Huffington Post?!?

We've got some serious street cred getting mentioned in an amazing article recently posted by the Huffington Post, Where Is the Next Fashion Capitol of the South...I almost missed it (I am just now emerging as a "real person" from newborn baby fog, he's 9 weeks, colicky, and a true terror, but I love him, and I am learning to operate around his crazy schedule), but so thankful for family and friends harassing me the day the article released so I didn't miss it! :)
Where Is the Next Fashion Capitol of the South by Ada Polla is a great article that highlights some designers who are making New Orleans stand out amongst other southern cities vying for the esteemed title of "fashion capitol of the south." (we've got in in the bag if you ask me ;) )
It is an IMMENSE honor to even be mentioned alongside these designers, especially Suzanne Perron, who is my mentor and whom I was privileged to work for and study under during and after my Masters program at LSU.  We also love being mentioned alongside Lisa Iacono, she's doing amazing things to make other designers dreams a reality with her local production facility, NOLA Sewn, as well as producing her own line as well.  Really all the designers are amazing in their own right, and we're just so happy to get a nod.
Thank you so much to Andi Eaton (now Andi Eaton Nickens, her new married name, congrats!) and obviously thank you to Ada Polla and the Huffington post for the acknowledgement of the talent that is emerging in our fabulous city!
Really, words cannot describe how honored we are at the Design Lab...I just hope we can continue to live up to the hype and MORE ;)
Stay tuned for our Fall Lookbook and store launch (online and available at exclusive retail locations)

LOVE THE PRESS!

 

First off, I'm sorry for the hiatus, I'm totally lost in a newborn baby fog, and I'm doing my best to sift my way out of it, slowly but surely...
The response to the show has been incredible and we're so grateful and proud of so many things; we provided a little sneak peek above of le Sacré Coeur Collection by the Design Lab which walked the runway at NOLA Fashion Week on March 22nd.

One of our favorite acknowledgements was from Southern Living, they featured an amazing article by Stephanie Granada:

Is NOLA the South’s Next Fashion Capital?

Please check out the link to the article above! We're so honored to be included and to be mentioned alongside great local designers such as Suzanne Perron, Andi Eaton, Nola Sewn/Lisa Iacono, Porter Lyons (Ashley Porter), and Bats on Tees (Tiffany Napper)

Another favorite press story was featured in the New Orleans Advocate, 

Designs on Fashion by Steven Forster

What we're really excited about is releasing our full runway show courtesy of photos from Steven Forster, and we're also excited about our Fall Lookbook which we hope to release next week!  Photos above were released by Aaron Henderson of Dent Photography.

On a side note, we're so happy to introduce Marc Gunner Forster into the world, and my husband is chronicling his adventures here, you should definitely check it out and follow...get ready to laugh :)

Forward Progress...and more SNEAK PEEKS

a little background/behind the scenes work...

 

work in progress...but things are moving right along...

More custom fabric detailing combined with our custom prints here at the Design Lab.  We're hoping things can keep progressing (on the design side, not on the baby delivery side!) as we get closer to Fashion Week which starts March 15th here in New Orleans.  We also have some great promotional video additions in the works courtesy of Luminetic Media, so stay tuned for big updates...hopefully not big embarrassments...talking is harder than it looks ;) !

 

                         

Art Show Exhibit

Had so much fun displaying a piece at the N.O.N. Gallery Design Art Showcase.  The garment isn't 100% finished...but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to display next to some very talented artists and an eager audience.  The showcase was intended to display different genres of art and each design process from start to finish of production.  I tried my best to give a glimpse into what goes into each garment design process...inspiration, rough sketches, patternmaking, fabric design, pattern placement, construction, and finishing...to name a few of the key components - the last image is how Ayo Scott displayed all the different pieces at the Gallery; couldn't be happier with how it turned out!

inspiration: religious iconography - this print is found hidden in the fabric

 

inspiration: religious iconography - this print is found hidden in the fabric

Fabric manipulation: creating a perforated vegan leather for the panels

Fabric manipulation: creating a perforated vegan leather for the panels

pattern/print placement: figuring out what part of the textile to feature within the pattern pieces

embroidered details

embroidered details for accent

"final" product!

On display at the N.O.N. Gallery - loved how Ayo Scott curated the entire event!

Loving our new tech!

So I know I've already raved about the Dell Inspiron 23, but it's just making design life SO much easier and so much more FUN...

When dealing with incorporating custom prints into a collection, there's A LOT of unseen work...using Adobe Illustrator is a key tool that has helped us to narrow down print selection and placement for specific pattern pieces.  Once again, I hope I'm not giving too much away with our images below...but we're having a lot of fun with this collection...just hoping we can get it all done in about 3-4 weeks (insert crazy face)...enjoy some preliminary roughs/thoughts below

the SACRED collection - Sneak Preview....

We're so excited here at theDesignLab to launch our Prefall 2014 "Sacred" Collection.  We still have A LOT of work to do in order to actually show during New Orleans Fashion Week, BUT, we feel confident we can pull it off (despite a LOT of obstacles that are presenting themselves...but as fellow designer and friend Lisa Iacono recently told me, "that's the story of our lives in this biz!" so I guess I better get used to setbacks, it's not just me!)

Waiting for our fabrics to come back from the printer and we're super excited, so we decided to share a few previews...these aren't to scale, and they're kinda lackluster viewed so small, but we didn't want to give away TOO much, so here goes nothing (or everything)...fingers crossed they come back from the printer and we love them...excited to share and hope you enjoy...going from illustrator on to a body is always a huge guessing game, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.  Anyway, enjoy your sneak peak of a few SACRED prints from our 2014 Prefall Sacred Collection by the Design Lab...

Prepping Marcella

deep thoughts...by Marcella Perino ;)

Piggy-backing off one of my last posts, we're so excited to launch Marcella Perino's first capsule collection under the Design Lab label!  Pictured above is a small glimpse into some runway collection preparation - from sketch, to fabric swatch selection, to print selection, to required yardage, and much more thought and time that goes into runway prep!  Marcella has come such a long way here at the Design Lab...below are some progress pics of her learnings and progress toward her first capsule collection which can be seen during New Orleans Fashion Week in March 2014!

drafting her first trouser pattern!

first attempt at a trouser, not too shabby...this pic is PRE-edits

Torso drafting and sew-up

a Marcella Perino original, from sketch to dress form :)

So Excited, and We Just Can't Hide It...

Ok, I was going to wait until the end of the week to do an official unveiling, but I'm just TOO EXCITED...we are prepping for fashion week, which is our main focus, but we also have a few other things in the works for development/training/future business goals...and we're not gonna try to hide it, they're huge for anyone in or around the fashion industry...

We GLADLY welcome Optitex Software into our hearts, hands, and workplace...if you don't know it, it's one of the leading softwares for pattern-making in apparel design, and we're BLESSED to have it...no more of this archaic paper wasting during the drafting stage!!!  Seriously, the amount of time (and sanity) we are going to save by using this software is indescribable...expect MANY more posts with me shouting my love for this software program from a mountain top.

And what would a new software program be without an amazing device to perform said software upon?!??!  We also welcome the Dell Inspiron 23 into our open arms (picture us running towards eachother, slow-mo, baywatch style...ok maybe not baywatch...)!  I himmed and Hawed for WEEKS trying to decide what unit would best serve the design lab; seriously, I drove my friends, family, and husband INSANE over this purchase (same with the software, over a MONTH of deciding what would best suit our needs, and then price negotiations...)...needless to say, spreadsheets were created, sleep was lost, BUT at the end of the day (or month) we have an amazing set-up, and I feel like I made the most educated decision possible.
We are MOVING ON UP and excited to do so!!!

Oh and one more thing...if you're a granola bar eater, go out and purchase these "Chocolate Almond & Sea Salt" Kashi Bars...they are life-changing...I am aware this is in no way related to this post, but as far as excitement about new things goes, this is high up there on the list...no joke!