Kearney Hub - Young designer sets sights on costume career, wins $30K scholarship
KEARNEY — Andrew Hale might just be the next big name in fashion circles or haute couture.
The 17-year-old Kearney High School junior won the gold medal in the Senior Fashion Construction Category in the National Leadership Conference for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America in July in San Diego. FCCLA adviser Kristen Vest said Andrew blew the competition away with his innovative idea on a costume collection inspired by the mime Marcel Marceau.
Andrew won a $30,000 scholarship to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in California and the opportunity to participate in Nebraska Fashion Week in Omaha.
The winning costumes were an array of burgundy silk and black hand-carved leather given myriad treatments to reflect how the garments weathered through the mime’s life.
Andrew said he doesn’t get his inspiration from passers-by on The Bricks or in chain stores. But he never rules out used clothing stores where he might find vintage fabrics or something with kimono sleeves. Nor does he rule out old movies.
“Marlon Brando made the tight white T-shirt with jeans iconic,” Andrew said.
Andrew learned how to draw and paint from his mother, Dee Hale, who grew up on a farm near Elm Creek. Then his Grandma Barb Hale, whom he calls the biggest influence in his life, taught him to sew well enough to bring his sketches to life.
“She started me on basics like pillow cases and aprons, then she allowed me to experiment, how to bend and twist things to be artful yet still have stability,” Andrew said. “My first project with her was a leather vest that I made in one night. The next day she showed me all the things I did wrong and how to make it better.”
Andrew competed against 46 student designers at the conference, which attracted more than 4,000 students from across the country. After seeing Andrew’s ode to the mime known for his floppy hat with the droopy red flower, judges called Andrew, “A seasoned professional, experienced art exhibitor and someone whose artistic expression inspires awe.”
Another judge added on his ballot that Andrew’s worksmanship on his costume collection was “flawless.”
Vest said students are graded on elements such as a design concept and a stand-up story board that includes fabric samples; photographs of the completed designs; budgets of money and the 152 hours Andrew put in; and then up-close scrutiny of workmanship, including buttons, beading, hand stitching, and specific details such as ruching, which is a ruffle trend.
At KHS, Andrew studied acting and speech and now plans to take a fashion design class in his senior year.
While competing in speech and debate classes, Andrew learned how to dress the part. Although he favors bohemian chic styles from vintage clothing stores, he suited up for his competition day: A metallic cream suit with a burnt orange shirt and a button-down collar and accented with a silvery tie to complement the suit fabric, plus burgundy lace-up shoes and belt that had been rubbed to a retro finish.
“I also added my FCCLA pin and a vintage brooch on my lapel,” he explained.
Among his other inspirations, designer Alexander McQueen is No. 1. “His designs have amazing elaboration that become art, and he knew how to redesign and blur the line between fashion and costume.”
Others include Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood, “Who’s so brilliant … especially when she designed those beetle wings for the movie ‘Snow White and the Huntsman.’”
Jean-Paul Gaultier, Coco Chanel and Edith Head also are at the top of Andrew’s inspiring designer list.
“Edith Head showed how you can have a great idea,” Andrew said. “But the actor must be able to make it wearable and believable, and when it’s a success it can influence fashion for the masses.”
Andrew wants to be a costume designer, hopefully for the opera or theater. But he said he understands real people, just like his fashion heroes and previous Kearney winners who now design for The Buckle fashion chain.
Clothes have to appeal to the audience he said.
“The average American woman (who is 5’4” and wears a size 14) probably looks best in a dress that designers refer to as the “fit-and-flare” silhouette because it floats over the waistline and minimizes wide hips,” he said
Hale is working on a collection for Nebraska Fashion Week in Omaha. There, store buyers from across the country come to see what’s trendy and on the cutting edge.
