Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexis Coleman.
Hi Alexis, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I took an interest in fashion around the age of nine, when I got a Project Runway sketch set for Christmas. The set came with a wheel that’d you spin in order to find out what you should sketch. I loved sketching everything from clothes I’d wear to things I wanted to sew. This eventually led me to wanting to learn how to sew. Around ten years old, my granny would teach me how to sew. She brought over her sewing machine and taught me the basics. At this time, I had also recently moved from California to Pennsylvania and this became somewhat of the perfect hobby. I would come home from school and practice sewing everything from straight lines to small projects. I would go through middle school and high school taking sewing classes as my elective and upgrade from sewing pillows to my senior prom dress. I would also join the fashion club at my high school and hear from guest speakers and even put on a couple of fashion shows. I knew I loved designing and sewing and was very eager to learn how to create my own designs instead of using store patterns. I was interested in going to FIDM back in California but after a SCAD representative visited our high school, I decided to apply and eventually decided on attending Savannah College of Art and Design in the fall of 2017. I majored in fashion design and minored in fashion marketing and I received my B.F.A in May of 2021. During my senior year, I decided to start building my brand and start releasing designs. I started off with accessories to help fund the production of my designs and now I currently only sell my designs that I make in house. Now I attend California State University and I’m currently working on my MBA with a concentration in Entrepreneurship to learn more about running an effective business long-term.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The pandemic was definitely one of the biggest obstacles. The beginning was very hard, as we were all trying to adjust to an online school setting. Which was hard as fashion kind of requires a hands-on learning experience and we were trying to be taught new techniques and skills over the computer without the resources we were used to. I struggled a lot my senior year as I had to create my senior collection from home back in Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh doesn’t have a huge selection of fabric shopping options like Atlanta and it was hard to get fabrics shipped in time for deadlines as a lot of things were delayed due to the pandemic. I tried driving to Ohio and Philadelphia to source fabrics with little success but I worked to design a collection around what I had while still creating something I could be proud of. I also planned my collection around a SCAD’s Swarovski collaboration but due to the pandemic, the collaboration was canceled and I wasn’t informed until two weeks before our jury. It was hard to continue the collection because it felt like this pandemic was just tearing it apart. It was also hard to source models as a lot of people were still at home due to the pandemic. So I redesigned and used classmates as models to create a collection I could still be happy with. A faculty member who heard about me planning to use the Swarovski collaboration helped me find any crystals leftover that the school still had on hand. So I took what I could get and hand-sewed crystals onto the clothes up until shoot day to create a collection that I was content with. It was hard to see how my creativity had to be rushed and condensed because of the miscommunication that the pandemic produced and the pandemic itself. In the end, I was proud of all that I was able to do through the pandemic but it was still hard to be proud knowing that the collection was meant to be so much more.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in Womenswear with an interest in Menswear. I am currently designing RTW Womenswear. My professors and classmates always comment on how detail-oriented I am. I aim to create luxury through the small details that big fast fashion brands wouldn’t notice or create. For example, sourcing fabrics is something I take my time with. I recently created a two looks collection that is perfect for going out or date nights. I know a lot of fast fashion brands sell clothes that are completely see through and although the clothes may be cute, people may end up not wearing them because they’re not comfortable in them. So while sourcing fabrics, I made sure to stretch fabrics before purchasing to see how see through they became. A simple step that some big brands most likely skip past. I aim to make sure that whoever wears my designs is comfortable and always feels like the best version of themselves when they wear my clothes. I think that’s what I’m most proud of. How detailed I am and how much I have my target customer in mind when creating these clothes. I’m always so excited to see people in the clothes and get the excited messages when people receive their packages. I think that’s the best part of being a designer; seeing your clothes on your target customer and how happy they are in the clothes.
Any big plans?
I recently moved to California and am working to get more involved in the fashion world out there as well as Atlanta. I’m really looking to collaborate with models and photographers this year. As for my brand, I plan to continue to create more designs while I work on my next collection. I also look forward to working with other brands/companies because I think it’d be a great opportunity to learn more about the fashion industry and my target audience!
Contact Info:
- Email: lxsofficialcontact@gmail.com
- Website: officiallxs.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/lxs_officialdesigns
- Other: tiktok.com/@lxsofficial
Image Credits:
Collection pictures taken and edited by 604 W.Palm Pix. IG: @604w.palmpix
