Student
Makes
Her Mark in
Fashion World
BY JENNIFER FUSCO
Marie Claudinette Jean is one of the fashion industry's up and coming
designers. While her company, Fusha Designs, Inc. has been operating since
2000, it was Jean's fall 2004 collection that made a splash on the runways
during February's Fashion Week in New York City. To know Jean's style
is to know her--her Haitian background, her 10-year marriage to performer/producer
Wyclef Jean and her dedication to her studies at Montclair State University.
Jean's designs combine her love of 18th century fashions and the aristocratic
flamboyance and elegance from that historical period with her inherent
modern sensibility. Although industry insiders have been quick to characterize
her clothing as having a Haitian influence, Jean doesn't see it that way,
though she does admit her background plays a role in her technical ability.
"Everybody in my family knows how to sew," she said. "It's
in my blood." However, being raised and going to school in New Jersey
has had a greater effect. "I was raised here and study here,"
she said. "But I do use a lot of beautiful colors most [American]
designers would not touch but that work in a hot climate. That is what
I pull from my country."
Jean maintains a heavy West Indies accent, but considers herself a "Jersey
girl," having lived in the state since she was seven. She was named
after Haitian beauty queen Claudinette Fushard. The story, she's been
told, is that "Fushard was beautiful and my father had a crush on
her so my parents named me after her. Actually, my father named me after
her. I don't know how my mother let that go," she said with a laugh.
Her company's name pays homage to her namesake with a twist. She toiled
over the moniker before deciding on Fusha (pronounced foo-sha). "I
wanted to keep it unique and French and unisex but familiar, like the
color," she explained.
Jean didn't develop her passion for fashion until well after she entered
college. In fact, when she began her studies at Montclair State, she wanted
to become a doctor. "I had visions of becoming an obstetrician,"
she recalled. After three years of pre-med classes, she began fieldwork
and quickly realized a career in medicine was not for her.
It didn't take long for Jean to figure out what she really wanted to do.
"I always had that love for fashion in me," she said. After
looking at MSU's program in fashion
studies, Jean decided to stay in her familiar surroundings. But there
was another delay in her path to earning a degree: she married Wyclef
Jean, the famous musician and producer. During the next five years she
began focusing on being a designer and started her business in the basement
of her home. "It grew so large, my husband told me I had to get out,"
she recalled with a chuckle.
That's when Jean took the biggest leap of her career and headed straight
for Seventh Avenue in Manhattan. "I started my own company because
it's the highest you can go. It's challenging and it's something I always
wanted to do," she said. "I wanted to create clothing that is
incredibly different for women."
To start a business with no experience and just seven employees was a
daunting task; yet Jean put her nerves aside and faced it head on. "You
know what? I was nervous when I first came to Montclair State. I was nervous
when I first entered the fashion industry and I was a nervous wreck when
I did a runway show in Bryant Park," she said. "But at the end
of the day, I'm the kind of person who always wants to take that risk,
especially when deep inside I feel that it will work. I'm always nervous,
but at the same time I believe you have to go with that instinct. When
it speaks to you, you've got to make a move."
And moving she has been, garnering attention and praise from the fashion
industry and some high-profile clients. Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston,
Kelly Price, Ja Rule and her husband have all donned Fusha clothing. Jean
recently dressed Wyclef and his band for a performance at the MTV Europe
Awards and as a result, In Style magazine dubbed him one of entertainment's
top 10 best-dressed men.
Working with her husband has been mutually beneficial. While Jean makes
sure Wyclef looks great, he sets the soundtrack to her fashion shows.
"Wyclef has been very supportive of what I'm doing. The whole concept
of fashion and music is beautiful. Together, it is so powerful and so
unique. It works perfectly."
With her fall collection, which received rave reviews, behind her, Jean
has gone back to the drawing board to prepare for the spring collection.
In the fashion industry, there's no time to rest. "Every six months
you've got to come up with something different, a whole new unique line
from what you've done before," she explained. "I take my sketch
pad everywhere I go--when I'm eating, when I'm on a plane. As long as
I have my own quiet space, that's my world to be creative in."
Each season is a growing process for Jean as she tries to take her designs
and her business to new levels. She's looking at getting her line into
high-end department stores. "I've only been custom designing for
individuals but in the future, I want to be in stores all over, worldwide,"
she said. "That would be a big move."
While Jean already has made a name for herself in the fashion industry,
she is dedicated to finishing her degree at Montclair State and hopes
to graduate in January. "Education is always important. I have five
brothers and sisters and everybody graduated from college but me. When
I start something, I like to finish it, otherwise I'm incomplete,"
she said. "At the end of the day it doesn't matter, but it's important
to me because I'm still learning. There's always something to learn no
matter what class you take, no matter what age you are, no matter who
you are."
Jean says
the University has played a tremendous role in her success. "Montclair
State has taught me so much about fabric and color in the textile classes,
plus the marketing and advertising classes have all come in handy."
Her adviser and coordinator of the fashion studies concentration in Human
Ecology, Linda Reilly, says Jean's determination to succeed in all aspects
of her life is evident. "She is obviously talented as a designer;
however, the quality that stands out about her is her enthusiasm for her
career and the fashion industry. Claudinette is a positive, creative student
who is eager to learn and complete her college degree."
"We are happy to see her succeed and are proud of her accomplishments,"
added Elaine Flint, chair of the Human
Ecology Department. "We look forward to having Claudinette share
her experience in developing and producing a line of high fashion apparel
with the other Fashion Studies students. She is an inspiration to other
students when they see what a young designer can accomplish in a relatively
short time period."
For those students with aspirations of becoming fashion designers, Jean's
advice is to get the most out of school by utilizing its resources like
internships and contacts. "Be creative. People are looking for uniqueness.
That's what this world is all about," she said. "Don't give
up. You'll hear things like 'Are you sure? How are you going to make money
out of doing fashion?' But that's just like telling an artist you can't
make money with your art. You've just got to put in 100 percent and take
risks in a positive way. Hopefully, for every step you take, the closer
you get to the dream. That's what I did, and it works."