nary manivong
Designer Profile: Nary Manivong
From homeless to high fashion, Nary Manivong came a long way and his future's looking bright. Born in Cleveland and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Nary, at the age of fourteen became homeless, staying with friends and family while trying to work odd jobs and attend high school. At the time, he had no real direction in life until, at the age of 17, he took a trip to New York City to see what it was all about." Nary was exposed to a world he had never known before: Fashion. He returned home with a new purpose and sense of direction with a goal to strive for: move to New York City and become a great fashion designer.
Three months after returning to Columbus, Nary had his first fashion show at the 504 Club, where he convinced the owner of to ignore his underage status because the show would be a hit. The show was a success, giving him the chance to meet Laura Baciu, a local stylist/freelance writer for the Columbus Dispatch. She wrote several articles on Nary, which introduced him to the public, who reached out and donated sewing machines and dress forms to aid in Nary's success. He was teaching himself patternmaking and garment construction, so he could be ready for the next step in his life.
That step came when he decided to make the move to New York City, but graduating high school had to come first. Nary was a senior, and had only six credits; he needed twenty-two to graduate. In addition to working on his designs and working odd jobs to support himself, Nary worked with teachers and tutors for thirteen hours a day in his final year of high school. Finally, he graduated with the rest of his class. All of his hard work paid off, and Nary was on his way to New York.
For the first two weeks he lived in a hostel, looking for a job. He landed a position at B&J Fabrics. While not at all glamorous, it taught him a lot about textiles, giving him an opportunity to meet people, but after six months, his money was gone Nary was forced to move back to Ohio Heart-broken but not defeated Nary had hope. He did another fashion show, moving to New York four months later, lasting three months because finding a job was harder this time. Back in Ohio at 19, Nary needed a more developed plan that would insure his stay in New York City. He put on yet another show, which garnered him the opportunity to attend New York Fashion week in September 2004. This would be the trip that would change his life.
While attending one of the shows, Nary met John Van Deilen, the owner of a prominent steel company in Toledo, Ohio. John and Nary hit it off immediately and three days later, John decided to invest in Nary Manivong. Two months later Nary, with John's help, moved back to New York.
In February 2005, Nary debuted his first collection during New York Fashion week. This gave him the opportunity to network with many people in the industry. September 2005 was his second show, where he was recognized by Women's Wear Daily as one of twelve designer to watch for the upcoming season. This article gave Nary the confidence to continue with his passion. He completed his third collection in February 2006, and has several buyers looking into purchasing pieces for fall. Currently, he is working on moving his show to the tents for February 2007 Fashion Week.
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FALL/WINTER 2007 'BEAUTIFUL'
Friday February 2nd 2007
3PM
NEW YORK NEW YORK
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-Contacts/Features-
We are looking for voluteers for New York Fashion Week. Please EMAIL [email protected]
This email address goes to my public relation not to me, so please be serious contact only!