In this photo, I chose to use the natural lighting from the window in the back of my house. I live right off of a lake so I chose to let the light that reflects off of the water through my window act as my source of lighting. I positioned the camera to the side so I would get some side light but as well as letting the light fill my face entirely.
Story by: Alysha Lewis
Photos courtesy of: Lauren Bark
Inspired by the fashion style of young women from Paris, France, Lauren Bark designed her Spring 2020 collection from the mind of young woman living in Paris. Lauren Bark’s new creation features fashion favorites such as ruffles, silk dresses, and little black dresses.
Bark began her passion for designing clothes in her hometown of Macomb, Michigan at the tender age of 6 years old. Bark learned how to sew together a stuffed teddy bear out of felt and from then on, the rest is history.
As a Junior in high school, Bark designed her first collection, an all denim collection made out of thrifted blue jeans. Senior year, Bark crafted two collections. The first collection was bright colors made from plastic, and the other collection was elegant gowns and dresses completely hand sewn from trash bags.
Lady with the Charm, Bark’s newest collection, was inspired by the likes of Paris fashion. Instead of a more organized approach, Bark let her mind take control and let her creative side flourish when choosing the fabrics for this collection. The collection features looks created with cotton blend, mesh fabric, and synthetic silk. The first looks features a purple and black mesh two-piece set. The top is a bandeau top and he bottom is a loose fitting mesh skirt showing some skin.
Bark’s collection is targeted to young women looking to add some elegant pieces to their everyday fashion wear, the pieces can be dressed up for a night on the town or dressed down for a chic look. The second piece from the collection features an above the knee loose fitted black dress with some ruffled detail. the dress features a low neck line to show versatility in how the dress can be casual and for a dressy occasion.
The final piece in the collection features an elegant floor length purple iridescent gown. The purple gown is a loose fitting gown made to be worn for a special occasion. The gown has some ruching detail to give the dress shape and a different look.
Bark spent a month on this collection which limited the creations for the collection, however, for next years fashion show, Bark plan on starting her collection in August of 2020 to create a larger and full collection to fully showcase her designs.
As I walked through the barbershop doors, I was greeted with curious stares and a welcoming handshake from Dereck Baker owner of Central Exclusives. Central Exclusives is a clothing and shoes store exclusively for guys located inside of the Central Barbershop on Mission Street.
As the fashion industry evolves, so do the chances for new opportunities. Baker, a Central Michigan University student saw an opportunity and took it. Baker, a CMU business major decided to open up a store exclusively for buying selling, and trading shoes.
“I got an idea to open up a store because I saw stores like this opening up in bigger cities,” said Baker. “Mount Pleasant doesn’t have any shoe or clothing store for guys so I knew I could open up and store and sell clothes and shoes.”
Central Exclusives is located at 1809 S Mission Street. The store features distressed denim jackets made by Baker himself. Some of the other brans featured are, Supreme, Adidas Yeezy Boost by Kanye West, Air Jordan’s, and well-known Japanese clothing brand, A Bathing Ape.
Baker along with selling and trades clothing and shoes, distresses jackets. The jackets can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours to complete. Customers may personalize their jacket with any designs and how much distress they desire, depending on the look they’re going for.
Central Exclusives first opened its doors to the public in 2019. The store was originally an old clothing store located inside of the barber shop. Since it hadn’t been used in a while, Baker remodeled the store to make it his own. Baker along with the help of his grandmother to help him get started, took out loans in order to get the ball rolling and get the store started.
“I was carrying in clothing racks and shoes racks on my own while customers in the lobby were waiting to get a haircut watching me carry loads in,” said Baker. “This entire room was orange before I repainted the whole room and replaced the tiles on the wall. I did mostly of the work on my own with the help from one of my friends.”
“I started ripping jackets and jeans in high school because I liked the look of them,” said Baker. “As I got older, I began watching YouTube vides and got better and better, and by the time I got to college I was designing jackets and distressed jeans for other people.”
Baker is a laidback businessman with a keen eye for fashion. Baker is known for his fashion sense and wearing the newest sneakers. When asked his friends described his as, “laid-back and the cool friend”. Outside of creating clothing and finding exclusive items for his store, Baker loves to get in front of the camera and show off in ability to dress and pose for the camera.
Central Exclusives features designer brands that must be bought on release day or they’ll sell out. Baker seeks out brands coming out with new collections to buy and sell for the store.
“With the Supreme items that I have, I go on the website to shop for items that I believe will sell and they take about a week to ship here,” said Baker. “When it comes to the Yeezys, I sit on the website when they drop to try to get a pair or two, if you’re lucky you’ll be able to get multiple pairs.”
Upon graduating from CMU in December of 2021, Baker has big plans for his store Central Exclusives. After graduation, Baker plans to move to a bigger state such as North Carolina, Georgia, or Florida.
“I want to own a nice boutique style store with my own brand and help other people who are trying to start their own brand to give them a platform to help them out,” said Baker.
Baker has goals of helping out regular people and young entrepreneurs like himself to show off their creativity and thrive in the fashion industry. Baker can be reached on Instagram @Centralexclusives for questions or comments.
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