The Los Angeles Fashion Magazine: Liberate Apparel 2012 Collection

Jackie King and Melanie Hunley both share a passion for improving the lives of others. A few years ago, they set out with a goal to help women liberate themselves from the bonds of poverty. Jackie and Melanie combined their love of fashion with helping others and co-founded Liberate Apparel. Their company not only employes women in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, but also provides these women with job training to learn how to make the items that Jackie and Melanie sketch themselves.

Within the past six months, these young ladies have developed a brand that gives back and helps support women in third world countries. Each item in the collection is handcrafted, many of them with organic or recycled materials. The clothing is made in the Dominican Republic while the jewelry is made in Haiti from materials such as cereal boxes and oil pans. All silk that is used is organic. Cereal boxes are striped into thin pieces and then rolled by hand into unique beads. Some of the necklaces are made with a combination of ceramic and the hand-rolled beads. Others contain a small pendant made form a flattened oil pan. Each necklace sold provides an income for and employs up to three women.

"It's fashion with the purpose

of Liberating women from

the bonds of poverty."

At the Fashion Destination Group's 2012 Summer Extravaganza Fashion show June 9th, Jackie and Melanie's designs lit up the runway. Each piece was part of Liberate Apparel's first collection. The designs were simplistic, yet timeless and elegant. The clothing was versatile and made for every women. Learning about the goal's of this company only made their designs that much more special and unique. These ladies have truly set out to do more than just make beautiful clothes; their business helps others provide for themselves and their families.