You might not have heard of her, but trust me, you will. This sophomore fashionista is about to hit New York’s Fashion Week in a big way.
Flannery Wilson, an apparel studies major here at the U of A, might be from the small-town of Mena, Arkansas, but she has her sights set on The Big Apple. With jewelry in New York’s Fashion Week, this Zeta Tau Alpha has big dreams for the future.
Flannery got her start in fashion at a young age. “Ever since I was little, I have been altering my clothes to how I wanted them to look by using hot glue guns and hand-sewing needles. I loved being able to change clothes and create new things,” said Flannery.
She always knew she wanted to go into the fashion industry, so shortly before coming to the U of A, she started her own fashion blog, glitterloveshautecouture.com. Flannery posts about her own outfits, her opinion of upcoming trends, hair and makeup tutorials, and fashion advice. She also posts on her personal Instagram, her ‘Outfit of the Day’ (#ootd) as well as highlighting outfits from local boutiques in Fayetteville.
This summer she also sold custom high-waisted shorts, tailored to any style a customer could want.
“I decided to create my own shorts because I saw how popular they were, but I didn’t think girls should have to pay 60-100 dollars for a pair of shorts that I knew I could create for half the price. I also wanted to support a local business in Mena that employed disabled adults, and I knew if I bought my products to create my shorts from there I would be helping out a good cause,” said Flannery.
Flannery’s philanthropic efforts haven’t stopped there. Her friend, Anna Taylor, created a fashion line called Judith & James, and this line helps employ and empower widowed women from the slums of Africa by giving them sewing jobs. The widows have personally made each article of clothing for the spring 2014 collection being displayed at Fashion Week. Every piece directly helps improve and help rebuild impoverished lives.
Flannery was approached to help out with odd jobs, blogging and creating earrings for the fashion line’s debut. Each pair of earrings she has hand created will be displayed directly on the runway. She plans to head out to assist the fashion line’s creator anyway she can. Flannery will also post on her own blog about everything she does in NYC.
“I’m so humbled and excited and so honored to have this once and a lifetime opportunity to help with Fashion Week. It’s been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember,” said Flannery.
Flannery’s dreams in fashion go beyond the runway. “I want to be a visual stylist after I graduate. I want to create the amazing window displays to tell a story about each piece of clothing presented. If there’s anything I want to do in fashion, it’s that,” Flannery said.
If you want more information on Flannery’s NYC fashion adventure or just want to keep up with her unique style, you can follow her on Instagram, @flancake or read her blog, glitterloveshautecouture.com.