This article profiles three young fashion designers from Chattanooga who are finding success at a young age:
- Madison Waldrop, age 15, who began her eveningwear and bridal design company Designs by Malyse at age 13. She has been featured in the New York Times and donates a portion of profits to charity.
- Anna Mittelstadt, age 22, launched her women's clothing line Anna Victoria Apparel after an internship in New York. She successfully launched her first collection and is working on future seasons.
- Brandon Carruth, age 15, began designing at age 13 after starting as a model. He has shown collections at fashion weeks in Nashville and New York. He hopes
1. Rite of
Fashion
Local designers find
success at a young age
By Mary Beth Torgerson
108
photo: jackie jones photography
photo: jackie jones photography
he fashion world is a tough
place. There is no hand holding,
no spoon feeding – it’s dog-eatdog for new fashion designers,
and although many try to
reach success, very few
manage to make it to
the top.
chatter magazine | APRIL 2013
For a few of Chattanooga’s
own fashion designers, this
prospect doesn’t seem as
daunting. After all, they are all
under the age of 25 and have
more experience under their
belts than many designer
hopefuls dream of having.
Be prepared to see their
collections in stores, on the
runway and on your friends as
these three trailblazers begin
taking the world by storm,
starting in their hometown.
chatter magazine | APRIL 2013
109
2. photo: jackie jones photography
Madison
Waldrop
Designs By Malyse | AGE: 15
110
photo: jackie jones photography
photo: jackie jones photography
T
chatter magazine | APRIL 2013
alking to Madison Waldrop
is like talking to every other
eloquent, worldly 40-year-old
that you know — only she’s
just 15.
The budding evening,
cocktail and bridal designer began
her artistic journey at 13 years old
and has since graced the pages
of the New York Times, watched
her fashions come to life on the
runway and is even slated to open
her own studio on Broad Street
this month. In spite of her startling
success at such a young age, Waldrop shows a grace and humbleness that is far beyond her years,
putting most of the emphasis on
providing opportunities for others
and being a good role model.
“The business is something
that has moved very quickly and
has evolved on its own. I’m very focused on what I want and what I’m
seeking to become,” says Waldrop.
“And I think as long as I’m helping
others through my design and enhancing the beauty of people and
making them feel confident in my
designs, that’s my biggest goal.”
When you make a purchase
from Designs by Malyse, 15 percent of the purchase price goes
to KEYS, a charity component of
the business that supports causes
meeting one or more of four core
values: Kids, Education, Youth and
Service. One effort that the funding
supports is the SHOCKS Cause,
a program begun by Waldrop and
her sister, McCall, which provides
shoes and socks for the homeless
at the Community Kitchen. “It’s
like a chain reaction but it helps
so many other people and those
KEYS open so many doors. That’s
really what means the most to
me through all of this,” she says.
“That’s the nitty gritty of that side
of the company and the core of
who I am as a person.”
Waldrop has made many
chatter magazine | APRIL 2013
111
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If you could dress anyone,
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What designer inspires
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and designer of TOMS. He
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chatter magazine | APRIL 2013
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Can you give us a preview of
your upcoming collections?
One dress is a very dark shade of
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Describe your design style:
Classic designs with a bold
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sacrifices as a teenager to bring her dreams to reality, such as
working long hours and choosing to take online classes rather
than traditional school to focus on her business. Although
sometimes the process has been overwhelming, she credits
her 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 doesn’t feel
like work. I think that kind of brings that fun aspect into it.
Even though it’s a lot to take on, it’s been good,” Waldrop says.
“I think from an early age, I knew that what you were given
didn’t pop into existence. We should never take things for
granted. We should always work to give something to someone else. That was a core value that was taught to me at an
early age that I really believe in and will always live by.”
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chatter magazine | APRIL 2013
113
4. photos: david mittlestadt
Anna
Mittelstadt
Anna Victoria Apparel and Design | AGE: 22
114
chatter magazine | APRIL 2013
T
he Girls Preparatory School
alum and recent Auburn University grad is not your typical
artistic type – her business
savvy combined with sheer
determination gives her a significant edge over other designer
hopefuls looking to get their collections picked up by boutiques
and department stores.
“It’s scary just because the
amount of work I put into the
pieces and, of course, the cost,
but this is something I’ve wanted
to do for as long as I can remember,” says Mittelstadt. “I’ll do
anything to make it work and I
really do believe in it.”
Mittelstadt cut her design
teeth in 2011 during an internship at Rebecca Taylor, a women’s
clothing company in New York
City, which inspired her to not
only find her place in the fashion
industry, but to take the leap into
creating her own clothing line.
“I’ve always been really creative …
I would make dresses for my dolls
when I was little. Then I got my
first sewing machine at 13 and I
started making my own clothes,”
she says. “During my internship,
I got a good sense of the business
side of things. I kind of realized I
liked all aspects of a clothing company, not just the design side but
the business side as well. It helped
me realize that I wanted to go on
my own. It was just having the
courage to start it … It would have
been easier to apply for a job at an
already established business.”
chatter magazine | APRIL 2013
115
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For more information on Anna Victoria Apparel and Design,
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116
chatter magazine | APRIL 2013
Describe your design style:
Definitely feminine, but I like to keep
it modern as well and add unexpected details
If you could dress anyone, who
would it be? Jennifer Lawrence.
Her dress for the Oscars was
unexpected – it was a pale pink with
a big full skirt. I think she can pull of
edginess really well, which isn’t me,
but I think she can pull off feminine
pieces as well.
What designer inspires you?
Ellie Saab. They are my fantasy
dresses … beautiful gowns in really
flowy, beautiful fabric.
Can you give us a preview of
your upcoming collections?
I really love color so my spring
and summer collections are really
colorful. For summer we used a lot of
color blocking with bright colors like
fuchsia and lemon yellow.
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Although it was far from easy, Mittelstadt successfully
launched her Spring 2013 collection last year from her studio
in the Business Development Center in North Chattanooga
and is now working painstakingly on her Summer and Fall
2013 collections. Although her last collection was not picked
up by any stores, she says it isn’t unusual for clothing buyers
to wait for a new designer to successfully launch two to three
collections before they take a chance on a new line.
“The key is really to create a name for yourself and for
them to feel comfortable,” Mittelstadt says. “They want you
to know that you’ve sorted out stuff like getting a manufacturer. We’ve definitely made good contacts for spring and
summer and we’re hoping fall will actually sell. We’ve had a
lot of people who saw the spring collection and it was always
good to hear people say, ‘I like that. I want to buy that.’”
And as for being young? Mittelstadt doesn’t see that as a
disadvantage. “Obviously I don’t have as much experience
as someone who has worked in the business for 10 years, but
I have the energy to do this and am really passionate about
it now, so moving forward with something isn’t a bad thing,”
she says. “I can also relate to the age group we’re designing
for and I know what girls my age are looking for in stores and
in the South. I’m also really open to learning from people.”
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chatter magazine | APRIL 2013
117
6. Brandon
carruth
carruth couture | AGE: 15
photos: sherry wohlfeil blalock – winding trails studio
b
118
chatter magazine | APRIL 2013
randon Carruth has always loved the limelight.
He vividly remembers
making his sister help
him perform variety
shows (in front of the
curtains he had specially
installed in his room) and
putting on impromptu piano
recitals for friends and family.
As he grew older, he decided
that he would become an actor, which led him to Ambiance Models and Talent,
which eventually led him to
the fashion industry.
“I knew there was something more than modeling
that I wanted to do,” says Carruth. “Then when my parents
were going through a divorce,
it was sort of an overnight
decision. That sounds kind of
cheesy, but that’s how it happened. Instead of turning to
the bad in the world, I turned
to designing and I’m really
blessed that that’s the decision
I made at such a young age.”
At 13 years old – exactly
two years ago this month – he
designed his first collection,
“Simply Flawless.” “I didn’t
have any experience. I didn’t
even know how to sew,” he
says. “This collection I’m
working on now I am doing
myself. Before I designed everything, but I needed help to
sew the pieces. This will be the
first one I’m actually making.
I think with this being solely
me, I’m going to be even more
proud of myself.”
Since his official launch at
Nashville’s Middle Tennessee
Fashion Week, Carruth’s work
has been shown in several
fashion shows locally, one
in Dallas, Texas, and even at
Plitzs New York City Fashion
Week in New York. “It’s been
overwhelming to say the least.
I have school and everything
else a normal teenager has,
along with my business,” he
says. “But that’s what I like
about it – it’s challenging.
That’s another reason I enjoy
what I do.”
Carruth’s goals for the future are lofty, but none insurmountable, he says, thanks in
part to his focus and also to his
supportive family. “Business
wise, I really just want to work
up to the point where maybe
I have a store. We’re planning that, but it’s going to be a
while,” says Carruth. “I’d just
like to expand the business
and perfect what I do as far as
design. To have my own studio, my own company, my entire company under one roof,
people working for me and
seeing my designs on celebrity
chatter magazine | APRIL 2013
119
7. For more information on
Carruth Couture, visit
www.carruthcouture.com.
Describe your design style:
Elegant. A Carruth Couture woman
is someone who expresses herself
with what she wears. She’s brave,
outgoing, the center of the party and
definitely the most fashionable one
there.
If you could dress anyone, who
would it be? Probably Lady GaGa
or Jennifer Lawrence – she’s my
new favorite celebrity so I think it
would be cool to collaborate with her.
Sometimes I look at the red carpet
and I wish all of those gowns could
be a Carruth Couture. That’s not how
it works, though.
photos: sherry wohlfeil blalock – winding trails studio
clients – that’s pretty much
my goal, but then it’s going to
be a lot of hard work to get to
that point. That’s why I have
that goal. I have something to
look forward to.”
Some people have doubted
that he would succeed, but
Carruth says that only makes
him more certain of his vision. “At school there’s been
a couple of people that don’t
like what I do and I know a lot
of people secretly hope I don’t
succeed – the judgmental
people, the closed-minded
people. But those are the
people that I don’t listen to,”
he says. “Chanel, she was an
orphan and then she became
a world famous designer. You
don’t have to have a lot of
money or support, you just
have to be determined and
motivated, and you can do
anything.”
What designer inspires you?
I’ve researched people in general and
that’s one reason I think I got this
far. Artists like Lady Gaga … I love
her braveness and her style and her
fashion and how she runs her entire
company. I enjoy reading about
Alexander McQueen, as well. It’s
inspiring to learn about other people.
Can you give us a preview of
your upcoming collections?
I’m using gold sequin fabric and
black satin. I’m also mixing two
different kinds of silhouettes. It only
took a week to sketch the 12 pieces
out, and I’ll edit as I go.
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