The Scene

Finding The Right Fit

Designer Rachel Layne outfits babies and kids in the latest,
brightest Kmart fashions.

JULIE WEINGARDEN
Special to The Jewish News

R

achel Layne has
been sketching
dresses and por-
traits of her fam-
ily since she was 10.
Today, the 27-year-old
uses her creative talents to
design baby and children's
clothing for Kmart Corp.
She works on the Sesame
Street and Sesame Baby
lines, finding ways to fea-
ture Bert, Ernie and Elmo
on fashion-forward outfits.
She also designs for new-
borns (0-12 months), work-
ing in product develop-
ment.
"Trendier, European-
influenced merchandise will
be seen in the line I just
completed for fall '98, which includes
a lot of textured, fuzzy fabrics such as
Polar Fleece, Sherpa and velours," she
says.
Much of Layne's inspiration comes
from the European market. She's got a
flair for foreign pleasures: she dances
the mamba, has family ties in South .
America (a first cousin in Chile and a
best friend from Aigentina) and
speaks fluent French. Once, she even
dated a Jewish Frenchman.
"One of my dreams is to be multi-
lingual. I have family all over the
world and when I travel I don't like to
feel like a tourist, I like to be more
like a native," she says.
Layne lived abroad, completing an
apprenticeship for two haute couture
designers at Lecoanet Hemant in
Paris. She designed two garments for
their '94 summer collection. "Living
in Paris was the single most incredible
experience in my life. I fell in love
with the culture, the people and the
charm that surrounds you."
Layne studied fashion design at the

Julie Weingarden is a freelance writer
in West Bloomfield.

10/24
1997

92

skin and a dimple that pops
out whenever she smiles, it's
no wonder she used to want
to be an actress (but opted
195', for designing because it is
more stable).
So what kind of look
does the fashion designer
create for herself? "I try to
dress sexy but tasteful. I wear
a lot of black — I'm definite-
ly known for that. I also like
to wear different textured
fabrics like ultra-suede," says
Layne. "I like to express my
individuality with my
clothes. I don't like big
clothes."
She says she's fortunate
to have a job she loves while
being able to live near her
family, which includes moth-
er Judith Newman and step-
dad Peter Trepeck; father
Sanford Layne and stepmom Jackie;
sister Nicole Kovacs, brother Adam,
stepbrother Jon, half-sister Lizzy,
and grandparents Phyllis and Al
Newman.
She credits her grandparents
with enhancing her love and
knowledge of Judaism. They sent
her to Sunday school at Temple
Beth El and always stressed the
importance of her Jewish heritage,
leading by example.
Layne's grandfather sits on the
international board of the Technion in
Haifa, and at Hadassah Hospital he
set up an endowment for research in
pediatric audiology.
He developed a project called
"Hear 0 Israel," collecting hearing
aids for the needy in Israel. Her
grandmother is a former chapter presi-
dent of the local Hadassah unit.
"Being a fashion designer is my
calling. I love it and feel a constant
sense of fulfillment whenever I am
designing," Layne says. "It's a chal-
lenge, it's fun and doesn't feel like
work. I always thought I'd have to live
in California or New York in order to
fulfill my career goals, but now I have
the best of both worlds." ❑

x

44,

Above: Rachel Layne looks over a concept board
with boyswear designer Shari Barnett.

Right: Rachel Layne holds a creeper she designed
for Kmart's 1998 Sesame Street newborn
transitional collection.

Fashion . Institute of Design
Merchandising in Los Angeles, and
before that she graduated from the
University of Arizona with a bachelor's
degree in fashion merchandising and
promotions.
After school and Paris, she did a
stint in New York, then returned to
Michigan to take a job working for
women's and children's designer Linda
Schlesinger at Annie's Antics in Walled
Lake. She remained there for three
years before finding the Kmart oppor-
tunity on the Internet.
"I felt it was fate. I was scrolling .
down and the first thing I saw was
Troy, Michigan," she says. "Never in a
million years did I think I could work
for such a big company in Michigan."
And in Michigan she's content.
Layne grew up in Farmington Hills,
splitting high school between North

Farmington and West Bloomfield.
She's in the process of moving to
Birmingham, a town she likes because
it is a mini-city with energy. Layne
doesn't buy into the bemoaning that
there is .nothing to do here. "Going
out is what you make of it. OK, so it's
not Chicago or New York, but there
are great people in this town and I
think you make your own fun. It's not
where you are, it's who you're with
and your state of mind," she says.
Layne goes to dinner parties with
friends, takes mambo lessons at the
Velvet Lounge and screens films at the
DIA.
She certainly has style — from a
wine-colored stretchy lace top to her
blond hairdo, which has long layers,
parts down the middle and falls below
her shoulders. With blue eyes, lucent