Meet Alante Baugh
Alante Baugh is a Chicago based Fashion Designer and Powerhouse, best known for his groundbreaking Beauty and The Beast concept, that incorporates soft feminine attributes to masculine pieces. His style consists of a modern gothic, embellished with studs, pearls, spikes, and diamonds. Baugh has been in the fashion industry for over ten years, and his hard work has allowed him to establish a respected name for himself.
Born in Chicago, IL - Baugh grew up in a toxic - aggressive environment. Although navigating through Chicago’s segregated streets was difficult, Baugh used this to fuel his fashion career and gain inspiration. The “roughness” of Chicago became a metaphor for his creative expression. He identified similarities of the hood with gothy spikes and studs, which resulted in him creating customized combat boots for himself and eventually selling over 50-pair boots for friends and clients throughout Chicago. The massive response from selling his customized boots prompted him to transition from dance and work as a costume designer for the Full Effect Theatrical Dance Company along aside by legendary creative director Blair Christian, well known for her work with Missy Elliot, Ciara, Pharell, and more.
Alante is an alumnus of the Illinois Institute of Arts Chicago, where he perfected his craft in sewing, embellishments, and tailoring. While studying fashion, he discovered a need within the space to focus on menswear, which was not an area of focus. Although menswear was not a style he was allowed to study, his fashion professor took him under his wing and taught him the necessities needed to create a well-tailored suit. During his senior year of college, Baugh participated in the Richard Driehaus Design for Fashion Excellence against a talented selection of students from the top fashion institutions. Alante debuted his first collection, “Modern Goth,” during the competition, and this opportunity landed him 1st Place and gave him the title of Top Student Designer in Chicago for 2016.
Focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the fashion industry, Alante spent most of his years wanting to change the idea around the men’s clothing department at shopping centers. “Growing up, I spent time shopping with my mother and grandmother - I always noticed that the male department was always stale and in the store’s back with low lighting. Shopping in the menswear section was never a fun, bright experience like shopping in the women’s department, which is why I plan to change the narrative for shopping centers and create a more inclusive environment for shoppers.” Alante’s Beauty and the Beast concept opts-out of gender identified fashion by mixing feminine and masculine aesthetics to bring a new approach to the fashion industry.
As an added benefit to winning The Illinois Institute of Art Spring Fashion Show, Alante was allowed to display his “Modern Goth” collection in the Neiman Marcus Men’s Wear department for 30 days as part of the 1st place prize. As Alante continued to gain traction with department stores in the Chicagoland area, he also continued to build his clientele by producing prom attire for women and men. He used his knowledge from working closely with his professor to incorporate prom wear for students of both genders.
Alante’s second collection, “Motorsport,” focused on continuing to change the narrative in fashion by creating unique pieces that pushed his Beauty and The Beast concept further. Each piece starts with a masculine base and embellished with feminine studs, spikes, and crystals. This collection gained the attention of key people in the fashion industry that resulted in Alante presenting in the AUC Agency Olympia Fashion show, hosted at the prestigious Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. The opportunity to attend Moorehouse College was always a massive dream of Alante’s, so given a chance to present and network with respected fashion gurus in Atlanta, it opened additional doors for Alante and his fashion career.
In response to the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic and to help aid those impacted, Baugh partnered with Love For The Chi, a campaign that supports the men and women risking their lives on the frontline by distributing reusable masks to the community. Alante teamed up with other fashion designers to handcraft over 150 filtered masks and donated them to essential workers at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, and other locations within the healthcare industry throughout Chicago.
Since his inception, Baugh has built lasting relationships with celebrities and fashion moguls, including Teyana Taylor, Serena Williams, etc. Baugh is currently creating short fashion films and will showcase his underwear and leather bag line. Due to the recent social injustices widely broadcasted across the world, Baugh is currently completing his new collection, highlighting the Black Lives Matter movement. The collection will showcase Black culture by imitating melanin’s nude tones to produce everyday menswear fashion pieces. Alante’s collections can be seen on his website, social media accounts, and in-person at his fashion studio set to open in 2021 in the Chicagoland area.
Alante Baugh specializes in precise top stitch sewing, embellishments, and incorporating spikes, diamonds, pearls, and studs into his pieces to change menswear’s perception by showing its importance asis women’s wear to the Fashion industry.