PORT ST. LUCIE: Seven years ago, Kalle Jackson’s father gave her a knitting machine for Mothers Day, which completely altered her life.
Jackson said,” Fashion saved my life.”
Jackson was able to overcome her unhappiness with the aid of sewing and designing garments, which in less than ten years allowed her to produce anything beyond her wildest desires.
Jackson remarked,” It’s completely amazing to know that I’ll be here in seven years.” Because right now I’m thinking,” OK, if I may finish this in seven years, what will I be doing in fifteen or twenty years?”
In a storefront in northern Port St. Lucie, Jackson inaugurated the Maison De Kallee Jackson style center in 2022. She is the only designer, and she works with two dressmakers to make her skirts, ready-to-wear clothing lines and accessories.
Three years ago, when Stuart lawyer Donna DeMarchi met Jackson, she discovered a lifelong custom.
DeMarchi keeps in mind that her three custom dresses usually make her “feel like a princess.”
DeMarchi remarked,” You may feel that she puts her love into every outfit.
She claimed that it can get Jackson as little as six hours to make a dress. She produced 133 clothes in 2022, surpassing 200 so far this year.
A full-service fashion apartment that offers customers a one-of-a-kind knowledge, from designing clothing to sourcing materials to producing the items, is called Maison De Kallee Jackson, which translates to” House of Kallete Johnson.”
Globetrotting her plans
For the first time in 2020, Jackson received an invitation to New York Fashion Week.
She has displayed her series this year at both Paris Fashion Week at the end of September and New York fashion week in February.
She produced ten sections with European influences for the Paris exhibition.
Her objective as a designer is to produce classic clothing that is still fashionable despite recent trends.
I want you to purchase a gown from me so that you can use it in ten years because it is still in style, Jackson said.
Maison De Kallee Jackson will participate in fashion week in Milan and South Africa the following month.
In February 2024, she may also participate in Fashion Forward, a Dubai-based broadcast fashion competition that draws designers from all over the world.
The good thing about Milan, according to Jackson, is that I get the chance to return in 2025 or 2026 and perform my personal present. I would actually get performing at the same amount as Tom Ford.
Manufacturers must be invited by a third party to take part in global fashion month. This invitation must include sellers, buyers, designers, and an assembly group.
investing in her neighborhood
Jackson immigrated to Stuart in 2002 after growing up in abject hunger in Mandeville, Jamaica. She and her spouse and three young babies relocated to Port St. Lucie in 2015.
She did well academically as a child, but her financial situation prevented her from shopping for clothes and boots like most girls do. This year, she wants to give two high-achieving, low-income high school girls two prom dresses so they can receive the full” cure.”
Jackson remarked,” I understand what it’s like to be such a good student, but you just ca n’t afford that dress, shoes, or even food.” I therefore want at least two young women to experience graduation in an absolutely wonderful way. I’m going to do that if I may provide a gown.
Increasing her model
Jackson’s prom season starts first; in October, she started taking orders for clothes for the spring of 2024.
She has made prom dresses for clients in Pennsylvania and Mississippi, despite the fact that her customers are usually locals.
Jackson plans to keep her design and production facility in Port St. Lucie while gradually opening style outlets in Jupiter or Wellington.
Her current focus is on the Treasure Coast and South Florida, though her ultimate aim is to open outlets all over the world.
Gianna Montesano is the most popular writer for TCPalm. She can be reached at gianna. Follow her on X ( previously Twitter ) @gonthescene, or send a message to [email protected] at 772-409-1429.