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Major stars are often
seen wearing Jennifer Ouellette's designs in real life and
on the cover of magazines. All three in the above images
are wearing her headbands. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Ouellette
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MU
Graduate
Accessorizes the Stars
By Blaire Leible
Jennifer Ouellette, BS HES '94, is an accessory designer whose
creations include hats, pony holders, barrettes, bobby pins and
headbands. She also has a collection of handbags. Her items are
sold at upscale stores, such as Barneys
New York, and are featured in several magazines including
Vogue. Her
road to success started at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Ouellette graduated from the Department
of Textile and Apparel Management in the College
of Human Environmental Sciences in 1994 after completing her
last year in a study abroad program at the London College of Fashion.
“While I was in London I also got a
job working for English milliner Stephen
Jones. There, I really fell in love with making hats,”
said Ouellette.
After working for Jones for a year, Ouellette
moved to New York where she worked with another English milliner.
Two years later, the company she was working for closed, and Ouellette
started work on her own.
“In October 1996, I made my first collection,
and I received my first orders from Barneys New York & Takashimaya,”
said Ouellette.
Now Ouellette designs around 200 new, hand-made
accessories every season. Her items can be found adorning the
heads of several celebrities including Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer
Lopez, Gwen Stefani and Jessica Simpson.
“Our biggest claim to fame happened
when Winona Ryder wore our headbands to court,” said Ouellette.
Ouellette said the textile and apparel management
program helped her out in many ways.
Ouellette wears one of
her hat designs. She says MU's textile and apparel program
taught her business smarts as well as a good design skills.
Photo courtesy of Jennifer Ouellette
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“From the beginning I would say that
our department was more business focused instead of design focused,”
Ouellette said. “To run a business in the fashion industry,
you have got to have design sensibility as well as business skills.
There are more opportunities for grads with managing and business
skills, so the TAM program was a very practical approach to what
is truly going on in the industry. TAM taught me to think creatively
about business and to think globally.”
The textile and apparel management program
is one of the largest on campus with more than 250 undergraduates.
The department also offers master's and doctoral programs.
“We have very much a global focus in
the program because of the global nature of the industry on which
we focus,” said Kitty Dickerson, professor and department
chair of textile and apparel management. “Also, we have
a strong emphasis on technology because together, technology and
globalization have revolutionized the whole production and distribution
process for textile-apparel-fashion products.”
Ouellette will have a trunk show on Saturday,
May 14, at Mezzanine
Wearables, 389 N. Euclid Ave. in St. Louis. For more details
about the show, please e-mail info@mezzaninewearables.com.
To see some of Ouellette's creations, visit her Web site at www.jenniferouellette.com.
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Last Update:
November 15, 2007
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