Photo from Lagi Nadeau

Meet Lagi Nadeau. A Chicago fashion designer who created her most recent designs after a trip to visit her muse in Michigan.

“This collection is my third season and it’s very close to my heart because my inspiration was my grandma. She lives up in Michigan, so I took a trip where I stayed for a week. She’s an artist, so she would always give me watercolors and oil paint, and then teach me how to use the art media and express myself. I think she really inspired the path that I’ve taken.”

Can you share an example from your collection?

“One of her favorite places to go are the waterfalls in the area, so I took that detail and translated it into a ruffle detailing on a couple of the dresses.”

Did you design the collection while you were in Michigan, or when you got back to Chicago?

“I had brought all these fabric swatches [to Michigan]. I think I was a little bit overwhelmed. There were a lot of different color directions I could take. Once I was at my grandma’s, I started to pull inspiration from the interior and the way she decorates her house. Everything just naturally came together with the color story and the fabric. Once I had my fabric and all these visual images of Grandma, like pictures of her growing up, everything [flowed] so naturally and came together really quickly once I got back to Chicago. It also taught me a lesson: Sometimes it’s better to just step away. It was really finding myself and connecting with my grandma on a really deep level.”

Photo by Emiley Smith Photography, Model: Lauren Cousino, Hair and Makeup: Jen Bean

Photo by Emiley Smith Photography, Model: Lauren Cousino, Hair and Makeup: Jen Bean

Photo by Emiley Smith Photography, Model: Lauren Cousino, Hair and Makeup: Jen Bean