'Passion for fashion' takes N.L. designer to the runways of London

London Fashion Week and the first day of school both happen in September, and now former teacher M.J. Couch can say she's tackled both.

Couch, who runs the St. John's-based line Melanie Jacqueline,just returned from showcasing her designs at London Fashion Week for the first time.

Thereshe presented her line with the help of the Oxford Fashion Studio, whosemission is to give independent designers international exposure.

The experience is hard to put into words, she told the St. John's Morning Show.

"Wild. Just surreal," Couch said.

This was her first time at London's fashion week, but she did a similar showcase at New York Fashion Week last year after being invited by Oxford Fashion Studio.

"They found me on social media actually," said Couch, who wanted to expand the colourful and upbeat feeling of her Instagram posts to the runway.

Doing that required giving her models an extra instruction: smile.

Models are usually instructed to walk down the runway with a neutral, unsmiling face, Couch explained, and as she was encouraging the models to bust out a grin she was followed around by a runway director saying, "Remember, this is the only designer that you will be smiling for."

"If Isee someone dressed out there in a fun outfit or a beautiful dress, if they're scowling for lack of a better word, it's less interesting to me," Couch said.

"Iguess for us it's a little different because we're literally going on the premise that fashion is happy, our fashion is happy, and we're there for a good time."

The experience of a lifetime

A self-described "passion for fashion" and a love for creating things with her hands led to Couch'slabel, and is now her full-time job.

Today, she has a growing business locally and across Canada selling her colourful, often-patterned ready-to-wear designs. Showing that clothing at fashions weeks outside the country seems like a logical next step, she said.

It's not a low-key step, however.

Presenting at London Fashion Week, one of the world's premier fashion events, involves paying fees to cover models, video, hair and photography. It's allin hopes of catching the eye of the members of the press, the scouts, the clothing buyers and the otherwise fabulous people who routinely attend these shows.

Her time in London led to great feedback and press, Couch said, but if all that ultimately comes out of it is the experience of a lifetime, she's content.

"It's a huge experience which you really can't put a price on, in my opinion," she said."I am blessed to be able to do it."

With files from the St. John's Morning Show

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