Designer Jump :: Reco Chapple

So, last Saturday, June 18, I attended an event unlike any other I had ever been to before. There was a cocktail mixer, plenty of drinks, fashion from wall to wall and a 1a.m. Runway Show! Who else could throw such an outlandish event, other than haute designer Reco Chapple of BRAVO TV's, "The Fashion Show!" [pictured above to the right, of yours truly]

Reco Chapple, is designer to stars like R&B singer Keri Hilson, Singer/Song Writer Kandi Buress, and more recently, "Single Ladies" star Stacy Dash. On Saturday, he introduced us to 3 collections, which included his Breast Cancer Awareness collection inspired by his grandmother, a risque Men's Collection which featured and highlighted some of Atlanta's most prestigious male models, BEST assets; and lastly his latest collection!

The Fall 2011 collection, which Reco explained gained it's inspiration from a break-up he endured with someone he thought he was truly in love with, was nothing short of genius. The collection features a slew of blood red dresses, which shows a hard contrast to the Breast Cancers collection of soft palettes of baby pinks, with lace and nude detailing.

[I Didn't Have My Camera, So No Pics from the Show.. BUT I Did Find One Collection on Youtube]



Make Sure You FOLLOW Reco on twitter at @RecoChapple for haute updates from his boutique located at 2115 Peidmont Road, Atlanta, G

You can check out a full interview with Reco Chapple from Hot10Magazine.com after the JUMP!!

INTERVIEW!

Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child, comedian Rickey Smiley, actress Vivica Fox, basketball star Tracy McGrady, and rap artists Gucci Mane and T.I are just some of the celebrities that have worn his designs. Now Reco Chapple, the talent that made his TV debut landing a top-four finalist spot out of 15 professional-designers on BRAVO TV’s “The Fashion Show”, joins us for a Hot 10 exclusive on his fashion line, hot summer trends and the truth about celebrity clients.

How did you become interested in fashion?

It was off and on from childhood through college. My mother is also a designer, so I saw her do things. She taught me how to stitch at an early age. I remember one time, when I was about eight years old, watching “Oprah” and she had a Valentino fashion show. That was my first real brush with fashion, because it caught and kept my attention. Then when I went to college at Tennessee State I was majoring in architecture/engineering but I used to style the guys and girls for pageants at the university. One of my friends wanted to buy a top for $50. I was like that top looks so simple I think I can make it, and I did. She was so excited that she blasted my name all over campus. Everyone wanted me to make them things. Back then I was charging like $35 for a gown, because I didn’t know. That was my first start up in fashion.

Describe your brand:

House of Chapple is a luxury, ready to wear line. It’s very sexy, conservative, classy and timeless. I make sure that I always have that staple piece that accentuates the woman’s body but still can be worn season after season. As far as the lifestyle aspect, I am working on having a flagship store that carries all House of Chapple items – home furnishings, fragrances, books. That’s the long term plan.

Where are you based?

I am in Atlanta. I started in Tennessee but moved because I was always on the road to Atlanta for work. It’s hard to get people to pay higher prices for custom made clothing in Tennessee. So I was landing more jobs in Atlanta. I have a showroom here, and it’s beautiful. I’ve been getting a great response.

So what’s hot this summer?

My collection is called Weekend at the Hamptons. The hot item is a pair of red linen skinny pants paired with a white ruffled wrap top. I tell most women it’s good to have a dress, but it’s great to have separates because you can always mix and match. You get more bang for you buck.

What items do you enjoy creating most?

I enjoy creating gowns. In my spring/summer collection, I have a gown that has 125 yards of fabric. I didn’t even realize it was that much, I just kept buying fabric and buying fabric until it was this huge navy blue ball gown. I love the intricate detail of gowns. They’re a challenge to me.

Tell us about your experience on Bravo’s “The Fashion Show”.

It was great. I learned a lot about myself as a designer and as a person. I also learned that I can push myself to do more than the average designer. I don’t want to sound cocky, but I didn’t realize how good I was. It put a whole different perspective on where I can take the industry by being down South. We all know that in New York, there are not a lot of brown people. I hate to bring up the subject, because it’s so taboo. But it’s locked out a lot of people in the industry. It’s made me see that I can have a lot more success down South. I’ve learned a lot by researching other designers and preparing for the show. So it taught me a lot.

What goes into designing? As a consumer we only see the end product, so explain to us what the process behind that is like.

For me the designing and construction part is easy. Even on the show, I finished things quick. I just had a crazy thought process because I’ve been doing this every day for 11 years, sun up to sun down. They asked me how was I able to do it. But it’s only so many ways you can make a bustier or pencil skirt. Now the hardest part, and the reason most designers don’t make it, is the business side of it. I tell people all the time it’s only 10% design. I can sketch out a whole collection in one night. But as far as selling and marketing that collection, that business side, that’s the killer.

How did you manage to break into that business side?

I have a long bloodline of entrepreneurs. I’ve been working since I was 11 years old, helping my father who owns his own landscaping company or my mother who has her own jewelry company; my grandmother owns stores, my aunts own cafés and restaurants. So I knew I was going to work for myself. I just didn’t know what I was going to do. I remember when I changed my major from architecture to fashion design I didn’t tell my family for a year. I thought they expected me to be this great architect, but I didn’t love it. The passion wasn’t there like it is for clothing. Six months past and my father called and asked me what’s going on. He said, “You haven’t asked me for any money.” And when he saw that I was actually making money from making clothes -I had gotten an apartment, furniture, everything- he was amazed. So it’s just in my bloodline.

Who is your favorite designer?

I love the old greats, those people who created designs for like Diana Ross and Grace Jones. You see people duplicating them now for entertainers like Beyonce and Lady Gaga, but they were the inventers. My present favorites are Bob Mackie, Alexander McQueen, the old Gucci and Versace.

You mentioned your current Weekend at the Hamptons line, but what can we expect next from you?

I have a lot of things in the works. I’ve been getting requests for other shows and was even mailed a movie script. So I’m just taking it one day at a time. I’m working on an accessory line to accompany Weekend at the Hamptons. Check it out on my website, www.houseofchapple.com. I’m also working on my fall 2010 collection, which is inspired by Prince. So it’s a lot of purple, diamonds, pearls, lace. I was listening to music and was flipping through style.com and saw Prince. Then his song came on and I was like “You know what, I think I’m going to do Prince for my fall”. I have this long trench coat that’s studded at the shoulders. It’s beautiful.

One thing I’m working on is picking up where the Ebony Fashion Show left off. That show doesn’t travel any more. I want to pick up my show, which I currently do for a lot of colleges and what we call the “chitlin' circuit” which is the Black circuit down South, and fill that void by taking my show on the road and do a whole presentation from the House of Chapple.

What would our readers be surprised to know about you?

A lot of people, when they see me, are surprised I’m so calm. I’m too normal. I mean I walk around my shop in flip flops and a tee-shirt. A lot of times designers meet with celebrity clients and come off as being a little too much or over the top. From the TV show, people expect me to say something silly but that was a lot of editing. So in person, I appear really Plain Jane.

You work with a lot of celebrity clients. I know it’s hard to name names, but who is your favorite person to dress?

Rickey Smiley was great. I worked with him a couple of years. I’m working on Jennifer Holiday right now and she has been amazing. But I tell a lot of young designers, it’s great to put clothes on celebrities’ backs but a lot of times they don’t pay. They want stuff for free. My best clients are regular people. I’ve had some clients for years. They keep the doors of House of Chapple open. So it’s great to work with celebrities, but at the end of the day I can’t go to Georgia Power and say I worked with this celebrity so could you waive my bill this month. My ideal client is the normal person that will pay eight, nine, even 1500 dollars for a dress. So don’t think chasing that dream of dressing celebrities is chasing the dollars.

Is it easier to style for a man vs. a woman?

Many times the biggest issue for a man is not wanting to come off too feminine. But a woman is more difficult because they are particular about the fit and looking a certain way. You have to research the client and make sure they don’t go too far out of their comfort zone. Let them try something new. I haven’t really run into any crazy – I take that back. A lot of my A-listers have no complaints. It’s the B-list celebrities, and I won’t name names, but they are the hardest to work with.

What advice do you have for up and coming designers?

Stay focused. Create goals and stick to them, don’t let anyone deter you. Stay true to who you are as a designer and as a person. And continue to learn, because in this business you have to reinvent yourself every six months. You have to continue to learn, travel and expose yourself to new things. You have to educate yourself and continue to grow.

Anything you want to talk about that I haven’t mentioned:

Just go to my Web site, House of Chapple, and support in any way you can. I mean I am a young Black entrepreneur trying to do things the right way. I’ve turned my hustle into my career.

Okay, last question, fill in the blank. Everyone should have a blank in their wardrobe?

A piece from House of Chapple.