That Entrepreneurial Spirit
Houston designer David Peck scouts out New York fashion week
Team Peck, bottom row from left, Samira Salman, David Peck, Celia Cohen. Toprow, from left, Hollen Slaughter, Vy Tran.Photo by Clifford Pugh
David Peck, with a look from his fall 2011 collection.Photo by Clifford Pugh
On one of the last days of New York fashion week, David Peck gazed out of the window of his suite on the 54th floor of the London Hotel with breathtaking views of midtown Manhattan. "When I lived here, it was definitely not this view," he said, with a bemused smile.
Fifteen months ago, Peck was a fashion designer trying to make it in New York, using his kitchen floor to cut patterns and making the rounds of editors, stylists and potential investors to rev up interest for his clothing line. When he moved to Houston in December 2009 to be with his wife, Michelle, who was taking care of her ill mother, he pretty much thought his fashion career was finished.
Ironically, though, it had just begun.
In Houston, Peck happened into onto a seminar discussing ways to make Houston more of a fashion center. He met former Ford Agency veep Neal Hamil, former Carolina Herrera executive Greg Fourticq and accessories designer Elaine Turner, all who had once lived in New York but returned to the Bayou City to launch successful fashion-related endeavors.
Encouraged by their success and support, he created a Houston-based women's clothing line that he is now ready to take national. He plans to debut his fall collection, under the CrOp by David Peck label, next month, but he couldn't resist an extended fashion week visit to preview the line to buyers (he met with Neiman-Marcus fashion director Ken Downing among others) and have key members of his Houston team (consultant Samira Salman and assistants Vy Tran and Hollen Slaughter) plan strategy with New York publicist Celia Cohen.
"This trip has been about saying, 'We're here and this is what we're doing,' " Peck said. "This whole year will be a big rollout of the collection."
While in New York, he also scoured cutting-edge boutiques for ideas and attended several fashion shows for inspiration. "Being able to see the other shows invigorates your own creative juices," he said. "And the way people (on the streets) dress is better than the shows."
Originally from Colorado and New Mexico, Peck studied at the Parsons Paris School of Art + Design before moving to New York in 2008, where he co-founded a high-end women's collection committed to sustainable design. In Houston, he created a spring collection featuring sustainable fabrics and prints based on Jaime Collier's photographs of Uganda. Outfits were paired with Turner accessories and shown at Houston Fashion Week last fall.
His fall 2011 collection is three times larger than his spring collection and includes separates that can easily be mixed into a woman's wardrobe.
While he realizes he must have a New York presence to be successful in the fashion industry (hence the visits to the Big Apple), Peck believes he is lucky to have made the Houston move. Rents are much cheaper, spaces are much larger and there's an entreprenurial spirit in the Bayou City that he didn't find in New York. In a relatively short period of time, he has secured Houston investors, expanded his staff to 20 (full and part time), and mapped out a strategy to create a lifestyle brand.
Peck believes he can emulate Turner and fashion designer Chloe Dao, who have created thriving businesses from Houston. "It's such a global world, so to have a presence in more than one city is not unusual," he said.
All of his designs are made in Houston, and he believes that the city has the potential to become a center for garment manufacturing because there's relatively cheap space and a labor pool that can be trained to expertly sew.
"One thing I love about Houston: It's very entrepreneurial," he said.
Peck's spring collection is available at 310 Rosemont, Elaine Turner, Tootsies and online at fashionstake.com, a website that highlights emerging designers.
