Young designers show eclectic styles

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NEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) For many designers, New York's gala week of fashion shows represents the height of success, but plenty of aspiring fashionistas are finding their way without the bright lights and crowded catwalks.

Young designers such as Kate Goldwater are showing their eclectic styles far from the semi-annual shows, staged in large tents in midtown Manhattan by top names in fashion.

Goldwater, who opened her first AuH20 Designs boutique in New York's East Village in October, planned to hold her own fashion show miles away in a Brooklyn bar.

''Everyone loves fashion, but only a few people are in those tents,'' said Goldwater, 22. Nevertheless, she added: ''It's great to just have a week dedicated to fashion.'' Her company, featuring clothes sewn from old garments, is less than two years old.

At age 21, fellow designer Levi Okunov said he has no ambition to appear at the fashion Week extravaganza with the likes of Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs.

''I don't really want to be considered one of them,'' Okunov said. ''I'm not looking for the approval of the fashion world. I have the approval of my clients and that's all that matters to me.'' He planned to stage his show next week in Manhattan, with figure skater Oksana Baiul as one of his models.

Okunov's custom-made women's wear, which he described as having a ''futuristic touch'' and ''an architecture and sculpture'' derived from the cut of the fabric, is available online, with dresses starting at 4,000 dollars and shoes starting at 1,500 dollars.

Raised in Brooklyn, Okunov worked for designers including Marc Jacobs before creating his own line in 2004. Starting out, he said he enjoyed the benefit of investments from wealthy family friends.

Goldwater insists on keeping prices modest. Shirts at AuH20 sell for 20 dollars to 50 dollars and dresses and skirts from 45 dollars to 150 dollars.

Among her signature pieces are a skirt and tie made entirely of plastic subway fare cards fastened together with black thread, a blouse made from an old ''Reproductive Freedom Fighter'' T-shirt and silk lace and patchwork skirts.

Goldwater markets her clothes as ecologically sound and regularly scouts second-hand stores for material.

''People like my clothes and my store because I'm an everyday person,'' she said.

Goldwater's creative urges stem to her youth, she said. At age 12, she stitched a pair of pants from a child's play tent and, for her senior thesis at New York University, created paintings made from her menstrual blood.

Making many of her own clothes in college, she said, ''People started stopping me on the subway my freshman year and asked me to make the clothes for them.'' With the help of an investor, along with personal savings and profits, she opened her boutique last summer.

The way Okunov and Goldwater financed their ventures follows a typical pattern, experts said.

''People usually fund their start-ups through personal connections, friends, family and personal savings,'' said Deborah Goodwin, director of the Garment Industry Development Corp.

Chances of success can be slim, said Holly Hays, director of business development at Ashford Finance who helps fund small fashion businesses and has seen many fail.

''Get a jar full of pennies, paint one black, put it back in the jar, shake it up, and reach in and try to grab that black penny,'' she said. ''Those are your chances.''