Polka dots, stripes and plaids? The world of fashion is breaking all the rules. According to local Charlotte designer Stan Frazier, “with complete chaos, and no type of governing, you’re left with nothing but Anarke” — the perfect title for his new clothing line set to showcase during Charlotte Fashion Week 2011 later this year.

A work in progress, Anarke currently features men’s denim, vests, T-shirts, hats and bags all hand-crafted and complete with Frazier’s personal touch. After all, he’s the man who can cut up a potato sack, sew it to a pair of jeans and make it work. His style embodies urban apparel with all the necessary details of high fashion.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Stan Frazier has been designing clothing since the age of 13. Given his first sewing machine by his mother, who also worked as a designer, Frazier quickly developed an eye for the craft.

“When I was high school, the kids would see me come in with outfits on and be like 'Yo! That’s hot, what is it?' I’d be like, my mom sewed it and everyone would start cracking on me.” Putting an end to the jokes, Frazier went to work on his first outfit and created a pair of pants. Proud of his accomplishment, the designer held up his pants only to find that he had sewn two left legs. “I think it’s fair to say I’ve come a long way,” says Frazier.

Designing out of a small office in his home, Frazier works in a heap of organized confusion. Fabrics, prints and designs are thrown all over the room with a printing machine in one corner and a sewing machine in another. Anarke is actually the designer's second line following his collection titled Nino Ross, a line created in the late '90s that, according to Frazier, caught the attention of big-time celebrities such as Nas and Fabolous.

As far as demographics, Anarke is for all races and ages. “I’m really striving for young teens. They are the trendsetters and if I can appeal to them, I’ll be around a whole lot longer,” says Frazier.

Known for his unique use of quality materials and stitching patterns, Frazier adds a real flair to men’s fashion. “The way I stitch my jeans, the bagginess is taken out,” he says. “It also gives men a bowlegged, cowboy stance that ladies used to go crazy over back in the day.” The pockets on Anarke jeans are cut short and wide instead of long and narrow like most denim. Just to make his apparel stand out more, Frazier uses wool and cashmere, two touches rarely seen anywhere else. “I stay in the material store for hours,” he says. “Things just jump out at me like, 'roar!'” While shopping for fabrics he’s constantly putting pieces together in his head like a puzzle.

Frazier has plans to "kill" Charlotte Fashion Week, promising that by the time of the show, Anarke will feature clothing for women as well. In the rebellious words of Stan Frazier, “It’s time to live free and rock hard!” Charlotte Fashion Week has yet to see chaos quite like this.

— Morgan Jones

As a writer, whenever I interview fashion designers, one question that comes up a lot is, "What inspired your collection?" And I have to admit, I've gotten some very abstract answers. So when someone can point to something concrete, something more than just "people" or "the things I see around me," I know that designer has a firm grasp on what they're trying to create.

Local designer Beth Pilger is one of those people. Her latest collection, for fall/winter 2011, will be featured at Passport For Fashion this Saturday, April 16. When asked about her inspiration, she recalls an exhibit she saw at the Whitney Museum in New York.

"It was an exhibit about Georgia O’Keeffe’s Abstractions. I’m a huge fan of O’Keeffe," she says. "It’s bold. She’s most known for her flowers. The colors, you’re just mesmerized by it. This exhibit was more on the abstract side, which is more of the work she’s not known for. It was part of her charcoal series, these beautiful charcoal images. Cloud-like formations. It just had such movement and bold strokes."

As a designer who wants to "push the boundaries and make people really take a look at what they’re wearing and what’s possible," bold is definitely a great way to describe Pilger's latest collection. Since the last time we spoke with Pilger, she's changed the direction of her work quite a bit. For example, she's chosen to move into the luxury market, thus tapping into a whole new audience.

But more importantly, Pilger has altered the focus of her collection. It's not enough to simply create staple pieces that people can wear through multiple seasons, as was her goal in the past. Now, she's revamped the process entirely.

"In terms of in which direction the collection has gone, it’s gone sustainable. I needed to find a deeper purpose than just designing." she says. "I wanted it to be something that’s good for the environment, and I really wanted to look at ways that the business could be as local as possible."