It’s a tough task to make it to the catwalk in the fashion industry, especially if you’re working out of your basement from a small province like New Brunswick.
But the creations of an up-and-coming fashion designer, LeeAnn Dussault from Moncton, have caught the attention of some big players in the fashion world and the woman behind East Coast Couture is almost at a loss for words.
“We got invited to go to London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks,” she said.
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Dussault says she got the invite via email from The Oxford Fashion Studio after showing her line at Atlantic Fashion Week in October.
The New Brunswick designer has never sought out the limelight. She was quiet and shy as a teenager and she said she never really fit in.
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“I was in my own shell a lot when I was in high school I had very few close friends that I would confide in,” she said.
But, now at 36, Dussault knows how to express herself without saying a word — and only through her fashion designs.
“Some of them are inspired from kind of like my version of a mermaid on water walking on land,” she said.
Since her invite, Dussault has been walking on water.
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It’s quite an accomplishment for a young woman, who only four months ago, was cleaning rooms in a hotel.
Her creations have also caught the eye of established designer Lainy Gold, who now lives in New York.
“You cannot just get into these shows. You have to have something that is amazing, that would really grab your attention,” said Gold
Gold, originally from Saint John, says she knows how hard it is to get noticed in the fashion industry from a small province like New Brunswick.
“You don’t really have a lot of connections in a small town,” she said.
Getting an invite to these bigger shows just might be the boost Dussault needs to make it on the cat walk.
She is now working full-time on expanding her line and is searching for local retailers to carry her creations.
“She has a vision. I think she is going to do wonderful and I think she just needs to get a manufacturer,” said Gold. “I really liker her style. It is unique and people will buy that up like crazy.”
Dussault is quietly working away in her basement trying to raise enough money to make it to London next fall, where she hopes her creations will speak for themselves.
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