Sustainable Couture at Fashion Week

Jade Alycia Webber ’15 premiered her sustainable couture collection at this year’s New York Fashion Week (NYFS SS19) just before her company’s two year anniversary. Webber speaks about how the Fashion Studies program in the Department of Art and Design at Montclair State University is set apart from other programs by offering entrepreneurial and marketing skill sets. Webber says, “I had previously studied fashion design and received my Associate’s degree at Mount Ida College in Newton, Massachusetts. When I was accepted into Montclair State’s program, I realized you can’t go anywhere only knowing how to design clothes and accessories, but you need to know how to market and brand them too.”

After starting her degree at Montclair State, Webber attended the highly selective Bobbi Brown Makeup Artistry Certificate program within the Department of Art and Design, while simultaneously interning at Marchesa in New York City. Webber reflects on this opportunity saying, “This program in particular opened up a lot of doors for me in the beauty industry; not only did I get to meet and work with Bobbi Brown, but I became friends with everyone on the staff at the Montclair flagship store and had many opportunities to go to events and be a makeup model.”

During her time at Montclair State, Webber also took advantage of the Fashion Studies Spring Break Study Abroad program, travelling to Paris with Faculty, Dr. Abby Lillethun. Webber states, “Paris is one of those cities that I dreamed of going to and was in love with before ever visiting. I admired the couture, the high-end designers, and the Parisian culture. We travelled there during Couture Fashion Week, visiting many museums, landmarks, shops, showrooms and even bumped into Kim and Kanye West at the iconic retail shop, Colette. In it’s entirety the trip really gave me that extra push to take my talents, inspirations, and dreams and launch a brand with them.”

Webber explains, “Overall, the Fashion Studies program taught me a few key things: 1. How to choose what I wanted to do in the fashion industry; 2. How to brand myself; and 3. How to understand the fashion market and supply/demand. All of which prepared me for my career in fashion and beauty.” Webber founded her own company, Jade Alycia Inc. and runs all aspects of the business from social media, the accessory design process, and managing her website, https://www.jadealycia.com. She also provides beauty services within her company, The Glamourous Touch which she founded in January; runs a blog filled with behind the scenes moments in fashion and beauty titled, The Unjaded Journal; and works full time in the fashion industry copywriting women’s ready-to-wear and accessories.

Webber prepared for her NYFW SS19 showcase by designing original accessories, styled and directed photoshoots for the collection, and created a lookbook for attendees. Webber says, “I am so excited about the showcase because it is my first NYFW showroom and I get to introduce my brand to the fashion industry on a large platform. At this stage it’s really about brand awareness for me, I was able to cultivate a lot of new contacts and followers, and showing at NYFW has always been a goal of mine.

Jade Alycia Webber graduated with a Bachelors of Art in Fashion Studies in 2015. You can visit her website at www.jadealycia.com or read her blog at www.theunjadedjournal.com.