Harold Clarke: Covington Couture
by Stacey Paretti Rase
photography by Abby Sands Miller
If not for one tasteful New Orleans bride, Harold Clarke may never have made it to the Crescent City. In search of the perfect design for her wedding dress back in 1994, the bride traveled all the way to France, but came up empty. While there, however, she happened upon a book in a small bookstore that featured current dress designers. Harold Clarke’s designs were in that book and the bride knew she had found her designer. Her mother called the book’s publisher in order to track down Harold, who was working on 7th Avenue in New York City at the time.
There were 11 bridesmaids in that wedding, and the bride decided on one of Harold’s designs for their dresses, as well. Since it didn’t make sense for each of the ladies to travel to New York for fittings, Harold was flown down to Louisiana instead. “I remember taking the streetcar down St. Charles Avenue. I was hooked immediately,” Harold reminisces. “I fell in love with the history and the city itself.”
Harold realized instantly the potential for his business in the New Orleans area. He was drawn to the philosophy of style found in the South. “In New York, you have to design according to the trends. If they’re wearing short pants, you have to design short pants. But I noticed when I was talking to people down here that they didn’t have that here. Here, it’s all about dresses 24-7—for galas, Mardi Gras balls, fancy fundraisers. I started doing the numbers and I thought, ‘What am I doing up in New York?’” he laughs. So he opened Harold Clarke Couturier Atelier at the corner of Iberville and Dauphine streets in the French Quarter and has never looked back. More recently, he has expanded operations to the northshore, with a showroom in downtown Covington on Boston Street. “I started seeing the migration of the people and businesses to the northshore. You’ve got to go where the population is,” he grins, showing that his business sense is just as sharp as his fashion sense.
From Jamaica to the Big Apple
It was a simple love for sketching that drew Harold to the business initially. While other young boys were playing cowboys and Indians, Harold says he would sketch the days away instead. The son of a furniture designer in Kingston, Jamaica, Harold made the move to the States in 1969 to fine-tune his craft as a student at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. There, he fell in love with Iona, a beautiful and talented fellow student, who was concentrating her studies on the business aspect of fashion design. The two were a perfect fit.
“She was actually my first model,” notes Harold, with a particular gleam in his eye. The two got married at a very young age (Harold was 20 years old) and are still going strong after 37 years of marriage. The two gush about the successes of their four grown children—a daughter who works as a pediatrician in Maryland, a son in sales in New Jersey, another son who lobbies for at-risk youth organizations in Washington, D.C. and a second daughter who works in real estate and interior design in Georgia.
To watch Iona and Harold at work is a quick study of a true partnership. “Harold Clarke really is two people,” Harold explains. “But she likes to stay in the background mostly.” Iona has great input in the initial stages of production, and does much of the beading for the dress designs in the later stages. “Years ago, she would suggest designs, but I didn’t pay much attention,” Harold explains. “But once I took her advice, the pieces started selling! We really complement each other. I have to give credit where credit is due.”
Celebrity Fittings
Everyone has their own Katrina story, but not many can say that their hurricane experience involved Vanna White. During the week just before the storm hit, Harold was working with Wheel of Fortune producers to design a wardrobe of five dresses for the glamorous letter-turner to wear during the show’s taping in New Orleans. The show was set to tape during the last week of August 2005, but was canceled and rescheduled for a taping later in the fall. (You can see those five dress designs on www.wheeloffortune.com by clicking on the backstage link and then searching the Vanna Style Archives for “Celebrating New Orleans.”)
The week that Katrina made landfall, Harold was also set to fit actress Camryn Manheim of ABC’s “The Practice” and CBS’ “The Ghost Whisperer” for a dress for an upcoming awards show. “That didn’t happen. She was upset, too, because she had already told People Magazine that she would be wearing Harold Clarke.”
Other famous faces that have sported Harold Clarke designs are Linda Evans (of “Dynasty” fame), Delta Burke, Vivica Fox, Kim Fields and Keisha Knight Pulliam (better known as “Rudy” from “The Cosby Show”).
But Harold’s most memorable work with a celebrity just might be his encounter with Patti LaBelle. The singer-entertainer was performing in the pregame show of the 2002 Superbowl in the New Orleans Superdome. The game was being held just months after the attacks of 9/11 and the show carried an enthusiastic patriotic theme. All of the performers on stage, including Mariah Carey and Wynonna Judd, were to wear red-, white- or blue-hued dresses. But the production studio sent the wrong-color dress to LaBelle. It came in a deep shade of burgundy instead of a true red. That’s when Harold got the call.
“She called me about 2 p.m. the day before the Superbowl,” remembers Harold, “and said she needed a red dress made for the next day. I went to her hotel just after the store closed and did the sketch right there on-site.” Harold worked through the night to assemble the perfect dress, but when he delivered it to LaBelle on Superbowl Sunday, she decided that she wanted it to fit a bit tighter. “So I made it tighter, but then the zipper broke! I had to take it back to the studio to fix it. Then, getting it back to her at the Superdome was insane. Because of 9/11, security was crazy.” A secret service agent actually delivered the dress and LaBelle put it on just seconds before she went out on stage. “It was amazing. I learned then, and I’m learning more and more all the time, that you have to be ready,” asserts Harold. “When opportunity knocks, you have to be ready.”
The Essence of a
Harold Clarke Gown
So just what is the style behind a Harold Clarke creation? He describes his designs as very high fashion, elegant and sophisticated. “It’s not over the top. But she is a very confident woman if she is wearing a Harold Clarke. The dress is not wearing her—she’s making the dress.”
Clarke’s fantastic designs range from ready-to-wear to couture and are either one-of-a-kind or limited edition. “Women don’t want to see themselves coming and going,” he remarks. The designer appreciates that certain occasions call for styles that won’t be seen duplicated on another woman in the room. “I always have the women tell me where they’re going to be wearing their dress. For example, many ladies from this area attend the Mardi Gras Ball in Washington. I have to make sure these dresses are not copied.”
Naturally, many of Clarke’s one-of-a-kind designs have received special notice in the fashion world, resulting in requests to duplicate the dress. When New Orleans news anchor Michelle Miller Morial (wife of former New Orleans mayor Marc Morial) attended a high-profile ball at the White House in a sophisticated red dress of Clarke’s design, all heads turned. (Clarke also designed Morial’s bridal gown, the image of which appeared in publications from Ebony & Jet Magazine to Town & Country.) The stunning Morial caught the eye of then President Bill Clinton and was the only woman (other than his wife) whom he asked to dance. “I got calls immediately after that event,” says Harold. “Everyone wanted that same dress.”
High-Style, Low-Key Environment
The most obvious difference between purchasing a design from Harold Clarke studio and one from a high-fashion outlet in a city such as New York is the unassuming air about the shop. “In New York, most designers keep their pieces up on the 25th floor somewhere and you have to make a special appointment just to see the dresses,” Harold explains. “But here, you can be comfortable, see and touch the clothes and get exactly what you want.”
The experience of purchasing one of Clarke’s designs combines individual attention with a relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere. Hammond’s Blair Abene, who competed in the Miss Louisiana Pageant in Monroe in June wearing a couture design by Clarke, can attest to that. Abene took center stage at the Covington store one afternoon, during one of her final fittings before the competition. All attention was upon her, as Harold carefully measured, pinned and fit the dress for the final touches to the bodice. He deliberated for a while over the exact placement of a vibrant kelly-green sash, yet it was Abene who set his mind at ease, as if talking to an old friend. “As far as that goes, I trust you,” she told him. “I know whatever you do, you’ll make it beautiful.”
Step-by-Step Couture
For custom couture clients, a consultation is always the first step. Couture clients want a dress designed especially for them, custom-made for their specific body type (the dress can be on original, a re-creation or restoration). After the consultation, a price-point is determined. Additional sketches are made, fabric and trim are selected, measurements are taken and the appointment for the first fitting is made. At the first fitting, the client will be fitted with a shell garment made of a muslin material. All adjustments of the design are made using the shell. This becomes the actual pattern for garment construction. For the second fitting, a garment is made of the selected fabrication. The design team then makes the necessary adjustments. Then trim is applied while the garment is on the client, bringing the design together while insuring her absolute satisfaction. Additional fittings may or may not be needed, depending on the complexity of the design. The whole process can take from three to four weeks or up to six months for more intricate designs.
Clarke expertly sums up the couture experience. “You only go around this world once; you don’t get a second chance. You should look fabulous!”
