Kelly Lane goes green

Local fashion designer Kelly Simpson-Scupelli didn’t grow up dreaming of Dior and… Local fashion designer Kelly Simpson-Scupelli didn’t grow up dreaming of Dior and Armani.

“I’m going to be really honest, I wasn’t the girl who looked at fashion magazines, and the first time I actually subscribed to [one] was a year or two into when I started my business,” Simpson-Scupelli said.

Simpson-Scupelli, owner and founder of Kelly Lane: Clothing With Color, started her clothing line on a whim in 2006, when she received a sewing machine as a gift from her husband.

“I had no experience with fashion design, nor had I ever sewn before, and no one in my family sew[s],” she said.

Simpson-Scupelli said Jamie Rivers, the owner of Lawrenceville’s Sugar Boutique, which spotlights up-and-coming local designers, motivated her to pursue fashion design as more than just a hobby.

“I had no intention of starting a fashion line, but once the boutique owner was interested in what I was doing, it gave me the incentive to learn more and I had a deadline, which kicked me into high gear,” she said.

Simpson-Scupelli was a customer at Sugar before Rivers noticed her potential as a designer.

“I didn’t really think [Rivers] was serious, [but] she got back to me and said, ‘Could you do something for me for spring,’” she said.

Since Simpson-Scupelli didn’t know anyone with sewing skills, she taught herself.

“I bought some pattern-making books and I took a couple sewing classes, [but] I didn’t have anyone in my life that did this at the time that I could use as a resource,” she said.

Unlike many famed designers, the fashion-hungry masses won’t find any fur or leather displayed on Kelly Lane’s catwalks.

The designer prides her clothing line on the respect it has for the environment.

“I’ve talked to several people, and they say that some of the smaller designers are the ones who have made the biggest impact on the eco industry,” Simpson-Scupelli said.

The designer said the impact small brands have on the industry is thanks, in part, to loyal, repeat customers who believe in what the company stands for.

“It’s just like me — my smaller accounts sometimes are my bread and butter. They’re the one’s who always come back, and they’re the ones who create a demand,” she said.

Simpson-Scupelli classifies her clothing line as an eco-friendly one, because of the types of fabrics she uses and the way she produces her garments.

“If we use any kind of dyes for printing, we use low-impact dyes or water-based inks,” she said. “We use a fabric called tencel, [which] is made from eucalyptus, which is a renewable resource, and most eco-friendly fabrics on the market, because the processing of the fabric is a closed-loop process.”

She also uses hemp, organic cotton, soy and even bamboo, when it is blended with organic cotton.

“We produce everything in the U.S., we pay fair wages, the people we work with pay fair wages, and in our everyday practices, we recycle and re-use all our packing material,” Simpson-Scupelli said.

She explained how disregard for the environment negatively affects more than just the fashion industry.

“The fashion industry is raping the earth, the farmers and people who are exposed to the chemicals and [contract] chemical burns and cancer,” she said.

Simpson-Scupelli said her experiences as a child in her hometown of Henderson, N.C., sparked her passion for the environment’s welfare.

“The textile industry in our town was shut down because of all of the exports to China, [which] basically ruined our town,” she said. “That’s when the drugs moved in, and [although] we already had a ton of poverty, it just got worse and they still haven’t recovered.”

Simpson-Scupelli doesn’t regret a second of her journey and is proud of what she has accomplished.

“It’s worth it, I have moments when it’s frustrating, but overall I love what I do, and I feel like I’m at home,” she said.