Interview with Designers Alexis and Ana Barbara
Earlier this month I had the pleasure of meeting with local Miami designer, Alexis, and visiting the brand’s incredible showroom/warehouse. I first learned about Alexis clothing from my modeling work at Jessie Boutique. I started to notice a big chunk of the clothes on my must-have list for Capture Fashion were by the same brand, Alexis.
After a quick google search I learned the brand is local and one of the designers is 24, my age! I emailed Jessie immediately asking for a contact and about a week later, I was driving with Gina to the Alexis mothership.
Walking in, I was totally blown away. The space is huge and probably one of the most beautiful houses of fashion I have ever seen in real life. Large, framed photographs with the likes of Kate Moss and Marylin Monroe hang throughout the front of the showroom together with two giant bookshelves with every fashion coffee table book a girl could dream for occupying the shelves. All the furniture is white and accented with metallics; I would literally live in the front section. I could have stayed browsing through the books for hours.
The rest of the space goes a little something like this: dozens upon dozens of racks of new fall clothes, dozens and dozens of racks of spring/summer clothes awaiting pick up, a full photography studio, a series of sewing stations, huge areas of fabric rolls and lots of busy people everywhere. It was so freaking cool.
After staring in awe I finally sat down with the mother-daughter design team, Ana and Alexis Barbara. Both are petite with long, shiny brown hair and very beautiful. The pair look like sisters, watching them together, the two act very much like sisters as well. Ana Barbara wore a pair of black skinny jeans, heels, a simple white tee and a gorgeous Chanel-inspired blazer by Alexis. Daughter, Alexis, went for a more bohemian summer look in wedges, mini-shorts and loose top.
In person the duo are as sweet as they are talented. Over the past couple months, I’ve become a real fan of the Alexis brand, so it was pretty exciting to meet the ladies behind my some of my favorite summer looks. The story starts with a family trip Alexis took four years ago to the Mediterranean.
I went to europe with my family on a trip and designed 15 pieces to wear. Everyone I saw complimented me on my outfits and people started asking where to buy it. I told them, you know, that I had designed it and had it made.
The response was so positive from her trip, Alexis decided to seek the opinion of family friends in fashion. After speaking with the Green family of Topshop, Alexis and her mother Ana designed their first line. The collection debuted at Miami’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim 2008, and the pair have been designing and expanding since. Today, Alexis has her sights on designing a line for children.
I want Alexis to be more than a womens clothing brand. I want it to be a lifestyle brand. Clothing, shoes, home furnishing, a children’s line, everything.
The mother-daughter team are clearly quite busy. Running a business and staying ahead of the trends is seriously hard work. I asked what kind of challenges the women have faced throughout the past few years, in terms of launching a womenswear collection and creating success.
Everyday we run into another obstacle. Production is the most difficult. We didn’t study fashion, so when we talk about patterns and the actual design I’m learning through the process. Everything is produced in the US, so we have control. It’s important for us to have control over every detail, said Ana Barbara.
The level of control is down to the minute detail. I witnessed a fitting during my time with Alexis and Ana and the passion was totally there. These two are a great team with a clear vision of what the Alexis shopper wants.
The ideal customer is a young woman who likes to feel beautiful at all times. She doesn’t just want to fell glamourous at night or at an event. She wants to look it wherever she goes, said Ana Barbara.
Wearing Alexis definitely brings the it factor. The brand is very popular among certain celebrities like Khloe Kardashian and is my favorite local brand by far. If you’re looking to browse Alexis fashion in person check out the store locator closest to you here. Alexis is also carried online at Singer22, Intermix, Jessie Boutique and Shop Splash.
Check me out wearing Alexis in Big City Dreaming, Deco Darling, Power Play and Pearls and Tweed. xx
