The Designers
Meet the Past Designers of RDFW 2023
Matthew T Mucha Designs
Designing Prodige
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Matthew T. Mucha is an 11-year old fashion designer from Atlanta, Georgia. Matthew started designing when he was 6 years old. His first design was made out of decorative, glittery tape from which he designed a two-piece bathing suit and he used a Barbie doll as his model. He quickly moved on to socks and small pieces of fabric for his doll designs and began sketching designs as well. Matthew’s designs caught the eye of a casting director in Los Angeles, who invited Matthew to be on NBC’s Little Big Shots, with host Melissa McCarthy. Matthew designed a dress specifically for Ms. McCarthy and she surprised him on the show by wearing the dress. During filming, Matthew spent the day with the amazing Zac Posen, who gave Matthew draping lessons and wonderful encouragement.
Matthew and Zac designed 2 outfits together. It was a “dream come true”.
Matthew then began designing full-size outfits and used mannequins and his friends as models. He
began showing his designs in fashions shows when he was 9 years old and the Raleigh show will be his
4th show, with a 5th one the following week. Matthew’s designs have been worn to many formal events. He looks forward to growing his design business.
Gerro Couture
Helen Gerro Artisan
Helen Gerro’s back ground is fashion design followed with painting art since the eighties, her couture inspired paintings jumped off her canvas’s onto her designer fashions. Thus making original one of a kind hand painted postmodern statement making designer dresses which is a piece of art in itself. Gerro's paintings are bold, colorful, figurative, glamorous, whimsical paintings of the female form inspired from being a fashion designer.
Helen Gerro moved to the Gulf Coast of Florida from Minnesota in 2002 getting her creative thoughts on how she could merge art and fashion together by, coinciding her art & onto her couture dresses in which she designs and hand paints in popping colors of day glow,
GERRO’S day glow Art Couture and couture pieces have been seen on the runway in numerous fashion shows from Tampa, St Pete, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, Naples, Miami, New York, Atlanta, and a Trunk Show off Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. Coinciding with showing her hand painted dresses as artwork at Sidney Berne’s Davis Gallery Art Walks the Runway 5 seasons now, Galleries and Tampa Museum of Art, and St Petersburg Museum of Art.
Thus customers come from cities along the Gulf Coast to our city to find GERRO Art and Fashion with over 200 paintings and nearly one hundred and fifty Art Couture dresses.
Charlie Fashion Design
Charlotte LeRoy
Charlotte (Charlie) LeRoy was born in Ohio and moved to California four years ago. We knew at a very young age that there was a lot in store for her. She started modeling and acting right away and has continued to grow. Charlie loves to model and act and over the last year has found a new passion to add to her resume. She has designed over 30 pieces and is learning how to make patterns and sew now too. She was featured in four fashion shows so far this year and has a few more events booked for the year already. Charlie is inspired to do great things and she has looked up to Hedy Lamarr, Betty White and most importantly her grandpa.
Charlie has a big heart and is an inspiration to all who meet her. What she loves the most about her designs is sharing them with everyone.
Christography
Fashion Designs
"Based in Charlotte, NC, with brands that are more than design and fashion. Team Topher is our 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to support teens aged out of foster care by providing financial support, professional attire, educational lessons, and a network of opportunities in our local community. Team Topher is backed and supported by Christography, our fashion production company whose mission is to support local non-profit organizations while promoting artistic expression, equality, and philanthropy with a focus on youth programs.
Christography is proud to provide a platform for so many to build their brand on. We focus on love and inclusion, and are proud to have that genuine sentiment spread across our team, our participants, and our audiences. Why are our productions different? Because our mission comes from a place of selflessness. Love and true care is infectious, and we are here to offer it to those who need it most.
Team Topher's long-term goal is to have a home to transition some of the teens tragically aged out of the foster system into either college or the workforce. In the meantime, our team teaches workshops throughout the year on tax preparation, the FAFSA and college applications, interviewing, etiquette, attire, and other professional life skills they may need for success.
As featured in Level21 Magazine, Luxe Lifestyle Magazine, and Farbe Magazine, as well as on WBTV News and CN2, founder Christopher Goff recently won both Producer of the Year and Fashion Week of the Year in the Carolina Fashion Awards. They are humbled and honored to have been a staple in the fashion community for 7 years running!"
Lotus Sun
Emerging Designer
Heather Rockwell is an artist, fashion designer and the founder of Lotus Sun. A graduate from University of Pennsylvania she earned a Master in Landscape Architecture and a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University where she earned a Master in Fine Arts.
Nature has always been Heather's greatest inspiration. "My love of Nature is what motivates me as an artist and also as a fashion designer. I believe what is in our heart – is based on how we treat each other and our beautiful, miraculous earth we live in."
The fast fashion industry is the second most polluting one on the planet. The people who make our clothes are not paid fair wages or treated well. The clothing is made cheaply for profit and not intended to last.
It is for this reason, Heather Rockwell became passionate about creating clothing from nature with respect for you, humanity and the environment. Each piece is luxuriously soft, fully biodegradable yet durable to last decades.
At Lotus Sun, their goal is for you to look beautiful and feel comfortable in our soft environmentally friendly clothing. Our clothing is made in California by expert seamstresses with the perfect fit in mind so it can be worn and cherished for many years to come.