First Impressions

Nov. 23, 2005

Laurie Wildman has always loved fashion. A stunning blonde with a wardrobe worthy of Fifth Avenue, she’s been turning heads for years in Traverse City – most recently as the owner of le Fetiche, a downtown boutique which specializes in fine shoes, clothing and accessories.
Today, Laurie can add “fashion designer” to her resume, owing to a new line of high-end outerwear which she debuted last month to great acclaim at runway shows in Traverse City and Chicago.
By outerwear, we mean jackets and coats made from fine wool, cashmere and silk. It’s a fashion niche inspired by geography.
“Being from the Midwest, a great part of the year we’re wearing outwear,” Wildman explains. “And I feel that when you walk into a room, the jacket or coat you’re wearing makes a statement about you even before you take it off. The first impression women make is with their outerwear.”

50 VINTAGE COATS
Wildman collects vintage coats and has a collection of up to 50 now, with many from the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, obtained through her friendship with Jeffrey Beuglet at Vintagey, just a stretch down the street from her own store.
“I was inspired by vintage outerwear to research even further back to the 1800s for my own designs,” she says. “My designs have a strong Victorian flair with a lot of attention to detail, but also with an avant garde touch – they show a little more skin than they’d show in Victorian times.”
The 10 designs she has created are all in the same family collection. Typically, she uses traditional menswear fabrics such as wool pinstripes for the outer shell of a jacket, and then employs feminine fabrics such as paisleys and bright silks for the lining.
“It’s a contrast of male and female,” she says.
There are exceptions, of course, such as a sweeping coat of pure cashmere which drapes to the floor and gathers in a bustle, available for $3,500.
Speaking of prices, Wildman is selling her outerwear in a range from $250 to $3,500 and anticipates that the majority of her market will be in Chicago and New York where a higher price point for fashion is the norm. You’ll also find her designs displayed at her own boutique at 139 E. Front.

FASHION ODYSSEY
Becoming a designer has been an unusual odyssey for Wildman. She came to Traverse City 15 years ago, fresh out of Ball State University in Indiana with an exercise physiology degree to take a job in cardiac rehab at Munson Medical Center. She was married to jeweler George Wildman of Federico’s for 13 years, a union which encouraged her to open what was formerly called Fetish in downtown Traverse CIty. Two years ago, she opened a second store in Chicago, creating a segue to the fashion currents of the Windy City.
That connection was key to launching her outerwear line. “All of my designs are made in Chicago in small one and two-person studios where the sewers are primarily of Russian and Polish descent,” she notes. “I researched what it took to become a designer and networked in Chicago to find people who could sew as well as patternmakers. Then I went to New York to find my fabrics.”
Typically, Wildman draws a design and has it sewn in muslin. Then she does the fittings and selects the final fabrics. A final detail is making the pattern in different sizes.
Today, she relies on Deb Alton of Fine Fabric and Design on 8th Street in Traverse City to secure materials for her coats. “Deb has incredible fabrics,” she says. “She buys right from the fabric design houses in New York – they’re unique in their texture and color.”

ONWARD & UPWARD
And that’s a good thing because Wildman would rather travel to sell her products than hunt down fabrics on shopping expeditions. Recently, she was asked to do a runway show at the Culture Center in Chicago, generating a huge response. Her designs were also the hit of last month’s Global Collection show in Traverse City – again a big hit with local women.
It’s a warm and wonderful feeling seeing such acceptance for your art, and Laurie literally glows in response. Her goal is to create something that lasts – something classic.
“I want my items to last year after year,” she says. “My vintage coats are styles within themselves and I want them to be classics.
“I see myself going international someday – I’m thinking pretty big,” she adds. “I want to produce my own runway shows in Chicago and New York eventually, and then, who knows!”