Meet young designer Victorialyn McCarthy – the creative mind behind Vickilyn's Closet.Currently based out of Mesa, McCarthy grew up in the heart of Navajo country in Gallup and is Táchii'nii (Red Running into Water Clan), born for Irish.
Last November, she was part of Scottsdale Fashion Week '09, and was featured in the Navajo Times. But her style doesn't follow the typical fashion trend. Her design aesthetic is inspired by teen alternative music and fashion, relating to different aspects of culture including Goth, Lolita, Cosplay, Punk, and Rave styles.
Though her style is avant-garde, her beginnings were modest: McCarthy learned her sewing skills from her grandma.
McCarthy said, "She used to be a teacher and she had taught home economics. She was always sewing something. She wanted to be a fashion designer when she was younger.” Now, McCarthy is the designer.
"Sewing had come in handy because we used to dance in powwows and we were always outgrowing our outfits so I ended sewing new outfits for my sister and I," she said.
To tackle the business side of art, McCarthy turned to her creativity also – she started an online store and also found a retail outlet - Cherry Frequency, a boutique in Mesa's Fiesta Mall, willing to give rack space to this young designer.
Customers of her online store, www.vickilynscloset.com, come from locations as far away as Australia and all over the U.S., she said. One of her most frequent buyers is located in Virginia.
McCarthy's designs are geared towards younger consumers, and she knows not everyone has the budget for high fashion designer ensembles, so she keeps her prices affordable.
"The most expensive thing is like 40 dollars and the lowest is like five to 10 dollars," she said. "I know what it's like to be broke when you see something you want to buy so I keep that in mind." Though she is currently selling a purple dress for $65. If you spend more than $20 at her Etsy shop, you get a free gift - how's that for awesome.
She also welcomes orders for custom clothing, accessories, lingerie, formal evening wear or other items of apparel. She can work with any material but likes working with tulle yarn, cotton, fabric that stretches, satin, felt, and fused plastic and foam.
McCarthy has shown her garments at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale Fashion Week, and, next fall, she will debute her work during Phoenix Fashion Week.
She says "Vickilyn's Closet is a little venture I started in January of 2009 and it has taken off greatly since then. My slogan is 'Fashions for that Little bit of Crazy in All of Us!' That speaks to my crazy inspirations and designs as well."
Vickilyn's Closet is all over the web - Check out her ETSY page or her Facebook Fan Page.
[Photos below from Victorialyn McCarthy's MySpace page]
[Special thanks to Consuelo for telling me about this designer!]