IOWA based apparel / accessory designer, GSIA (Graham Syndicates of Iowa) of WEST DES MOINES will donate custom designs from its Spring 2014 collection to be auctioned at a runway show and fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Iowa. The event will take place at the West Des Moines Public Library on Saturday, December 21st at 2:00 pm. The fashion show will follow a makeover reveal for one Iowa woman, the winner of Haute Midwest (online fashion mag) Magazine's Makeover Marathon.
GSIA founder and designer, Shenica Graham relates excitement and anxiety of stepping out of her comfort zone to launch a creative project beyond the borders of self. After battling depression for several years, she was inspired by her mother to take up a lost art from her youth.
Graham learned to sew as a child while sitting on the floor near her mother's chair as her mom whisked her Singer classic sewing machine through everything from hats to draperies. Though Graham developed a love for fashion, her dreams were diverted by nagging health problems including severe depression. She talks of battling low self-esteem and trying to break free from a downward spiral that left her in a virtual hermitage.
"Coming out of that shell to do something so public; putting all of me into a product and subjecting it to scrutiny, is frankly, terrifying," Graham said. "I have spent so much life force building walls to protect what was my fragile shell. It was difficult to see myself any other way."
Flash forward to 2013: following a series of recent hospitalizations, Graham was once again at a crossroad. Her mother, Deborah Morris, who had gone back to college to pursue a fashion design degree, was already well on her way to becoming a Senior in her program. Mrs. Morris offered her daughter the chance of a lifetime...
Shenica and her mother are traditional pageant watchers. Their favorite competitions are the evening gown, talent, and costume competition as with the Miss Universe pageant. With the rise of reality television, the pair have become regulars in the home-front row, watching the likes of Project Runway and Project Runway Allstars. When Shenica accepted her mother's offer to join in a fashion business as CIO (based on her compu-tech savvy) and Senior Fashion designer, her mother was already planning to host a fashion show in November. "It felt like I had stepped into a Cinderella story," Graham said. "The pumpkin bloomed and I had made it to fashion week!" Graham and Morris then had a private competition. They sequestered themselves to a sewing environment with their own one-to-one challenges in a mock project runway. "I won that contest," Graham said.
Finally, Graham said, she had found her niche beyond the written word -a hobby she had turned into several published articles and unfinished manuscripts. Graham joined her mother and one younger brother to officially launch the fashion business earlier this month. The trio hosted their first event, a fashion show and banquet, which received rave reviews. As fate would have it, Graham's finally look (which she entitled, "Marilyn") was, "... the show maker, according to Mom." The success of Graham's first line preview sparked a new venture, an online fashion magazine called Haute Midwest at http://hautemidwest.com, of which Graham is Editor In Chief. The magazine allows her to fulfill a love of journalism and creative writing, while staying informed in her career field and advancing the goals of House of Sherell, the family's premiere fashion house. The magazine is a testament to Graham's constant flow of new ideas and talented energy. Fueling the market engine, Graham launched a series of campaigns for the magazine, including the Makeover Marathon from which the winner will get her catwalk debut at the GSIA fashion show next month.
"I am so humbled and grateful for this opportunity," Graham said. "The power of someone else believing in you when you cannot see your value is priceless. Becoming a fashion designer is something I had dreamed of yet did not have the courage to pursue. It was too personal; and that made it too risky. My mother is my hero for giving me a gentle nudge, picking me up every time I fell, and supporting me whilst I learned to stand on faith. Helping her to build this business is something at which I work very diligently. I want her [Mrs. Morris] to know that she can count on me to be her best champion, the way she has always been for me."
The second chapter in GSIA history has already begun. With the recent success of Haute Midwest magazine and finding a new creative voice, Graham is launching full-time into fashion. A computer programming student, she plans to add fashion design to her educational portfolio, which includes two Bachelor of Arts degrees. Graham will preview her Spring 2014 line following the red-carpet reveal of HM's Makeover Marathon winner. Graham will also provide the winner with a complimentary style consultation and a complete look from GSIA designs.
GSIA was most recently featured on the November cover of Haute Midwest Magazine. The December makeover winner will likely make the January cover, also wearing GSIA.
Admission to the GSIA runway show is free and open to the public. Guests are encouraged to bring a generous donation for Big Brothers Big Sisters. For more details, visit the OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF HAUTE MIDWEST MAGAZINE at http://hautemidwest.com.
via fashion - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNFNV5QsrTPX0G5cfFUFEVXMnxY_lg&url=http://www.examiner.com/article/haute-midwest-magazine-to-host-fashion-for-a-cause-too-west-des-moines
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