendidnt pop into existence. We should never take things forgranted. We should always work to give something to some-one else. That was a core value that was taught to me at anearly age that I really believe in and will always live by.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DESIGNS BY MALYSE, VISIT WWW.DESIGNSBYMALYSE.COM.

Describe your design style: Classic designs with a boldmodern twistIf you could dress anyone,who would it be? Adele, I ab-solutely adore her. Shes hilariousand so beautiful. Also, JenniferAniston and Carrie Underwood.Those are my top three. Theyreall very dierent and they are all

just real. They dont t into thecelebrity stereotype.

What designer inspiresyou? Blake Mycoskie, founderand designer of TOMS. Heinspires me the most because theway he founded that companyto help others. Service is key,and thats why I believe hes sosuccessful. Hes stayed true tohimself and hes unchanging.

Can you give us a preview ofyour upcoming collections? One dress is a very dark shade ofaquamarine blue but when youmove, it changes. Its sleevelessand the bottom is a gold tulleskirt. The inspiration for it wasPride and Prejudice its gotimpact just like I imagine Lizziemade when she walked in theroom and Mr. Darcy rst saw her.Ive seen the movie more than adozen times and read the booktwice. Its one of my favorites.

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he Girls Preparatory Schoolalum and recent Auburn Uni- versity grad is not your typicalartistic type her businesssavvy combined with sheerdetermination gives her a sig-

nicant edge over other designerhopefuls looking to get their col-lections picked up by boutiquesand department stores.

Its scary just because the

amount of work I put into thepieces and, of course, the cost,but this is something Ive wantedto do for as long as I can remem-ber, says Mittelstadt. Ill doanything to make it work and Ireally do believe in it.

Mittelstadt cut her designteeth in 2011 during an intern-ship at Rebecca Taylor, a womens

clothing companyCity, which inspireonly nd her placeindustry, but to takcreating her own cIve always beenI would make dres when I was little. rst sewing machistarted making myshe says. During

I got a good senseside of things. I kinliked all aspects ofpany, not just the dthe business side ame realize that I wmy own. It was juscourage to start it been easier to applalready establishe

MITTELSTADT ANNA VICTORIA APPAREL AND DESIGN | AGE: 22

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Although it was far from easy, Mittelstadt successfullylaunched her Spring 2013 collection last year from her studioin the Business Development Center in North Chattanoogaand is now working painstakingly on her Summer and Fall2013 collections. Although her last collection was not pickedup by any stores, she says it isnt unusual for clothing buyersto wait for a new designer to successfully launch two to threecollections before they take a chance on a new line.

The key is really to create a name for yourself and forthem to feel comfortable, Mittelstadt says. They want youto know that youve sorted out stuff like getting a manufac-turer. Weve denitely made good contacts for spring andsummer and were hoping fall will actually sell. Weve had alot of people who saw the spring collection and it was alwaysgood to hear people say, I like that. I want to buy that.

And as for being young? Mittelstadt doesnt see that as a

disadvantage. Obviously I dont have as much experienceas someone who has worked in the business for 10 years, butI have the energy to do this and am really passionate aboutit now, so moving forward with something isnt a bad thing,she says. I can also relate to the age group were designingfor and I know what girls my age are looking for in stores andin the South. Im also really open to learning from people.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANNA VICTORIA APPAREL AND DESIGN,VISIT WWW.ANNAVICTORIADESIGN.COM.

Describe your design style: Denitely feminine, but I like to keepit modern as well and add unex-pected details

If you could dress anyone, whowould it be? Jennifer Lawrence.Her dress for the Oscars wasunexpected it was a pale pink witha big full skirt. I think she can pull ofedginess really well, which isnt me,but I think she can pull o femininepieces as well.What designer inspires you? Ellie Saab. They are my fantasydresses beautiful gowns in reallyowy, beautiful fabric.Can you give us a preview ofyour upcoming collections? I really love color so my springand summer collections are reallycolorful. For summer we used a lot ofcolor blocking with bright colors likefuchsia and lemon yellow.

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randon Carruth has always loved the limelight.

He vividly remembersmaking his sister helphim perform varietyshows (in front of the

curtains he had speciallyinstalled in his room) andputting on impromptu pianorecitals for friends and family. As he grew older, he decidedthat he would become an ac-tor, which led him to Ambi-ance Models and Talent, which eventually led him tothe fashion industry.

I knew there was some-

thing more than modelingthat I wanted to do, says Car-ruth. Then when my parents were going through a divorce,it was sort of an overnightdecision. That sounds kind ofcheesy, but thats how it hap-pened. Instead of turning tothe bad in the world, I turnedto designing and Im reallyblessed that thats the decisionI made at such a young age.

At 13 years old exactlytwo years ago this month hedesigned his rst collection,Simply Flawless. I didnthave any experience. I didnteven know how to sew, hesays. This collection Im working on now I am doingmyself. Before I designed ev-erything, but I needed help tosew the pieces. This will be therst one Im actually making.I think with this being solelyme, Im going to be even moreproud of myself.

Since his official launch atNashvilles Middle Tennessee

Fashion Week, Carruths workhas been shown in several

fashion shows locally, onein Dallas, Texas, and even atPlitzs New York City Fashion Week in New York. Its beenoverwhelming to say the least.I have school and everythingelse a normal teenager has,along with my business, hesays. But thats what I likeabout it its challenging.Thats another reason I enjoy what I do.

Carruths goals for the fu-ture are lofty, but none insur-mountable, he says, thanks inpart to his focus and also to hissupportive family. Business wise, I really just want to workup to the point where maybeI have a store. Were plan-ning that, but its going to be a while, says Carruth. Id justlike to expand the businessand perfect what I do as far asdesign. To have my own stu-dio, my own company, my en-tire company under one roof,people working for me andseeing my designs on celebrity

CARRUTHCARRUTH COUTURE | AGE: 15

Brandon

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clients thats pretty muchmy goal, but then its going tobe a lot of hard work to get tothat point. Thats why I havethat goal. I have something tolook forward to.

Some people have doubtedthat he would succeed, butCarruth says that only makeshim more certain of his vi-sion. At school theres beena couple of people that dontlike what I do and I know a lotof people secretly hope I dontsucceed the judgmentalpeople, the closed-mindedpeople. But those are thepeople that I dont listen to,he says. Chanel, she was anorphan and then she becamea world famous designer. Youdont have to have a lot ofmoney or support, you justhave to be determined andmotivated, and you can doanything.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ONCARRUTH COUTURE, VISITWWW.CARRUTHCOUTURE.COM.

Describe your design style: Elegant. A Carruth Couture womanis someone who expresses herselfwith what she wears. Shes brave,outgoing, the center of the party anddenitely the most fashionable onethere.

If you could dress anyone, whowould it be? Probably Lady GaGaor Jennifer Lawrence shes mynew favorite celebrity so I think itwould be cool to collaborate with her.Sometimes I look at the red carpetand I wish all of those gowns couldbe a Carruth Couture. Thats not howit works, though.

What designer inspires you? Ive researched people in general andthats one reason I think I got thisfar. Artists like Lady Gaga I loveher braveness and her style and herfashion and how she runs her entirecompany. I enjoy reading aboutAlexander McQueen, as well. Itsinspiring to learn about other people.Can you give us a preview ofyour upcoming collections? Im using gold sequin fabric andblack satin. Im also mixing twodierent kinds of silhouettes. It onlytook a week to sketch the 12 piecesout, and Ill edit as I go. P H

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Local designer find success at a young age