Fashion in Raleigh is a growing scene, and it just got a little bit bigger with the launch of Gray Chenier, Raleigh’s newest Haute Couture — in French, a couture house is defined as a producer of high-end, custom-fitted clothing that's hand sewn from start to finish.

Behind these new designs is Stephen Allen — a Raleigh native with a vision to grow the admiration for high-end fashion in his hometown.

Pulling his inspiration from Alexander McQueen and Gianni Versace, Stephen got his start designing clothes as a young child, rummaging through thrift shops and bringing together unique patterns on his Sears Kenmore sewing machine. Once he began to find his passion for design, he shadowed at an alteration shop in north Raleigh under his friend Kim, who gave him the skillsets he has today + led him to love creating leather designs, which he mastered with Santana Creative Leather Care. With local designer Michael Iji, Stephen also learned the skills needed for tailoring in Michael’s shop + found his biggest passion in draping dresses. You can see all of this enthusiasm come to life in his signature line for Gray Chenier, the Legacy Collection.

This collection — along with the Lisa and Valentine Collections — was showcased at Stephen’s launch party, held at Artspace earlier this month. Models strutted their fits around the gallery and truly brought the clothing to life.

You can expect to hear more about Gray Chenier in the future as they plan to display their lines across Raleigh + the rest of the world. Want to learn more from the experts? Reach out to Stephen and his team or find your perfect fit and ask about pricing and availability here.