Kelley Shields is a life-long creative with 30+ years in the apparel industry as a designer, illustrator and trend expert.

“Bringing things into form was the drive behind my impetus to create. As a designer my vision was directed by the fabrics I was drawn to. The cloth tended to dictate the form from which all other details followed.”

Since graduating from Parsons School of Design in 1986 she sampled every level of the design industry and its functions that were of interest to her, beginning with her first placement as Design Assistant to Geoffrey Beene. After Beene, Kelley went on to explore fashion illustration followed by six years designing men’s wear for Armani Exchange, where she was responsible also for both men’s and women’s accessories.  In 2000, she transitioned into trend and concept direction, providing highly reliable guidance to major apparel retailers.

“With respect to providing trend guidance, an entirely different type of vision is required. Apparel design is one skill set while projecting consumer behavior based on observable trends is another set entirely. Design requires a personalized vision while trend projection requires a sight that is devoid of personal taste or opinion while thoroughly informed by an intimate understanding of the target customer, a strong foundation of apparel history augmented by years of contemporary design exposure and a facile recall of trends that have successfully manifested at retail.”

 

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