When Rachel Haggerty thread her first needle in a junior high school home economics class, she never imagined she would one day be dressing models as they prepared to walk down the runway.
A self-described tomboy, the last place the High River resident wanted to be was home economics, which she eventually took under protest.
“ I just figured there was more value in learning how to change the oil in a car,” she explained. “ So I tried to take boy's shop class, but they wouldn't let me.”
In an ironic twist of fate, Haggerty kept up the skills she learned in home economics, eventually starting her own custom-design clothing company — and married a mechanic.
As surprised as Haggerty was to find she enjoyed sewing, she never imagined she would be a featured designer at last year's Alberta Fashion Week.
Haggerty, who was on the mailing list for Alberta Fashion Week, received an email indicating they were looking for new designers to showcase.
“ I was having a particularly bad day at my other job, and I thought, I'm going to send them some pictures and see what happens,” said Haggerty.
Haggerty said she was in shock when she heard she had been accepted into the showcase.
“ I jumped around and screamed like a little girl,” she giggled.
Then reality hit.
With only six weeks to pull together her entire first collection, she devoted every waking moment to preparing for the opportunity of a lifetime.
“ Those six weeks, I was very grateful I work for my husband because I had to take a ton of time off work,” she said. “ And I'm glad I have very self-sufficient kids because they learned to cook for themselves.”
Suddenly, the creative juices were flowing as she scrambled to assemble her designs.
“ My inspiration was everything that had been in my head for the last 15 years that I didn't make because it wasn't something I would ordinarily wear at my work, where I wear a uniform,” said Haggerty.
Until then, her business, Ivy Rose Designs, had focused on custom-made pieces for clients, from wedding gowns to casual wear. Although she wasn't designing pieces based on her own tastes, Haggerty slowly developed her own signature style which she incorporated into the collection.
When a friend requested a custom-made corset — a complex and time-consuming project — for a special event, the tight fitting bodice became a staple in her collection, worn under menswear-inspired women's suits with unassuming touches like neon green lace-up ribbon.
Another foundation of her first collection was something Haggerty stumbled across while at a fabric store in Calgary.
“ I was looking for inspiration, and then I saw the bamboo fabric,” she recalled. “ It is the softest, nicest, most beautiful fabric in the whole wide world.”
For Haggerty, the benefits of bamboo fabric — often mistakenly believed to be an environmentally friendly alternative — are twofold. Not only is the texture incredibly soft and velvety, it closely resembles silk in the way it drapes and floats across the body, all for a fraction of the cost.
Unlike silk, bamboo fabric doesn't come with a ‘ dry clean only' label. Haggerty said the fabric is incredibly durable and can easily be tossed into the washer and dryer, lasting for many seasons.
From that day, bamboo became Haggerty's go-to fabric of choice, and appeared throughout her first collection, a diverse blend of business and casual wear.
The flattering drape of bamboo fabric was perfect for Haggerty who said she aims to design clothing for every woman's figure.
Her aspiration is to design multifunctional clothing that looks as great on a size 18 as a size 2. An example is her signature draped-back dress made from bamboo fabric that debuted at Alberta Fashion Week and it included a panel to conceal a bra on the back along with side ties allowing it to convert to a blouse.
“ It's not so dressy that you can't wear it to the park with the kids,” she said. “ But it's dressy enough that you could wear it if you went out for supper with your husband.”
With a goal of dressing fuller-figured women in flattering styles, Haggerty said it was frustrating to not have access to plus-sized models.
“ I have a problem of looking at things on the runway and saying, ‘ well of course it looks good on her but it will never look good on me,'” she said. “ Everything looks good on a size 2.”
Haggerty said she had never designed clothing for a size 2 model before. Unable to have her models' measurements beforehand, she just made all her patterns on the small side.
“ I didn't get to meet my models until two days before. The whole concept of ready-to-wear was nerve-wracking for me because I'm so used to doing custom designs. I see the person, take their measurements, make a pattern and it fits them,” said Haggerty. “ I assumed the clothes would fit, but a lot of it was all still too big.”
The day of her showcase, Haggerty described the experience of having her designs shown to the public for the first time as intimidating.
“ It's just like your little baby walking down the runway, and you want people to like it,” said Haggerty. “ But at the same time, you don't really care. It's what you like, and I made it because I like it.”
Nerves aside, Haggerty felt her collection was well received.
“ I had lots of good comments and good press,” she said.
Ivy Rose Designs are available at Pekisko Trading Company Artisan Gallery in High River, or online at www.ivyrosecustom.com
