From Waitsburg to NY Runway

WAITSBURG - From designing and sewing her own Rainbow formals as a teen to having her designs show­cased in British Vogue, Waitsburg native Calley (An­drews) Gonzalez has literally "come a long way, baby!" Gonzalez' designs have traveled from the quiet streets of Waitsburg to fashion shows across the east coast and spreads in magazines around the world. A business that was originally intended as "something I could do at my own pace" has forged ahead at such breakneck speed, Gonzalez is struggling to keep up.

Gonzalez, daughter of Ralph and Linda Andrews, grew up in Waitsburg and graduated from Waitsburg High School in 1998. She still tries to make it home to visit at least annually. Three weeks after graduation, Gonzalez left home with the U.S. Air Force where she worked as a structural craftsman.

Gonzalez met her husband, Danny, at Mountain Home Air Force Boise in Idaho where they had their daughter, Katalina. The couple spent just over five years in Idaho before moving to Hurlburt Field at Fort Walton Beach, Florida for three years where Gonzalez was with the 823rd RED HORSE (Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineers) unit. Gonzalez was then transferred to Osan South Korea with the 554th RED HORSE unit and later received full medical retirement in 2007. She still struggles with joint disease and os­teo arthritis.

Upon Gonzalez's re­tirement, the family moved to San Antonio where her husband is still in active duty and serving at Lack­land Air Force Base.

"When doctors came to the conclusion that my medical condition would forever impact my life, it was obvious that my mili­tary career was over," said Gonzalez. "I loved the military, so when they said I wouldn't be able to do it anymore I wasn't sure what I was going to do. It was their position that I would never be able to work again."

Gonzalez, who describes herself as "one of those people who has to stay busy or I will go crazy," spent a year learning to better understand and control her condi­tion. She also asked herself what she really loved doing, hoping to find some kind of work she could perform at her own pace.

"Since I was in Rainbow, I have always had a sew­ing machine and would do interior projects for my own home as well as projects for friends; then it moved to making dresses for them to go out in," said Gonzalez. "It was more of a secret than an open hobby I had. Very few people knew I could sew, but the ones who did always kept me busy."

Gonzales decided that when her husband returned from Korea, she would re- turn to school to earn a degree in Fashion Design and Merchandising from the International Academy of Design and Technology in San Antonio. Upon comple- tion, Gonzalez opened her business in May of 2010.

"As much as I thought I would do this at my own pace, I realized I was wrong," said Gonzalez. "Being a business owner is a full-time job and then some!"

Gonzales began her busi- ness by returning to her 'Rainbow roots' and design- ing pageant wear and custom wardrobes for beauty contestants. Her business evolved quickly and she now designs seasonal collections under her own label, designs and consults for private labels and offers consulting services for her own clients.

Under her Couture by Calley label, Gonzalez de- signs women's profession- al attire, custom formal wear and custom designs as requested by individuals. Gonzales describes her typical customer as mid 30's, educated, professional, both family and career-oriented and a frequent traveler. "My clients come from all over and I do a lot of work long distance," said Gonzalez.

She markets her designs via online orders, to customers who come directly to her studio and to buyers at Fash- ion Week events. She also produces a seasonal capsule collection at least once a year, if not twice.

Gonzalez's Victoria Dolls Spring/Summer 2014 Collection will be show- cased at FG New York Fash- ion Week on September 7. "The Victoria Dolls col- lection is inspired by the Victorian era, with elements derived from the steampunk genre," said Gonzalez. "This collection will stay true to the classic elegance Couture by Calley is known for, yet it is a modern take on this style of fashion with a steampunk edge." Two of those looks were unveiled in a sneak peek last Saturday at the ONS San Antonio Fashion Week Preview.

Gonzalez has recently been profiled in Brit- ish Vogue's July 2013 and September 2013 issues. The September issue was released in digital format on August 1 and Gonzales says the response has been amazing. "I have hits on my website from nearly every country in the world. That kind of response is very cool. To know that people in the UK are interested in the same designs as those from Africa puts a new perspec- tive on 'global design,'" said Gonzalez. "I'm constantly surprised by the wide range of clients who follow my work and request custom pieces regardless of locale or economic background."

In designing and consulting for private labels, Gonzalez is able to broaden the scope of her work to include bridal, resort wear, menswear and prototype design. She assists private la- bel customers in everything from design to business operations, to marketing and manufacturing. She also works with individual cli- ents on style and wardrobe curating.

Gonzalez enjoys learning and appreciates the fact that she is regularly presented with new challenges and requests to build prototype products. "Many of my clients have challenges that I have to overcome such as surgeries that prevent them from changing clothes as we normally do. I help make their life a little easier while solidifying their confidence that they look great regard- less of their status. I learn from each design, each proj- ect, and I push boundaries of what I can do with materials to reach these goals."

Gonzalez also enjoys the wonderful moments her design career allows her to be a part of. "Brides send me photos of their day and people come in and thank me for making their 'moment' special. It's also satisfying when I can help a private label achieve a goal that they have sought for years. I am so happy for them I some- times forget I helped them get there!"

For someone who so obviously enjoys support- ing others, it should be no surprise that Gonzalez considers her biggest accomplishment to be creating the San Antonio Fashion Industry Alliance to support the local fashion industry. Gonzales believes strongly in supporting those within her community and the Alli- ance provides her a platform to do so.

"I want to educate the community on the talent in their own area. This is not only important to me per- sonally, but also profession- ally. Fashion is known to be a catty industry, so setting a new standard and commu- nicating support from individuals, the community, as well as government leaders, to those within my industry is so very important to me," said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez says she doesn't know if she's had her "big break" yet, though she acknowledges that many of her peers see her inclusion in British Vogue's Designer Profiles to be just that.

"I look at it like a moment in time and not a singular event. I think I may be in the 'moment' of my big break now if I were to describe it. In the past year I have had my designs and private label designs in magazines all over the world and I am currently speaking with the top fashion magazines, inter- nationally.

"I have also had amazing opportunities to participate in nearly every Fashion Week throughout the east coast. My work has been on the runway in New York, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and more. My business has grown so fast I am finding it difficult to keep up and I have major department stores that will be looking at my work for placement. Just having these opportuni- ties, I consider a great moment in time for my career regardless of the path they may take. I believe I'm in the 'moment' now," said Gonzalez.

Gonzalez admits that she has no idea where her future is headed but appreciates that she's come so far in such a short time. That said, she would love to have a flagship store in San Antonio some- day and has set that as the 10-year-goal for her busi- ness. "I have no dreams to be a major name in fashion, I would rather be the best kept secret," said Gonzalez.