ART IN THE FAMILY MEET THE FERRONS
When David Ferron went for a walk with his mom, Ann, in 2017, his life was at a crossroads. He had recently lost his job as a fashion designer at a major label in New York, and he was unsure of the next steps.
Then he saw the "For Lease" sign on the Unionville Saddle Shop building in East Marlborough, and he wondered if it was time to come back to Chester County.
He left originally to go to Parsons School of Design in New York, after graduating from Unionville High School in 2007. At Parsons, he would end up winning the Designer of the Year for Womenswear and was asked to speak at graduation. Although such a win should have put him on the fast track to a designer job, it was 2011, and the country was in the middle of a recession. He freelanced a bit at labels like Ann Taylor and eventually worked for houses like Benaz Serrafour and Bibhu Mohapatra, gaining experience and honing his skills in designing eveningwear, managing the sample room, and ordering materials. He eventually landed at Tomas Maier in 2015,
and he started designing luxury leisure wear for both men and women.
Growing up in Chadds Ford, David was surrounded by art. He went to Chadds Ford Elementary School, and he would often accompany his mom, Ann, an art teacher at Patton Middle School, to class trips at the Brandywine Art Museum. Plus, his grandfather, Howard Curtis, was an art teacher as well, and he often encouraged David and his brother, Chris, to explore and create. David remembers even building his own bonfires, unsupervised, at a young age.
David's dad, Dave Sr., is a carpenter, and although not officially in the "art business," both father and son agree that drafting a pattern is similar to carpentry in that it is about how things meticulously fit together.
Plus, that carpentry came in handy when David Jr. decided to make the leap and lease the space in Unionville: Dad did the carpentry work to make it into the beautiful design studio it is today.
But why fashion design? When David was on the football team at Unionville High School, a shoulder injury kept him on the sidelines for part of his junior and senior year seasons.
Instead of just sitting there, he started to doodle. And those doodles became fashion sketches. He ended up putting together a collection for the Unionville High School Pre-prom Fashion Show and has been designing ever since.
David Sr. says his son has "never ceased to amaze me at everything he's done. I stopped doubting him when he was four." David credits his parents and extended family with not only never telling him that he couldn't pursue fashion design, but for actually encouraging it. Fashion design is a passion that he has been pursuing now for his entire adult life.
So, fast forward to 2017 and that walk in East Marlborough. David could either go back to New York and look for a job at another design house, or he could open his own shop and create designs for the women of Chester County.
And that is how "David Ferron"-the design studio-was born. His niche is "Mother of" (the bride and the groom), and he takes pride in the fact that, unlike off-the-rack dresses that are mass-produced and terrible for the environment, his creations are unique pieces that tell a story. His goal is to have the women who enter his studio feel heard and validated, and he even likens it to therapy.
Women are used to being body shamed and having their size reduced to a number, and that is not what David wants his designs to reflect, or the experience he wants his clients to have. Instead, he prefers to not even mention sizes. He wants to hear what his client's goals are, and he spends a lot of time listening to what they want, to give them back that sense of "self" and control that often feels lost when you go to the mall and buy off the rack. Our bodies are all unique, and David wants to celebrate that. So, he works with just one client at a time, does live sketching, and designs the dress around the woman. And, three months later, he has a piece that reflects his client's story.
Karen Krigstein, a client of David's, says that she "had the best experience working with David on my mother-of-the-groom dress. He listened to my vision, worked his magic and made me a dress that surpassed all of my expectations." Apparently, there are a lot of women in Chester County who want to feel seen and heard because David has been selected as one of the designers to show at the 10th Philly Fashion Week, happening February 20th to 24th. David will be presenting his runway collection on Saturday, February 24th at 7 pm at the Live! Casino and Hotel in Philadelphia.
(See information about attending the event on the Calendar on page 10).
When he is not designing and fitting the women of Chester County with his pieces, David and his family love to visit local establishments such as The Whip, Four Dogs Tavern, and Longwood Gardens. His brother, Chris, who recently moved to Colorado, was in the band Marlborough Road, named for the street
Poppy Waterfall Dress
Client, Karen Krigstein, in her David Ferron design
The designs David made in high school
where the boys grew up, and played often at Kennett Brewing Company.
Chris recently released his first full-length album called "Different Kinds" through West Chester's Tribe Sound Records, and he continues to work on his music from Denver.
Being "home" suits David, and the Ferrons even had an entry in the Chadds Ford Pumpkin Carve this year against his friend, Caitlin Fish, and her family.
He has also recently expanded into the education space, teaching fashion illustration from the studio in East Marborough. Offering classes to both teenagers and adults, he is passionate about encouraging others to explore their creativity in the way that his family did for both him and Chris. And, things are moving quickly for him personally as well, as he is engaged to be married to fiancé Michael Nolan in Maine this summer. And, yes, he is designing Ann's
"Mother of the Groom" dress.
Photo by Stacey Zarro
