Tracy Reese

Tracy Reese

American fashion designer Tracy Reese was born on February 12, 1964 in Detroit, Michigan. Tracy gets the burning desire for creating beautiful things and an eye for fashion from her mother. She remembers designing and creating outfits from scratch with her mother on their sewing machine.

Tracy went to Manhattan to pursue a career in fashion design. She attended Parsons The New School for Design from where she graduated in 1984. To gain hands on experience to become a seasoned fashion designer in the future, Tracy worked at a small contemporary firm called Arlequin under Martine Sitbon. Throughout her career, Tracy has worked at top of the line fashion houses like Perry Ellis where she held the post of design director for women’s portfolio. She was also inducted as a member of the CFDA in the year 2000.

Tracy’s eponymous collection received raved reviews when it was launched in 1996 and sent a message to the fashion world that Tracy was here to stay. A classic example of a woman following her dreams, Tracy’s designs had an ultra feminine look and feel which gave her polished pieces a distinctive look on the runway. The designer has been known for designing outfits of such kind ever since. Her collections of ready to wear and resort wear called ‘Plenty’ and ‘Frock!’ are known for their affordable prices. Plenty by Tracy Reese came out in 1998 which was the designer’s second label. Plenty is all about celebrating the Bohemian free spirit with one of a kind color palettes, fresh prints and details. Tracy’s other collection focuses on everyday wear which make women look effortlessly sexy. The designer’s third label was launched in 2009 and called Tracy Reese Black Label.

The use of an extensive palette of bright colors for textiles, playful Bohemian touches and elaborate graphic patterns makes the designer truly one of a kind while other designers are in a perpetual rat race following the already forecasted colors and trends for the season. In such a situation, Tracy’s bold and bright collection is like a breath of fresh air. All the hip new fashion trends are spotted on the models donning Tracy’s outfits when walking on the runway. For the longest time, Tracy has never failed to make the models look ridiculously pretty. All the models were sent down the runway with subdued eye makeup and soft romantic curls for her fall 2004 collection while her spring 2005 collection was all about pretty peach makeup and sky-high up dos. The models all wore colorful eye makeup and unusual headbands for her fall 2005 collection. Recently, her models were seen walking down the runway wearing oversized geek spectacles with side swept coiffures for the spring 2013 collections. Models set the runways on fire with their temporary tattoos and the cat eye look for the spring 2014 collection.

Tracy has also experimented with shoes and hosiery and even nail polishes in collaboration with Sally Hansen. Specialty stores like Anthropologie, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom proudly sell all of Tracy’s collections. In 2011, Tracy went global with her new shop in Tokyo.

Tracy has a fan following of many stars but she became the talk of the town when the First Lady, Michelle Obama was seen wearing a custom made Tracy Reese outfit for her 2012 DNC Convention Speech.