Models, designers to strut stuff in Arts District tonight

You've marveled at it as you've driven by. Now you have a chance to go inside. The Art Village, located at the intersection of Main Street and Hackberry Avenue in McAllen, will welcome the public for Fashion Night, featuring cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and, naturally, great style. The evening starts with a mixer. The fashion show starts at 6:30 p.m., focusing on new looks from stores at the RGV Premium Outlets.

Read about some local fashion designers below, some of whom will be showcasing their styles at the event.

Fashion Night at Art Village
WHEN: 5 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Art Village, 800 N. Main St., McAllen
WHO: Open to the public
COST: Free

When it came time to make yet another dress for another friend, Carol Chavana would go to Dos Rios fabric store in McAllen. The then-Edinburg High School student would spend so much time there that she’d become a familiar face to the owners.

She was always treated like family, she remembers.

But the girl who grew up rummaging through bolts of fabric in a South Texas store is now on a search for something more difficult to come by: a fashion career in Los Angeles.

And she’s not the only one from the Valley looking to do so.

From a McAllen High School graduate in New York whose work has graced the pages of Teen Vogue to local designers who are just starting out, there is proof that a large swatch of fashion talent is cut from the Valley.

THE DRESSMAKER WHO CAN DO ANYTHING

Dina Chavez is learning about design from people who’ve worked with Alexander McQueen, Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren.

And she does it all from her house in Pharr.

The 30-year-old takes online classes from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, in which she has had instructors like Francisco Costa, the creative director of Calvin Klein Collection.

After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, the former costume designer awoke to her fashion aspirations after making a red, flamingo-style wedding dress for a professor. It was offbeat. It was different. And she loved creating it.

But she wasn’t ready for Los Angeles yet. Her nephew had just been born, and she wanted to be a part of his life. That’s when she found the Art Academy.

Since then, she has made it through two years into the four-year program. All the while, she’s designed dresses for quinceañeras and other special occasions, taking her clients’ visions and adding her own flair to them.

“They may not be able to make it, but they can express (what they want) to someone else.”

She doesn’t worry about staying in the Valley while other designers head to the big city, she says.

“I feel like I've put a lot of my life on hold, but this is what I want to do.”

Contact her at rockstardina@aol.com.

THE DESIGNER TURNING SCRAPS INTO STYLE

At Flipside in Edinburg, Daniel Martinez is an expert in spotting style. He runs the buy/sell/trade store with good friend Cynthia Valdez.

Using his keen eye, he helps pick out the one-of-a-kind clothes that will grace the racks.

But when he’s not doing that, the 23-year-old Houston native designs his own clothes, sometimes completely from re-used fabrics.

 With his designs, he hopes to break the Valley out of the fashion box.

“People just need to be more daring,” he said.

THE L.A. GIRL AT A FASHION CROSSROADS

Carol Chavana became worried about her chances as she sat in the Los Angeles headquarters of a huge brand name. Her fellow prospects for the junior designer job had five years of experience or more. She was a fresh graduate from The University of Texas at Austin.

Not that she was green by any means. She’s worked with Betsey Johnson, Burberry and a man who designs Grammy dresses.

Still, sitting in the room, she couldn’t help but be a little intimidated. Los Angeles is an intimidating place for any one, more so for a 23-year-old entering the professional world of fashion.

If she had her choice she’d be working on her personal line. But designing for a big company first means not learning the ropes on her own dime.

“I don’t want to jump in (to designing her own line) and then it turn out that there are so many things that I don’t know but could have learned from experience.”

Even if it takes years to get her line off the ground, Chavana said she’d like to return to the Valley and open a store.

“The Valley is an awesome place to start out because it’s so rare that someone is out there, and when that person is, everyone sort of flocks to it,” she said. “I feel like everyone sort of supports you there.”

Check out more at www.carolchavana.com.

THE HAT DESIGNER TAKING NYC HEAD ON

Laurel St. Romain is not an avid viewer of Gossip Girls, but she is eagerly waiting for the promotional pictures for the hit CW TV show to come out, possibly moreso than devout fans are.

She just finished designing all the hairpieces for their photo shoot. But the black-and-white accessories won’t be the only national exposure her line, I Love Factory, has gotten recently. Her hats also appeared in the September issue of Teen Vogue.

“I have been really absorbed by work lately,” said St. Romain, a 2000 McAllen High School graduate.

Since her hats appeared on Gossip Girl last season, St. Romain has done quarterly trunk shows at Henri Bendel, a New York Fifth Avenue boutique legendary among fashionistas, and she has been working on collaborations with designers in preparation for Fashion Week in February.

Check out more at www.ilovefactorybk.com.

This story was originally published in August 2009. Sandra Gonzalez covers fashion and television for The Monitor and Festiva. You can reach her at (956) 683-4427 or at sgonzalez@themonitor.com.