Clever. Geometric. Highly dynamic. These are just some of the attributes that Raleigh designer Marie Cordella, 28, and her interns came up with to describe her new collection for the Charleston Fashion Week competition. Beginning Tuesday night and continuing until Saturday, March 26, Charleston Fashion Week is one of the Southeast’s largest and most respected fashion events.  

This year’s judges hail from all corners of the fashion world — the fashion news director at Elle Magazine, one of the Gilt Groupe cofounders, and the costume director for AMC’s iconic series Mad Men for instance. 

 

It’s a hell of a first national show for Marie who seems to revel in challenges, pushing herself to the limits of ingenuity. “There are lots of ways to do anything, and right now I need something exciting and competitive to do,” she adds.  With 12 pieces total, Marie’s collection was the very first to walk down the runway last night. 

 

According to the Raleigh designer, what sets her collection apart is the color, the visual stimulation, the sense of nostalgia which invokes a certain self-confidence. This assortment of “clown gear” as she more or less affectionately calls her pieces bears the mark of a nimble mind, one fed by Raleigh’s openness to creative nuance. 

 

Seeing that a former Charleston Fashion Week participant had made it all the way to Project Runway, Marie jumped at the chance to apply. These are the major leagues, and a pivotal moment for the young designer.  “I hope to come across incredible networking opportunities, maybe with fashion bloggers. I love networking, I love having my base in Raleigh but my hands everywhere else.” 

That hyper/crazy/noxious whirlwind nature comes from her family, a crew of bonafied aesthetes, each with their own sense of style and taste. Many of them have come down to the beach city to support her. “I have a lot of family living in Charleston, and I think getting together for fashion week is a good way reunite everyone, ” she says. 

 

Backed by a “panel of advisors” which includes her parents, her two best friends, and other relatives, Marie is surrounded with positive energy from those whom she trusts the most. This is especially important as she looks forward to the next steps in her career — participation in increasingly larger fashion shows until landing a spot in New York Fashion Week. 

It’s a staggering ambition, one that originates from the idea of Raleigh as a hub of imaginative talent, a place that encourages its budding creative class. “Raleigh just works. Seriously, the best part of the fashion community here is that people will support any idea you have no matter how weird,” Marie explains. 

 

The stakes are high for this week’s competition. The winning designer will receive an enviable prize package which includes but is not limited to: $5,000 cash, complete web design services worth $20,000, and a free runway show in next year’s Charleston Fashion Week. 

 

Charleston Fashion Week could be the beginning of something huge for one of Raleigh’s most talented designers. Given her past accomplishments and her drive to succeed, Marie appears to be uniquely poised to win big this year. 

 

Want more? Check out Marie’s take on Charleston Fashion Week at her behind the scenes blog, http://cordellafashionweek.blogspot.com/