Dr. Donna Brown of Little Rock did her first fashion designs using Tomy Toys' Fashion Plates designer drawing sets, which were popular in the 1980s.
"I used to sit for hours creating outfits with those when I was a little girl," she says.
Even after leaving Fashion Plates behind, even after pursuing a medical career, Brown designed clothes in her head. "I'm always imagining designs." So much so that, led by curiosity, she did an online search for fashion design instruction several years ago ... and found Little Rock's Arkansas Fashion School. She forgot about her find, however, until a year later.
"I learned a minister from my church -- a very busy husband, new father and barber by trade -- was enrolled in [Arkansas] Fashion School," Brown says. "He passed away suddenly and unexpectedly just before he graduated." The death of Lonnie Brown III (no relation) had a profound effect on her. "I thought, if he could manage a family, career, his ministry, and still pursue his passion, so can I."
Reaching midlife, Brown admits, also may have factored in. "I recognize I have a finite amount of time left on this earth, and I don't want to waste the passions and gifts God gave me." Despite a grueling clinic schedule that usually involves more than 20 patients a day, she picked up the phone and called Jamileh Kamran, owner of Arkansas Fashion School, and began studying a month later.
Now, Brown is one of four graduating students whose designs will be shown at A Leading Edge, Arkansas Fashion School's 11th anniversary celebration and Graduating Designers Fashion Show. First lady Susan Hutchinson will be keynote speaker for the event, which will take place Aug. 2 at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion, 1800 Center St.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Amanda Jaeger, morning and noon news anchor for KTHV-TV, will host the program, which begins at 7 p.m. and features the work of Brown and classmates Anna Garland, Holley Patten and Amberly Holiman. A dessert reception will take place after the show, allowing attendees to mingle with the designers while enjoying a gallery-style exhibit of additional pieces. VIP tickets, $85, may be obtained by calling (501) 663-3242. General admission tickets, $75, are available at Eventbrite.com.
It was in 2007 that longtime couture designer Kamran founded Arkansas Fashion School and began training and mentoring graduates that include successful Arkansas designers such as Linda Rowe Thomas, Chris Hess and Shonda Ali-Shamaa. Brown, who showed her clothing at Designer's Choice Fashion Preview in April, found the curriculum to be more of a challenge than she'd imagined.
"It is very technical," she says. "You have to make precise measurements, and understand angles and curves when creating patterns. To be honest, the easiest thing is sitting at the machine. There is so much work that goes into drafting a pattern, selecting fabric, transferring the pattern, and cutting the fabric before you are ready to sew." But the biggest highlight was the one-on-one, hands-on instruction from Kamran. "She offers insights, direction and critiques that you wouldn't get from a book, video, or at a larger school."
Brown says her creations are geared toward the fashion-conscious women who opt for "timeless, clean lines with a subtle edge." As one of 11 Arkansas Fashion School students set to travel to New York Fashion Week, she looks forward to showing her line there as well as at A Leading Edge. Ultimately, she wants to create a line of ready-to-wear pieces from knit fabrics and sell them via an online boutique.
ANNA GARLAND
Garland -- who will be showing her Luna Kat line during A Leading Edge as well as in New York -- is a Ruston, La., native who moved to Hot Springs to live with her grandparents and commute to Little Rock for fashion school. Garland named her line for her late aunt, who'd encouraged her to attend.
"I've always loved sewing," Garland says. "I did alterations for a few years and I wanted to take it a little step further. And then I found the school, and that kind of really ... encouraged my wanting to get into the fashion industry."
Garland did no designing prior to this. She had never thought of it as a possible career until enrolling. "I was in love as soon as I got into the school," she says.
Having been self-taught, Garland learned the proper way to sew. "I really enjoy learning how to make the patterns for every size measurement ... this way, you can really customize ... your clothes for each person."
Tough moments came with having a garment whose execution wasn't going as planned. Garland recalls one piece in particular she had to redo in class this spring. "But I still appreciate the end product," she says.
Garland wants to specialize in womenswear that is a bridge between cocktail and formal and which comes in all sizes. She especially hopes to serve the hard-to-fit. For her graduation line, "I was kind of playing around with shapes and ... cut-out styles on a few of the gowns," whose colors include blues as well as sparkly pink and gold -- "I love anything that sparkles and grabs your eye."
Garland plans to take a couple of extra classes at the school after graduation, then move back to her home state. She eventually wants to settle in New Orleans, opening a bridal shop and designing wedding gowns.
NUBIAN HERITAGE
If all your Facebook/Instagram buddies went to the Caribbean this year while you stayed stuck in Landlocked Land, you can at least enjoy skin-care products that remind you of island living as they nurture you.
Nubian Heritage's Coconut & Papaya Collection -- one of many offered by a skin-care powerhouse that began as a Harlem street-vending enterprise -- includes Body Wash, Bar Soap, Hand & Body Scrub, and other products ranging from $4.99-$12.99. I can vouch for the wonderful scent and moisturizing qualities of the Body Lotion ($10.79) and Hand Soap ($6.49), of which I tried samples.
Nubian Heritage's collection products, with certified organic, ethically sourced ingredients, also include such "flavors" as Abyssinian Oil & Chi Seed, Carrot & Pomegranate, Lavender & Wildflowers, and Patchouli & Burti. The collections are sold at such outlets as Target, Vitamin Shoppe and Whole Foods as well as Nubianheritage.com.
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High Profile on 07/22/2018