Heirlume Couture is a Dallas based company created in 2015 that has an advanced approach in anticipating their clients’ needs and making incredible cozy clothes that exceed their expectations. They don’t just only style their clients, but they also nurture and build a personal relationship with them, which has earned Heirlume Couture a fabulous track record. They have a commitment to make you feel the best and be the center of attention once you walk in through the door. I reached out to Clenisha, a talented fashion designer and founder of Heirlume Couture, to discuss the concept behind Runway Dallas and her business.
What was it like throwing fashion events at the age of 10 around family members?
I started sewing around the age of 10. My grandmother bought me a sewing machine, but it wasn’t like a regular sewing machine because they’re like my first sewing machine. It was very few things you can do on it. You can probably do one design and that is all. But when we had Thanksgiving and Christmas and anytime, we had any big family gathering, my dad would give me his old work shirt that he didn’t wear. This was the material that I used to make the outfit. I’ll get all my cousins together and I’ll be like, okay, I’m going to put you in a skirt, I’m going to make you a skirt. So, I make a skirt and then I’ll see another one of my cousins and I’m like, oh, I don’t like the shoes, so I’ll make slippers. I would do all these little different designs on maybe three or four of my cousins and then I would always choose Destiny Child music because I was such a big Destiny’s Child fan. And I would have them do like– Once everyone ate or we’re done doing the events with the family, I would have them walk to the Destiny’s Child songs and show off my designs and that’s how I really just got started into fashion. Just something I love to do, and it was fun. It helped me be creative. At the time, we just really couldn’t afford materials. My dad was a blessing in his own self by just giving me his old work shirts and letting me cut them up to make new outfits.
Were there any key lessons you learned from Style Junkeyz, your business in college, that you’ve brought into Heirlume Couture?
I went to school for broadcast communications at the University of Texas in Arlington. They really didn’t have a fashion program at the school, but I met this girl there. She had a passion for fashion as well as I did. We said, “Hey, let’s get together, let’s style people, let’s use our brains and create ideas for fashion.” We created Style Junkies and we did that for about two years. I think we ended probably like me going on into my junior year. We just at one point just couldn’t see eye to eye on fashion and where we wanted the business to go. I think we were strong line whether we should be designers, or we should be stylists. And so, I wanted to be a designer, she wanted to be a stylist and we couldn’t figure out a way to remain friends and do business. I’ve learned in college that just because you are friends don’t mean y’all have to be business partners together.
Are there key differences between stylists and designers?
Yes. A stylist is someone who reaches out to designers and pulls clothes for a client. A designer is the person who makes the clothes. You can be both if you want to, but I feel like I had to decide on what I wanted to do, whether I wanted to be a stylist or a designer. Because when you’re a stylist, you have to deal more so with the client, versus being a designer, you just have a stylist reach out to you saying, “Hey, I have this client, she’s going to this event, do you have anything?” And all you must do is pull the items in the stylist does all the work from there. So that’s what I consider a difference between a stylist and a designer.
With your fashion line based on a fur coat given to you by your mother, how difficult is it to make sure a fashion piece is timeless? What qualities do you look for when you think of longevity?
So, let’s think of the best way of saying this. Let’s start with the coat. My mother, when she gets to that fur coat she wore it when she was in her twenties and she gave it to me when I was in my twenties and that coat to this day is still like– When I wear it, someone’s like, “Oh my gosh, where’d you get this coat?” As a matter of fact, I seen a video of Gabrielle Union with the same coat my mother had that she had given me. I was just like, wow, this coat can transcend generations. It’s timeless because I can wear it with my jeans. My mom probably wore it with her leather pants back in the day, and then I could pass it on to my daughter and she could wear it with a skirt. Like it’s never going to go out of style because it’s such a– It’s just never going to go out of style because of the way it’s designed. It was designed to transcend generations. When it comes to timeless pieces and urban couture, that’s what the basis of most of my collections are. I want something you can keep in your closet forever. I don’t want something to be just a trend or a phase. I want this to be something you say, you know what, I’m going to pass this on and it’s going to be worth just as much as the first generation as it will be in the fourth generation.
What started the Well-Traveled fashion line and how is it unique compared to the other launches you’ve done?
It’s based off my travels in the past two years. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to go to different islands. I’ve been able to go on trips in the winter where I get to see snow and experience cold weather. So that’s just the basis of the well-travel collection. It’s a collection of timeless pieces I’ve seen in so many ways on these different trips that I’m like, oh, wow, this would be really great if this had been made in like a purple or green, and how can I make this timeless. Maybe instead of it having the tail on the back, maybe it could be just a regular coat or cover up or swimsuits, but we just add that unique style to it to the point where you’re still like, this is trending, but it transcends into the next– It’ll be something that the next generation will want to have.
In recent blog articles, you mention being at a point of going to 5 fashion shows a month. What are red flags when it comes to looking for an event collaboration?
I think a good fashion show is when the director doesn’t necessarily tell you, Hey, this is when you show up, this is your time, here’s your model, boom. And you really don’t get a say on what your music is or when your line gets to walk. Is it the first collection that gets to be seen or is it the last collection that gets to be seen? So I think that’s really important; being able to work with the director and be able to collaborate with them so you can help as well as they can help you bring that life to your collection and just that enjoyment. Something that I did see as a red flag is, like I said, when you don’t get to get the option of what music you get to choose for your collection. Well-Traveled, I wanted something fun and unique. So, to play opera music to my collection, it wouldn’t be– It just wouldn’t give the same effect. I think that’s what’s important is being able to collaborate with someone and it not just be their idea, but you guy’s idea, if that makes sense.
