Student Experience: Lindsay Weatherread

“As far as El Centro goes, I’m their biggest advocate for sure. I learned more than I ever thought possible, especially from Michael Anthony. The program has small classes and is very hands-on. When I left El Centro and talked to people in the industry who had gone to other schools, I found that I had learned way more than most of them. Pattern making and sewing are definitely a big strength at El Centro. 

“I originally went to Oklahoma City University to dance; that was my first big love. But I always wanted a clothing line, too, so when I burned out on dance I packed up and went to El Centro for Fashion Design. I didn’t even know how to sew when I started the program. 

“I was actually working retail in a store in Dallas called Octane, and one day an art director came in to pull clothes for a photoshoot. I was helping him and he said, ‘You know, you’re doing a better job at this than I am. What are you doing tomorrow?’ So I showed up the next day to help style the photoshoot — I just got lucky. Then as I began to design, I kept working as a fashion stylist, and I would sneak some of my clothes onto the rolling rack. One day when I was styling a shoot for Domino Magazine, the art director chose one of my designs over everything else. Styling and design really work well together in tandem.

“With styling, either you have it or you don’t. Even in middle school or high school, I was always dressing my friends and fooling with clothes. At El Centro, I got an education very quickly — their sewing and pattern design classes are extremely strong. 

“Draping is another skill from the program that I use all the time and is still how I personally like to work — using the draping technique to design something and then transfer it to a pattern. Another way of designing is to start with paper and pen and then do measurements, but I’m more visual than that. I like the aesthetics of how everything drapes on the mannequin or dress form before I lay it out.” 

Lindsay Weatherread attended Fashion Design classes at El Centro from 2002 to 2004 and went to work before she could finish one last class to earn the associate degree. She has styled photoshoots for print and television for six years and is represented by Link Artists Resource.

Her fashion design line, L. Weatherread Design, is based in Dallas and carries eco-friendly baby and maternity wear. It's available online and is also carried in upscale, independent clothing stores in Texas and Oklahoma.

She was named Best Fashion Designer in the 2008 Dallas Observer awards. Her designs have been featured in Lucky magazine, Fashion by Texas Monthly, Indulge, The Dallas Morning News and Good Day Texas.

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