Eight days.
That’s how long the four LSU design students who collaborated to create the M.A.R.K. collection have until showtime at New Orleans Fashion Week.
Two weeks ago, fashion design junior Krystal Frame approached senior Rachel Detloff with a proposition to submit a clothing line after hearing about an opening in the show. Knowing time was short, Detloff and Frame invited two fellow designers, Maddie Louviere and Alex Engelhardt, to join the effort.
The collection’s name, M.A.R.K., was quickly decided upon by using the first initials of each student’s name. Experiencing a time crunch, they jokingly like to call themselves “K.R.A.M.”
Having never worked together before, the group had to find ways to pull together the four different styles.
“Surprisingly, we did not clash at all,” Louviere said.
Louviere describes her style as chic and feminine, but with a little edge. Detloff, on the other hand, designs more “underground London, punky Rolling Stones stuff,” inspired mostly by music.
Engelhardt, winner of this summer’s Alegria Fashion Show in New Orleans, finds his inspiration in architecture and futurism using many angles and lines. Frame takes an opposite approach through lots of flowing garments with feminine Bohemian flair.
The group decided to mix pastel and metallic fabrics in the collection to bring cohesiveness to the edgy and feminine.
“We wanted to make sure we put our own selves in it so people can see us as well,” Louviere said.
This is the first real fashion show for most of the M.A.R.K. designers, so bringing to life what’s always been on the drawing board has been the biggest challenge.
“You have to learn the basics first, and they don’t teach you the basics until your junior year — like how to make a garment originally,” Detloff said. “You can take a pattern from the store and manipulate it, and be like, ‘I made this,’ but it’s not the same as when you make your own pattern from nothing.”
Each member is responsible for three runway looks that incorporate the fabrics they picked out as a team just days after agreeing to work together. Sending photos of their progress back and forth in a group text message, they’ve been able to stay on the same page, design-wise.
“We’ve been giving each other a lot of critique,” Louviere said. “It’s mostly yourself, but I think we add by, say, Alex being like, ‘Oh, I really like that, Maddie, but what if we do this?’”
While each designer is elated about being a part of M.A.R.K., they agree it’s unlikely they will continue as a group. Senior year is the time for defining themselves in the fashion world, and most competitions aren’t looking for groups, according to Louviere.
As for now, the focus is on the countdown. Everyone is about halfway done with their portion, but the panic button is still on the table.
“It’s just like an anxious feeling because I want to get everything done, but I know I need to take my time on it,” Detloff said, after describing how she makes mock-ups of her designs using bed sheets so she doesn’t mess up and run out of fabric.
“What I’m most excited for is just seeing the clothes move down the runway, actually on someone,” Engelhardt said.
As the last university in Louisiana to offer a degree in fashion design, the small senior program only has about 20 students. After graduating, the four M.A.R.K. designers all hope to further their education elsewhere. Prospects include New York, Los Angeles and even China.