Big City Fashion Design, Small City Digs

By Joe Cooper
Fashion Design School Review Columnist

A career in fashion can happen anywhere, whether it’s in the streets of Los Angeles, or the town of Madison, Wisconsin. Take a look at one fashionable couple, their careers, and why they have found success in fashion design.

A Career in Fashion: From Hollywood to Wisconsin

Wesley and Leyla Martin met in Los Angeles, where they both were pursuing a career in fashion. After marrying several years later, they moved to Madison, Wisconsin, (with many stops along the way) to open their own fashion boutique.

The fashion design professionals shared that they are able to procure certain exclusive labels for their small shop, because their town setting represents a lucrative possibility for these brands. A city like Madison is still a small town, but with a large, untapped population.

They also mentioned that while their shop (called “DrunknButterfly”) could not afford the rents that other major fashion retailers pay in cities like Chicago or New York, they do just fine in Madison.

The Business of Fashion

The passion and ambition that these two fashion professionals have just goes to show how fashion design really can succeed everywhere. It also shows that it takes more than a great sense of style, or even a knowledge of fashion design. It takes business savvy. (Learning this is one of the things that fashion design school can teach).

If you are interested in a career in fashion and like the path that the Martins have taken, consider fashion school as a great place to learn the business of fashion design, how to open your own shop, and how to bring the art and excitement of fashion design to any city, big or small, in the country.

Sources

DrunknButterfly

About the Author

Joe Cooper writes fashion and design articles and edits medical literature. He holds a bachelor’s in American Literature from UCLA.

Posted on February 20, 2007 at 04:13 PM