African american fashion designer

Style: working it - African-American fashion designers

Could it really be a new day? The hottest event this fashion season did not hail from those so-called name-brand designers. Instead it was staged at I first full-scale New York fashion show of 27-year-old Africa American designer Byron Lars.

The crowd was live. In fact, it was one of the most critical audiences in the business--a combo of department- and specialty-store buyers, fashion editors and writers, photographers and a sprinkling of celebrities. The news? That Lars's collection of whimsical flight- and menswear-inspired designs was the hit of the New York collections.

"It was the best and most original collection that happened during the entire fashion week," says Lynn Manulis, president of Martha International, one of the first boutiques ever to carry Lars's witty creations.

Lars's show was indeed one of the highlights of fashion week, but he was by no means the only African-American designer who turned out the couture world during L those seven days. Gordon Henderson, Tracy Reese, CD Greene, Michael McCollum and Kevin Smith were among those who also staged exciting shows. A collaborative show was even dedicated to designers of African descent featuring nearly a dozen of our new stars.

Their presence on the scene was historic. Black designers have been, for the most part, excluded from the fashion industry. Too many of those who have made strides have been snatched away prematurely by AIDS, including Willi Smith, Patrick Kelly and Isaia.

The lot of these young Black designers--they're mostly in their late twenties and early thirties--are intent not only on surviving but also on thriving in this volatile industry.

Case in point: Lars's streetwise garments have quadrupled in sales since last year alone. Right now they are sold in 75 stores and boutiques across the country, including Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom and Martha international, as well as Victoire in Paris. "He's up 400 percent over last season," says Carol Dupuis, vice-president of sales and marketing at Wheaton international, the licensing company that represents him. in fact, in just two years Lars has gone from transporting his samples by subway to becoming the premier client of both Mary Ann Wheaton, the visionary who also launched Patrick Kelly, and the investment company Prominent Apparel.

And then there's a sister. Tracy Reese, another blossoming talent who has been the primary designer for the Japanese-based Magaschoni collection since 1990, endured a more rocky road to success. After completing an apprenticeship with Martine Sitbon in Paris, Reese launched her own United States-based business in 1987 with the help of a loan from her father. in spite of $150,000 worth of orders from Bergdorf Goodman, Barney's, Ann Taylor and other boutiques, she was forced to close down her line in 1989 because of production problems. Recently Reese was victoriously redeemed when her employer, Magaschoni, hosted a coming-out party to celebrate her new line of youthful, elegant designs, which have single-handedly grossed the company more than $3 million.

Earning big-league backing from a fashion house like Magaschoni is a coup for any designer in this business, but all that glitters is not gold in these relationships. Peter Kea, 31, an Ohio-born, Paris-based designer who recently won a three-year battle to regain his name, can attest to that. In 1986, having designed in Germany and New York and worked as a full-time assistant to Giorgio Saint Angelo, Kea bravely began his own Peter Kea Paris clothing line, signing his name over to zealous backers. i signed over the rights to my name stupidly," he regretfully reminisces. "To any young designer, I would say, Don't sign your name over to anyone but your mother.' Because in the end she's the only person you can trust," Kea adds. Lost season, thanks to his new and more solid representation, Kea debuted his new line to rave reviews in Paris and has gained worldwide distribution. Today his colorful garments are sold in stores all over the United States, including Bloomingdale's, Macy's and Charivari, not to mention boutiques in Paris, London, Japan, Canada, Australia, italy, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong had also been quite good to Gordon Henderson, one of today's major African-American fashion players. Backers there began distributing his first line in 1989. Because of creative differences this year, however, Henderson has parted ways with his Hong Kong distributor and signed with a new silent backer with whom he intends to build his three collections--Gordon Henderson; But, Gordon; and an as-of-yet-unnamed jeans company.

Some African-American designers, on the other hand, win accolades by launching their own lines via the do-it-yourself method. Chicago-born CD Greene, who arrived in New York in 1983, self-financed his recently 17,000 show. Los Angeles independent designers Carl T. Jones and T. J. Walker now own a $20-million-a-year business, thanks to the success of their Afrocentric and hip-hop-influenced line Cross Colours. Hailing from Cincinnati, Michael McCollom, who ran the Isaia label for two rocky years after the designer died in 1989, started his own line last year with backing from family and friends. Paris-based Andre Walker, who, ran WilliWear after Willi Smith died, also financed his own line. According to John Speight, 28, who has also been based in Paris, where he runs his own line, since 1989, "It's very hard because I'm financing myself. Every season you have to start from zero."

Even though it takes megadollars to start one's own line, CD Greene, whose accounts include Neiman Marcus and I. Magnin, firmly believes that designers should run their own businesses and aim for entrepreneurship in the long run. "Working for other people is one thing, but there's nothing like having your own company," he says. "You have more control. When you work with different companies, they're always telling you what you can't do. "

Up-and-coming designer Barron Wise, who spent $10,000 to finance his. show this season, shares this sentiment. "If you mount your own show during a major week, you can generate a little, excitement," he says.

Perhaps because of this recessionary economic environment, these budding African-American designers are taking the design world by storm with their daring and innovative ideas. Fueled by the success of their predecessors, this generation intends to pave the way for the next by establishing even broader inroads in the fashion industry. Reese puts it like this: "When other Black designers and students see more Blacks making it, read about us in the press and see other clothes in the stores, it lets them know that they do have a chance."