Senin, 25 Agustus 2014

Polk Mother


Throughout her childhood, Carissa Randall often heard her mother speak of her yearning to work in the fashion industry.


Jada Randall frequently discussed her dream of working as a buyer for Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue, one of those glamorous department stores based in faraway New York City.


So when Carissa Randall took a buyout from her job a few years ago, she decided it was time to combine her financial acumen with her mother's fashion aplomb and create a business that would nudge Jada Randall toward her long-held aspiration.


Carissa Randall launched her company, Styled By Jada, in June 2013, with her mother as her sole employee. The business includes a custom clothing line, Elan J, with designs by Jada Randall.


Next month, the business will attain unprecedented exposure as models at an event connected with New York Fashion Week walk a runway wearing Jada Randall's designs.


'I think it's going to launch us, I really do,' said Jada Randall, 51, of Lakeland. 'There's going to be tons and tons of buyers there, and all kinds of fashion bloggers. ... It's a huge opportunity for us in terms of getting our name out there.'


Elan J will be one of several clothing lines featured in a designer's review taking place Sept. 6 at a venue in New York's Chelsea district. Carissa Randall, a Mulberry resident, said designers whose clothes have been accepted for the review are contractually banned at this time from releasing the location or other details about the event.


Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, one of the world's premiere events for the sartorial industry, runs Sept. 4 through Sept. 8.


Carissa Randall, 29, said she submitted a 'lookbook,' a portfolio of garments, during the application period. She learned in late May that Elan J was among the clothing lines selected to be worn by models at one of the official Fashion Week events.


The name for the line combines the names of Jada Randall's two first-born grandchildren, Jaden and Elani-Hazel.


Jada Randall's collection includes midi dresses, maxi dresses and slacks, as well as T-shirts and tank tops. One example displayed on the company's website (www.styledbyjada.com), is a peachtree crop top midi skirt. A photo shows a model wearing a clingy, sleeveless dress in blocks of salmon and azure with a halter-like collar.


Some of the T-shirts display the company's logo, the head of a lion wearing a crown.


'I love bold prints, bold colors,' Jada Randall said. 'I just love color. I like dark, rich colors, purples.'


Jada Randall said her favorite designers include the late Gianni Versace, Nicole Miller and Donna Karan. She said she watches fashion shows and awards broadcasts on TV to get ideas and also reads fashion magazines to see what celebrities are wearing.


Carissa Randall described her mother's designs as 'sophisticated, after-5 wear.' Jada Randall said her fashion preferences trace to her own mother, Pauline Wade.


'I used to watch my mother dress when we lived in New York when I was a little girl,' Jada Randall said. 'She just dressed so nice and always so classy, and that is where my love for fashion came from, from watching from mom. ... That's what our clothing line is all about - class and elegance.'


Jada Randall has long been a source of fashion guidance for friends. She said she began receiving inquiries from friends who either saw her out on the town or saw photos of her posted on Facebook and asked her to find outfits to suit them.


The company's name, Styled by Jada, reflects Jada Randall's practice of 'styling' friends - that is, finding clothes for them and tailoring them, if necessary. That venture led into Randall's creation of her own clothing line custom designed for women based on their measurements.


Though Carissa Randall has drawn some designs of her own, in general the pair have strictly defined roles.


'She doesn't want anything to do with the business side,' Carissa Randall said. 'That makes us work together very well. I'm not getting into what she's doing, and she's not getting into what I'm doing.'


Jada Randall said she pays a seamstress to turn her designs into clothing.


The Elan J line got its first public exposure last summer when Greater Works Ministries of Winter Haven invited the Randalls to provide clothing for models at a fashion show held in Lakeland.


'After the show, women were purchasing the clothes off the models,' said Angela Nixon, the Greater Works Ministries member who organized the event.


Jada Randall spent her childhood in New York, and Carissa Randall said she has been to the city three times. But neither has attended Fashion Week events before.


'We're extremely excited and stoked,' Carissa Randall said.


Aside from the thrill of seeing New York models wearing her company's clothes, Carissa Randall said she eagerly anticipates seeing such celebrity designers as Russell Simmons, creator of Phat Farm, Argyleculture and American Classics clothing lines.


At this point, both Randalls have full-time jobs. Carissa Randall works in the unclaimed property research department for Coca-Cola, and her mother is a probation officer. But Carissa Randall, emphasizing the strength she draws from her Christian faith, said she hopes next month's exposure hastens the day when mother and daughter can devote themselves fully to fashion.


'My ultimate goal is to mass produce, so I can supply to major department stores,' Carissa Randall said. 'And we also aspire to style celebrities because they are the ones who have really upscale events to go to where they have to be exquisitely presentable. So those are our inspiring goals.


'We're trying to go global, and we want Elan J to be world renowned.'


[ Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. He blogs about tourism at http://ift.tt/NCdoZb. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13. ]


Polk Mother-Daughter Team to Get Exposure at N.Y. Fashion Week

<p>Throughout her childhood, Carissa Randall often heard her mother speak of her yearning to work in the fashion industry.</p><p>Jada Randall frequently discussed her dream of working as a buyer for Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue, one of those glamorous department stores based in faraway New York City.</p><p>So when Carissa Randall took a buyout from her job a few years ago, she decided it was time to combine her financial acumen with her mother's fashion aplomb and create a business that would nudge Jada Randall toward her long-held aspiration.</p><p>Carissa Randall launched her company, Styled By Jada, in June 2013, with her mother as her sole employee. The business includes a custom clothing line, Elan J, with designs by Jada Randall.</p><p>Next month, the business will attain unprecedented exposure as models at an event connected with New York Fashion Week walk a runway wearing Jada Randall's designs.</p><p>'I think it's going to launch us, I really do,' said Jada Randall, 51, of Lakeland. 'There's going to be tons and tons of buyers there, and all kinds of fashion bloggers. ... It's a huge opportunity for us in terms of getting our name out there.'</p><p>Elan J will be one of several clothing lines featured in a designer's review taking place Sept. 6 at a venue in New York's Chelsea district. Carissa Randall, a Mulberry resident, said designers whose clothes have been accepted for the review are contractually banned at this time from releasing the location or other details about the event.</p><p>Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, one of the world's premiere events for the sartorial industry, runs Sept. 4 through Sept. 8.</p><p>Carissa Randall, 29, said she submitted a 'lookbook,' a portfolio of garments, during the application period. She learned in late May that Elan J was among the clothing lines selected to be worn by models at one of the official Fashion Week events.</p><p>The name for the line combines the names of Jada Randall's two first-born grandchildren, Jaden and Elani-Hazel.</p><p>Jada Randall's collection includes midi dresses, maxi dresses and slacks, as well as T-shirts and tank tops. One example displayed on the company's website (www.styledbyjada.com), is a peachtree crop top midi skirt. A photo shows a model wearing a clingy, sleeveless dress in blocks of salmon and azure with a halter-like collar.</p><p>Some of the T-shirts display the company's logo, the head of a lion wearing a crown.</p><p>'I love bold prints, bold colors,' Jada Randall said. 'I just love color. I like dark, rich colors, purples.'</p><p>Jada Randall said her favorite designers include the late Gianni Versace, Nicole Miller and Donna Karan. She said she watches fashion shows and awards broadcasts on TV to get ideas and also reads fashion magazines to see what celebrities are wearing.</p><p>Carissa Randall described her mother's designs as 'sophisticated, after-5 wear.' Jada Randall said her fashion preferences trace to her own mother, Pauline Wade.</p><p>'I used to watch my mother dress when we lived in New York when I was a little girl,' Jada Randall said. 'She just dressed so nice and always so classy, and that is where my love for fashion came from, from watching from mom. ... That's what our clothing line is all about - class and elegance.'</p><p>Jada Randall has long been a source of fashion guidance for friends. She said she began receiving inquiries from friends who either saw her out on the town or saw photos of her posted on Facebook and asked her to find outfits to suit them.</p><p>The company's name, Styled by Jada, reflects Jada Randall's practice of 'styling' friends - that is, finding clothes for them and tailoring them, if necessary. That venture led into Randall's creation of her own clothing line custom designed for women based on their measurements.</p><p>Though Carissa Randall has drawn some designs of her own, in general the pair have strictly defined roles.</p><p>'She doesn't want anything to do with the business side,' Carissa Randall said. 'That makes us work together very well. I'm not getting into what she's doing, and she's not getting into what I'm doing.'</p><p>Jada Randall said she pays a seamstress to turn her designs into clothing.</p><p>The Elan J line got its first public exposure last summer when Greater Works Ministries of Winter Haven invited the Randalls to provide clothing for models at a fashion show held in Lakeland. </p><p>'After the show, women were purchasing the clothes off the models,' said Angela Nixon, the Greater Works Ministries member who organized the event.</p><p>Jada Randall spent her childhood in New York, and Carissa Randall said she has been to the city three times. But neither has attended Fashion Week events before.</p><p>'We're extremely excited and stoked,' Carissa Randall said.</p><p>Aside from the thrill of seeing New York models wearing her company's clothes, Carissa Randall said she eagerly anticipates seeing such celebrity designers as Russell Simmons, creator of Phat Farm, Argyleculture and American Classics clothing lines.</p><p>At this point, both Randalls have full-time jobs. Carissa Randall works in the unclaimed property research department for Coca-Cola, and her mother is a probation officer. But Carissa Randall, emphasizing the strength she draws from her Christian faith, said she hopes next month's exposure hastens the day when mother and daughter can devote themselves fully to fashion.</p><p>'My ultimate goal is to mass produce, so I can supply to major department stores,' Carissa Randall said. 'And we also aspire to style celebrities because they are the ones who have really upscale events to go to where they have to be exquisitely presentable. So those are our inspiring goals. </p><p>'We're trying to go global, and we want Elan J to be world renowned.'</p><p>[ Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. He blogs about tourism at http://ift.tt/NCdoZb. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13. ]</p>


Copyright 2014 TheLedger.com - All rights reserved. Restricted use only.

Tidak ada komentar:

Posting Komentar