People living in the town of Apex have many interesting skills and accomplishments, and some of them are still in school!
Meet 17-year-old Apex High School senior Olivia Lauren Wall, an emerging fashion designer who has her own brand, Lauren Wall Designs, and whose creations were unveiled on the hiTechMODA runway during the World Series of Fashion, New York Fashion Week, September 2021.
Olivia says that she has always had an interest in fashion. “Ever since I was a little girl, I was very infatuated with fashion and creating my own looks and designs.” In 2021, she told Fashion Week Online that she had been dreaming of designing and showing her own collections since she was very young and that “it all started with a ‘time out’,” when she was given some colored pencils and paper. That was all it took.
However, to build her design skills, she did study with a professional clothing designer who taught her how to make patterns and construct them. Olivia said it “was a lot of fun doing my first line” and that she “learned so much from it.” Her first collection was called “Shady Brocade.” As mentioned in the Fashion Week Online article, Olivia’s collection was met with rave reviews and Olivia was “ecstatic to be invited and grateful for the experience.”
Olivia gets inspiration from “everything and anything, for example, I could look at a tree with its branches blowing in the wind and I start drawing and one design turns into several designs.” Olivia also gets inspiration from fashion trends of the past. She says, “I love the styles from the 1800s, 1970s, and the most recent 2000s.”
Olivia’s favorite designer is Iris Van Herpen. Olivia aspires to create designs that are as “original, intricate, and beautiful as Iris’s. She creates gorgeous art with her clothes.” Olivia strives to create fashion that not only expresses who she is but “makes anyone who wears them feel gorgeous and unique.”
Olivia’s design work usually starts with her thinking of a line to draw, along with a theme, color, fabric or idea, then she says she determines what style she is trying to achieve. Then she starts drawing until it comes together. Other times, she says she has the style in mind, then challenges herself to make it better, and to add her style to it. Olivia says she has a long list of ideas and plenty of sketches that she has yet to use.
When asked if she has favorite or preferred materials that she likes to work with, she responded, “It depends on the design; they all require different materials and techniques.” She is particularly interested in working with leather and lace.
Regarding favorite finished designs, she says, “The designs I am most proud of come from my first and my most recent shows. The first design is made with different brocade fabrics with twill puffy sleeves and a small checkered pattern skirt.”
Olivia enjoys every step of the design process and says, “It is very satisfying having my clothes completed and seeing how the designs went from sketches to actual clothes.” She “loves sketching and doing the actual designs,” but she noted that having an amazing idea and putting it on paper is the best part.
Olivia’s finished work has been shown in four shows (including the Highlight Concepts International Fashion Show this past September at the downtown Raleigh Sheraton hotel) and a few magazines, including Fashion Week Online and CTFashionMag.com in 2021, and Make It magazine in spring 2022. She says it is a lot of fun to see her work in action. She says, “The shows are what I work towards and seeing my clothes on the runway is very accomplishing.”
Right now, Olivia thinks the biggest challenge is balancing a clothing design career with modeling, school, and social life but that striving to do so has prepared her for when she gets into the real world. After high school, Olivia hopes to attend a great design school and build on her skills to create new designs. She says that she would love to show her work in high fashion magazines, such as Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, and to create her own fashion house like Versace and Gucci.
