From the Carpet to the Aisle with Designer, Marialexandra

For many it is considered the most important day of their lives.  On average it will cost well over twenty thousand dollars to produce; every minute of the day planned from start to finish, months, often times years in advance.  At it’s finale, one becomes two, together as one, vowing before a list of key witnesses to spend the rest of their days happily every after…Amen.

Whether exchanging nuptials, walking the red carpet or anything in between, a show stopping dress is, without a doubt, an essential part of your total presentation; sometimes even more important than rolling in with the perfect date!

Imagine putting the creation of that dress, the dress, in the hands of a fourteen year old girl!

Meet young fashionista turned design guru, Marialexandra…

At what age were you certain you wanted to become a fashion designer and what sparked this revelation?

I remember the first time I heard a friend of mine talk about a “fashion designer” as an actual career; it was like a revelation for me. I had always been very artistic and had been practically obsessed with clothing from a very early age, but didn’t really realize fashion can be my life until my friend talked about her wanting to be a fashion designer when she grew up. I think that stuck in my head and when I was 13 I designed my first dress. Right then I knew that was what I wanted to do when I grew up, that’s what I wanted to do from then on. It was like I discovered I had this talent and I didn’t want to let it go. I began designing costumes for school plays, I turned any project I had for history class, English class, everything I could into a project where I would have to incorporate a drawing or design of clothing. At the age of 14 my mother’s youngest brother got engaged and I jumped at the chance to design my first bridal gown for my future aunt. At first my mother dismissed my design telling me a wedding gown was something too important for me to take on, since I was just 14 and had recently started to sew, but that didn’t keep me from showing my design to my aunt. She loved it and got my mom on board to make the dress. The entire process was heaven for me; learning how to sew, watching my design come to life, and then watching it walk down the isle… oh… I can bet I was happier than my aunt wearing the gown on her wedding day – I had discovered my passion and saw it come to life before my very eyes.

Where did you find your inspiration at such an early age and what inspires you most today?

I can’t really pinpoint what inspired me when I designed that first bridal gown. I think I was so young, and so oblivious to the industry, I designed what I believed would be the perfect gown for my aunt, her personality and the time, and didn’t care or think about what others thought as long as I was making my aunt happy and in keeping with what I saw as modern and elegant. I did incorporate my bows though… I love bows and still add a bow or a knot in a lot of my gowns. Her gown had tiny bows instead of buttons to close her long sleeves, and bows in the back of the dress, also replacing buttons. Out of the last larger bow came the double train that was detachable so she didn’t have to carry it around later at the reception.
Today inspiration comes to me at the oddest moments and it usually isn’t planned. I don’t have a ritual I go through really, it’s my day-to-day life as a mother, wife, and professional that inspire me in the oddest ways. It can be a movie I’ve seen with the kids, or a family trip, something that catches my attention via emotion or feeling that can spark an entire idea for a collection.

Who was your fashion or style icon growing up and why?

As a little girl I looked up to several designers & style icons. The designers that stood out the most in my eyes were Carolina Herrera and Gianfranco Ferre. Ferre’s exquisite elegance, and over the top simplicity (I know, that sounds like an oxymoron, but think about it & it makes sense when it comes to his designs) was something that I always admired. Carolina Herrera was someone I looked up to for many reasons, I think the most obvious was she was from Venezuela, just like me, and her style and class was something I looked up to. This was a woman who looked impeccable no matter what she was doing, or what time of the day it was, and she carried this over into her collections with such ease.
Style icons of mine, from a very early age, have been a bit stereotypical, but they are who they are for a reason. Still today, books on Jackie Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn dominate my library and are always present in my mind when I am designing; only difference is, as a child I saw them on the news, in the papers, and heard about them and what they were wearing at the time, now I research them and look back. The amazing part is they have been gone for some years now, and no matter what decade a picture of them was taken, they are as contemporary as if they had been alive today – that is style and class.

In one sentence, how would you best describe your overall design aesthetic?

Sophisticated and delicate with an innovative touch of flirtatiousness.

You studied fashion design at the Savannah College of Art and Design-how did studying in the South influence your design aesthetic?

My design aesthetics were really never strongly influenced by the south, with one exception. For my senior show, I closed my collection with a bridal gown and my model carried a magnolia bouquet.
SCAD is in Savannah, but the fashion department and our designer minds were always in NY, Milan, Paris, London.

What is the biggest challenge to designing evening wear?

Eveningwear is challenging in today’s market because women have less opportunities to wear an evening gown and when they do, there are many factors a designer has to take in consideration to meet the highest standards and deserve a woman’s investment in a gown. As an eveningwear designer, I need to keep in mind, women do wear the same gown more than once and these gowns are not inexpensive so they must be something they will be able to and be happy to wear a few years down the road. All these factors, and more, have to be kept in mind when designing and constructing every single one of the gowns in each collection.

Marialexandra, the brand, is a favorite among brides-what is the biggest trap brides fall into when dreaming up their fairytale wedding dress?

Without a doubt, the biggest trap brides fall into is wanting to wear a style that does not compliment their body type, but are fixated on the style or cut because its what is in style at the time. It is crucial for a bride to know her body, to know what looks best on her, what compliments her body type. We, as women, all have parts of our body we like and parts we aren’t so happy with, we need to know these and know how to use what we like and hide what we don’t like in an appropriate style. Not only will the dress fit you better, you will look a million times better on your wedding day as well as loving your look and style in your pictures for years to come. There is nothing worse than looking at your wedding pictures years later and regretting what you wore. And like I tell my brides, if you feel beautiful and comfortable, you will LOOK even more beautiful.

How do you define the word “style”?

Style is an expression of who you are through your choice of clothing, accessories, and everything that comes with it. It’s a very personal way of expressing yourself through fashion, so I believe style is something that is as personal as a fingerprint.

Are there any current fashion trends you find particularly inspiring?

Fashion is all over the map nowadays and trends come and go so fast, sometimes you don’t have time to wear a trendy piece more than once. A trend that hasn’t been really called out but has been around for a bit longer that usual is color, the use of color. I am a big fan of black, over half of my closet is all black, but I do love color and love that women are being more inviting, more accepting of color.

Is there a fashion trend, past or present, you wish would just go away…for good?

The drug-look for models on runways… HATED it! There is nothing a drugged up looking model can make me want, much less buy. It wasn’t healthy, it wasn’t pretty, and it sure wasn’t a good message for younger girls who don’t understand its all about marketing and not “real life”.

Do you agree, in fashion “there are no rules?” If not, what are your fashion dos and don’ts?

If I had a second to respond to this question, I would say “No, there are no rules in fashion”, but if you give me a few more seconds, tons of rules pop up in my head.
I have my personal dos & don’t. Don’ts are not necessarily related to style because style is very personal and fashion is all about expressing yourself through clothing, but there are definitely some don’ts that shouldn’t be part of anyone’s style, at least in my book. Underwear showing, be it a bra, bra strap, G-string, its all part of my don’ts. Cleanliness and hygiene are extremely important, and private body parts exposed, leaving nothing to the imagination – definitely don’ts.

What is the most grueling part about being a fashion designer and what is the most rewarding?

Putting out collection after collection and designing a year in advance is grueling. I have to “know” what women will be wearing a year in advance and that can get pretty stressful. Meeting timelines in this business is challenging, and it takes great practice to get it done while keeping all outside factors in line.
The most rewarding, without a doubt, is seeing a customer looking radiant and feeling and looking like a goddess in one of my pieces – it keeps me in this business.

What turns you on about the fashion industry and what turns you off?

If I must be 100% honest answering this question, there are a lot of things that turn me off about this industry, probably more than what turns me on. The industry as a whole is hard to understand, hard to comprehend, and can be very cruel at times. It’s very subjective and it relies very heavily on the opinion of only a few who have been placed in positions of this power over the years. Most of the time its who you know and not what you know or what talent you truly have, and that can be a negative for many, but again, that isn’t something that is unique to this industry.
What turns me on are those in the industry who still find the joy in making clothes and love what they do and do it out of passion. It turns me on to get advice from a peer or a vendor, especially when its honest, good advice they have acquired through their own experiences.

Who is your style icon today?  Why?

Jackie O and Audrey Hepburn are still front-runners, but there are women today who have become style icons and have influenced fashion in very strong ways. My personal favorites are Julia Roberts and Anne Hathaway; both extremely elegant women, who can look timeless in a pair of jeans or a couture gown.

You are an Artist, Entrepreneur, Wife and Mother-what do you do when you need a break from it all?

Break? I’m sorry, not sure I understand the question…
It may sound like a joke, but really, I haven’t really figured that one out yet. I guess its because I really do live the life I have set out to live, and I love what I do so much, it isn’t really work to me. My husband and I have several businesses so we are always working, even if it’s a dinner meeting while on a trip, or planning our next move for one of our businesses, but we never stop; and being a mom, that’s a job I never want to take a break from. I joke with my kids that I want to die like Coco Chanel did, old and working on a collection, and I want to die with a pencil or paintbrush in my hand.

As a working Artist, what is the greatest advice you can offer other artists about turning their passion into profit?

There is no magic pill, and its not easy, I still don’t have it completely figured out and probably never will, but I do know being honest with yourself, learning as much as you can every day, and being perseverant can take you to places you only thought you could dream about. There is no such thing as a starving artist, if this artist put their art and passion to work in smart ways. Be smart, be business savvy, and never lose site of your passion for your art, because that’s the reason you are where you are.