Friday, November 6, 2009 10:34 PM CST
Charleston resident designs her own clothing line
By Bonnie Clark, Features Writer
Marqeita Morris of Charleston has been pouring over fashion magazines since she was a little girl.
“I was reading Vogue Magazine when I was 12,” said the young designer, “and I still have sketches I made then.”
Morris designs clothing for R. Ellington, her own company. Her designs were recently featured in a fashion show staged during Eastern Illinois University’s Homecoming weekend at the Worthington Inn in Charleston by Raydiant Vision Productions.
Morris, 25, a graduate of Eastern, said she learned to sew from her mother and grandmother, and built on that with classes in clothing construction and textiles at Eastern.
She graduated in the spring with a degree in family and consumer science, with a concentration in merchandising and a business minor.
A former manager for Ralph Lauren in Tuscola, Morris said her designs aren’t just for smaller women.
“I’m curvy,” she said. “I’m not a toothpick by any means, so I try not to be ‘sizeist’ in my designs.
“When I started putting my collection together, I told myself, ‘You know what? I’m just going to sew whatever I feel like sewing.’
“It’s kind of a jambalaya right now,” she said, “but it’s probably more sportswear than anything.”
Getting ready for the show, Morris said, was a stressful time, but well worth it.
“My friends have all been so supportive. I slept on the couch at one friend’s house and used her mother’s sewing machine when mine broke.
“My friend would wake up in the middle of the night and tell me ‘Keep sewing!’”
Morris, the daughter of Duke and Renee Morris of Charleston, named her company for her parents. “The ‘R’ stands for Renee, and Ellington is my father’s middle name,” she said.
A graduate of Charleston High School, Morris was involved in “every sport under the sun” and was a member of the Trojets.
At Eastern, she was a member and captain of the EIU Pink Panthers from 2002 to 2004. She also was a member of the Technical Association of Graphic Arts and the International Textile and Apparel Association.
Building a company from the ground up is a fearsome task, Morris said, but also an “exciting opportunity.
“When you’re just starting out, you do everything. I do sketches, sew, do some of my own photos... I pretty much do everything right now.”
Since she is just starting out, Morris said she isn’t doing anything in a big way, yet.
Everything she designs is an original, she said, so she has no need to purchase fabrics in volume.
“I just buy what I like wherever I find it. I don’t have anyone helping me sew, but that will come later,” she said.
If the R. Ellington line generates enough interest, she said, then she will be looking for a manufacturer.
“It is scary. I don’t want anything to be less than perfect, and I don’t want to overcharge for what I do.
“I’ve already had calls wanting me to design and make wedding dresses. That’s really scary. It’s such a big responsibility.”
Morris plans to make her R. Ellington line available online by early next year. She also plans to sell in boutiques, and expects word of mouth to help her find her niche in the fashion world.
In her wildest dreams, Morris said she would go to Paris Fashion Week to all the shows; and meet and work under a famous designer such as Tracey Reese (“an African-American designer who has made a huge name for herself in the fashion world”), Karl Lagerfeld, Zac Posen, Diane Von Furstenburg or any of the designers who inspire her.
“For R. Ellington, my wildest dream would be to become a publicly traded company,” she said. “That is the day you know you have pretty much made it.”
Long-term goals include opening her own store, earning a master’s degree, having some of her garments featured in a fashion magazine, doing some celebrity styling, and the development of a plus-size line.
While she doesn’t have an office yet, Morris can be reached by e-mail at marqeita.morris@gmail.com.
Contact Bonnie Clark at bclark@jg-tc.com or 238-6847.
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