- Meet Mark Roscoe of Mark Roscoe Design April 10, 2018
Meet Mark Roscoe of Mark Roscoe Design
Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Roscoe.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I have been involved in the fashion industry for the past 36 years. I started as a model and SAG/AFTRA actor in Chicago in 1982 and later co-owned an extra’s casting agency for approximately 8 years while I continued to model.
Full Story - Portage Attorney Juggles Legal Practice with Life on the Red Carpet May 31, 2017
Portage Attorney Juggles Legal Practice with Life on the Red Carpet
Olivia Covington | The Indiana Lawyer
Mark Roscoe remembers the scene clearly: His mother, a plus-sized woman, repeatedly coming home from the store empty-handed and in tears after failing, once again, to find clothes that both fit her body type and were fashionable.
Full Story - 10 Questions: Indiana Family Law Attorney has a Second Career in High Fashion May 1, 2017
10 Questions: Indiana Family Law Attorney has a Second Career in High Fashion
By Jenny B. Davis | ABA Journal
Mark Roscoe taught himself to sew to help out his mother.
If there were an official list for show business success, it would be topped with these two must-haves: an elegant evening gown and a good divorce attorney. Fortunately for starlets, singers and anyone else seeking both glamour and conscious uncoupling, there’s Mark Roscoe.
Full Story - SNEAK PEEK – EMMY AWARD WINNING DESIGNER Mark Roscoe September 17, 2016
SNEAK PEEK – EMMY AWARD WINNING DESIGNER Mark Roscoe
See Video - One-of-a-kind Pieces that Evoke a Feeling of Timeless Elegance, Grace and Style August 30, 2016
One-of-a-kind Pieces that Evoke a Feeling of Timeless Elegance, Grace and Style
Chicago area designer Mark Roscoe has been actively involved in the fashion industry for the past 30 years. Recognizing a market for distinctive, one-of-a-kind pieces that evoke a feeling of timeless elegance, grace and style, Mark Roscoe has made a name for himself in the fashion world.
Full Story - Valpo Designer Mark Roscoe Caters to a Global Clientele May 16, 2016
Valpo Designer Mark Roscoe Caters to a Global Clientele
Photography by Levi Arnold
Mark Loehrke
New York. Paris. Milan. Valparaiso?
It may seem a stretch to include a sleepy Porter County burg among a list of global fashion capitals, but it’s certainly no stranger than a family law attorney and mediator who also happens to be an in-demand custom fashion designer for high-end and celebrity clients all over the world.
Full Story - A Valpo Life in the Spotlight: Mark Roscoe March 16, 2016
A Valpo Life in the Spotlight: Mark Roscoe
By Samantha Lee Moore | Valpolife.com
This week’s Life in the Spotlight is a man making a difference not only through his practice of law but also in the fashion industry. While the two professions might seem a bit of an odd combination, Mark Roscoe manages to perform both in a way which allows him to give back to the community and to others…
Full Story - Attorney Turned Fashion Designer Uses Talents to Help Others December 2, 2015
- Mark Roscoe Evening Gowns Bring Couture to the Black Tie Event October 19, 2015
Mark Roscoe Evening Gowns Bring Couture to the Black Tie Event
NWITimes.com | Photography by Brandi Lee
Black tie season is upon us, and you’re looking to try something new. The following couture gowns—designed and crafted by Valparaiso’s own Mark Roscoe—will add glamour, beauty and sparkle to your evening gown collection. Click through the photos above to view the breathtaking gowns.
Full Story - Mark Roscoe Presents Keegan Michael Key’s Fitting Sessions EMMY AWARDS 2015 September 18, 2015
- The Take-Away: Mark Roscoe January 31, 2015
The Take-Away: Mark Roscoe
Ally Marotti | Crain’s Chicago Business
Many people detox from the stress of the office through exercise or a juice cleanse. Mark Roscoe, a family and criminal lawyer by day, finds escape in designing high-end, one-of-a-kind couture dresses and neckties (he once designed a tie for William Shatner).
Full Story - Mark Roscoe – Changing the World One Gown at a Time January 15, 2014
Mark Roscoe – Changing the World One Gown at a Time
Photo by Chuck Fedalizo
By Gabriela Mungarro | Splash Magazines
Making a statement without uttering a word is almost counterculture in today’s social media advertising and activist world. Yet fashion designer Mark Roscoe uses this as his personal statement in his entire collection of Haute Couture, one-of-a-kind creations.
Full Story - Lifestyle with Kadidid October 26, 2013
Lifestyle with Kadidid
An exclusive interview with Chicago Fashion Designer, Mark Roscoe, during New York Fashion Week (September 2013).
See Video - ‘A Cause, Not Just a Fashion Show’ for Diabetes Research June 7, 2013
- Style Chicago, Mark Roscoe: Fall 2013 Collection May 7, 2013
- Chicago Racked, Ten Designers Strut Fall 2013 at The Art of Fashion April 22, 2013
- Style Chicago, The Art of Fashion April 7, 2013
- Splash Magazines, Wow! Creations 2013 Academy Award Gifting Suite – The Harris Brothers Win Again for Oscar Style February 16, 2013
- Beauty World News, Elsa’s Curves Joins Forces with Mark Roscoe to showcase Couture Line for the Oscars Gifting Lounge February 7, 2013
- Chicago Tribune, Celebrities December 10, 2012
- Watch 312, Candid Candace Chicago, Chicago Bids Farewell to Steve Starr at Tribute Party December 7, 2012
- Chi Town Star Connections, PAWS Chicago Does It With Style October 14, 2012
- The Glamorous Life Show October 7, 2012
- Now You Know Events, Behind the Scenes: Next Fashion Chicago October 1, 2012
- Watch 312, Candid Candace Chicago, NEXT Fashion Chicago Designers Strut for PAWS October 1, 2012
- Aviator’s Night for Sight September 1, 2011
- Watch 312, Candid Candace Chicago, Festa Italiana Chicago 2012 August 1, 2011
- Coastal Couture March 1, 2011
Coastal Couture
By Krysten Beck, as published in theBeachCoast.com, online lifestyle magazine.
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Along with his couture designs, Roscoe also produces a line of men’s neckwear. These bold, statement pieces are available for purchase at David’s Men’s Clothier in Valparaiso, IN.
Showing up to an event in the same dress as another attendee is considered by many as a fashion crisis. But, with so many clothing stores selling the same lines, how does a Beach Coaster stand out among all the commercial fashion?Mark Roscoe has the answer – go couture.
“When people ask how I became a fashion designer, I always tell the same story,” Roscoe said. “During the time I spent as a runway model in college, I would see the clothing and think ‘hey, I can do this’ and I began designing by sketching a dress on a napkin for a friend in need.”
Ever since that first napkin sketch, Valparaiso, Indiana’s own fashion designer has been creating one-of-a-kind gowns and neckties at his Beach Coast studio.
“Beach Coasters wear nice clothes, go to events, have good taste, and some have the budgets to allow a couture gown in their wardrobe. When these women go to certain events, they don’t want someone else showing up in the same gown, or worse, looking better in it than they do,” Roscoe said.
A Practicing Designer and Lawyer
Roscoe has made a splash on the Beach Coast as a designer for the last ten years, but he has also been practicing family law for almost three decades in Valparaiso. When he’s not practicing, he’s sketching, meeting with clients and creating unique gowns and neckties.“Having my own private practice for the last 10 years leaves more time for scheduling and design time,” Roscoe said. “My studio is in my home and when I can’t sleep, I can design – I can really put design time in when I get inspired.”
A Tie Changes Everything
In addition to designing women’s gowns, Roscoe has also built a reputation for designing men’s neckties.“For men, a suit is a suit. You have brown, black, blue and gray and not much more. Suiting men is all about the accessories: shirts, cuff links, ties – and selecting and wearing the right tie can change the whole look,” Roscoe said.
Roscoe’s ties are made from silks and 100 percent woven fabrics. Weaving the silks and other fibers adds texture, said Roscoe, and reflects light in different ways making the fabrics he uses look rich and interesting.
The gowns and neckties are all made from fabrics Roscoe handpicks as he travels internationally. Roscoe travels to India, Egypt, Thailand, Italy and other countries to search for fabrics, while also dealing locally through a European supplier to get unique fabrics for his designs.
“Right now I only sell my ties in a few boutiques, but my design company and I have big plans for 2012 including an expansion to further the Mark Roscoe brand all around the world,” Roscoe said.
Stay tuned to Mark Roscoe Designs to see what unfolds in the next year.
Mark Roscoe Designs
www.markroscoedesign.com
604 Washington Street
Valparaiso, IN 46383
(219) 465-0811 phone
(219) 763-0519 fax
markroscoe@markroscoedesign.comKrysten Beck is Beach Coast born and raised and recently moved back to the area after graduating from Indiana University with a degree in Journalism. Krysten has written for the Indiana Daily Student and the Indiana University Arbutus Yearbook while also contributing to a handful of blogs.
- Valparaiso’s Valentino April 1, 2008
Valparaiso’s Valentino
As published in LAKE MAGAZINE, Resort Lifestyle On Lake Michigan
Text by Barbara Rolek
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Some people stash bowling balls, tennis rackets and, well, coats in their hall closets.
Not Mark Roscoe.
The 49-year-old attorney uses his to horde shimmering silks, diaphanous chiffons and opulent brocades acquired on trips to the Far East and Europe.
That shouldn’t be surprising, though. Roscoe is also an haute-couture designer. After modeling and acting in Chicago for 20 years, he turned his talents to designing men’s ties in 2004. But creating women’s fashions began well before that.
“I hated seeing my plus-size, vertically challenged mother disappointed after unsuccessful shopping trips, so I started sewing for her,” says Roscoe, who is self-taught and uses no patterns.
His After-Five wear concept – comfortable, classic garments designed to each client’s preference – was born out of a dress hastily sketched on a napkin for a friend who couldn’t find anything to wear for a special event.
Roscoe’s face takes on the look of a visionary when he explains his philosophy.
“I’ve always been a fan or Armani, Valentino and Cassini, and I wanted to bring back that simple elegance and design wearable fashions that make a statement without uttering a word,” he says.
Roscoe’s hands fly over his work as he shows off embellishments like hand beading on both the right and wrong sides of the fabric.“Just in case the wind flips over the edge of a stole, I want it to look good on both sides,” Roscoe says. “It’s all about the artistry for me.”
This meticulous attention to detail extends to fabric patterns that match on dart and seam lines, French seams, rolled hems, cloth buttons, hand-dying, foundations in low-cut dresses, and no break in the continuity of a scallop detail, for example. “We never repeat a fabric or design. When a woman walks out of my Valparaiso studio, she’s walking out with a garment no one else in the world has,” Roscoe says.
Susan Schiller, who has been sewing since she was 8, is part of the team at Mark Roscoe Design and regularly hand sews up to 2,000 beads on a garment without a thimble, while William Potts serves as color consultant to Roscoe, who is colorblind.
“Women who come to Mark Roscoe Design are looking for an attitude, the entire package, so we can create accessories like handbags, stoles and jewelry and suggest shoes, hair and makeup,” Roscoe says.
But Roscoe is choosy. He says he’s got to like the client before he’ll work with her.
“No matter how beautiful my creation is, a person’s negative attitude can spoil it. It’s very personal, what we do. It’s an intimate process,” he says.Just ask Jill Schrage of Valparaiso, who owns two Mark Roscoe creations. “I first saw Mark’s work on a friend at her daughter’s wedding and immediately called him to design a dress for me for my own daughter’s wedding,” Schrage says.
The entire process takes about six weeks, she says. First there was a meeting with Roscoe and Schiller to talk about the event and help the team to get a sense of Schrage’s personality, style and body type.
“That first night Mark explained everything step by step. At our next meeting, I was shown a drawing of the prospective gown, my measurements were taken and fabrics were discussed,” Schrage says. The design team also took a trip to Chicago so Schrage could find the exact periwinkle color she wanted for the dress. Roscoe was then able to pick the fabric.
A series of muslin fittings comes next. One time it might be the skirt panels, the next time the bodice. Once the fit is perfect, the muslin pieces are taken apart and used as patterns to cut the fabric. Then the fitting of the actual garment begins.
“Mark is a perfectionist and his dresses reflect that. He’s northwest Indiana’s best-kept secret,” says Schrage.
But not too secret, apparently. Roscoe was invited to submit his portfolio to Bravo TV’s “Project Runway,” but he declined.
“That would take about a six-month commitment and I just can’t get away from my law practice (with offices in Portage, Ind.) for that long, nor would I want to,” he says.
His women’s wear ranges from $1,500 to $4,500 and are created by appointment only.
- Chicago Collective show February 3, 2008
Chicago Collective show, Merchandise Mart, Booth #8-1038
Call 219-465-0811 or email Mark Roscoe at markroscoe@markroscoedesign.com to schedule your appointment to view our exquisite neckwear.
- TIE STORY July 1, 2004
Tie Story
As published in LAKE MAGAZINE, Resort Lifestyle On Lake Michigan
Late Summer 2004, South SHORE STYLE
Text by JEFF KUMOREK
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A funny thing happened when I went to David’s Men’s Clothier in Valparaiso to interview Mark Roscoe about his exciting ties. Walking into the store at the appointed time, I observed Mark arranging his ties and I introduced myself. Mark was impeccably dressed and looks like some successful trial lawyers I know. I also thought, “This guy is so attractive he could be a fashion model.” It turns out he’s both.
Mark has been involved in the fashion industry in Chicago for 20 years as a model and an actor. He has worked for the Ford Agency as well as the Shirley Hamilton Agency. He is also a practicing attorney. Five years ago, Mark started designing haute couture fashion for Chicago women when he saw a need in the market. “I can’t tell you how many times a client complained to me that she went to a social event and saw the same dress on someone else.” Mark’s female clients now have the opportunity to have something totally unique that fits perfectly.
There is a lot of work in the process. Mark explains that he discusses the event with the client, what she has in mind, and fabric selection. Talking through the outfit takes six weeks and involves about six fittings. Without getting too technical, Mark says the dress is made in muslin before the first fitting, then it’s cut in the fabric for more fittings until the dress is complete. Mark has a portfolio of his designs to help visualize a concept. He is an admitted traditionalist who favors a classic style “that might be worn by Audrey Hepburn,” he says. Mark’s couture dresses cost $1500 to $4500.
By now, even I’m starting to get confused. This is a tie story set in a men’s clothing store, and we’re talking couture fashion. But I am leading somewhere, because it turns out Mark was making a dress for a female client who asked him if he could make something for her husband to match her gown. Mark says his tie business was based on guilt. The women “may feel better about the price of the dress if they buy something for their husbands.”
Mark has been selling ties at David’s since January of this year. David Shurr has sold 50 ties himself. Mark is obsessed with the quality of production. Every tie is handmade by either himself or his assistant, Susan Schiller, in their Valparaiso studio; nothing is outsourced. It takes six hours to complete one tie. Sometimes customers require an extra long tie, and they can be custom fit. Another advantage is that he uses fabrics from all over, including Italy, France, India, and Asia. One of Mark’s personal favorites is a silk from Thailand. Mark buys only enough fabric to make two or three ties, each outfitted with a button slide. You fasten the tie to the shirt, but it slides as you move, maintaining a perfect appearance.
Would he ever consider adding suits or shirts to his line? “Other people do that well, and I don’t want to over-extend myself so that the quality suffers in the dress or tie line,” he says. Mark likes making ties because ties make a strong statement without uttering a word. And ties have great versatility; you can wear one with any outfit.
I showed David Shurr a Mark Roscoe tie I particularly liked and was thinking of buying. David suggested I consult with Mark about the right tie for me, since he was the expert. When Mark returned, I asked for his advice. He looked at me, pondered the 20 ties on the table, and picked the same one I had. I was ecstatic. Mark says he loves the tie, and it’s so new he hadn’t had time to put a label on it. As I write this, I am eagerly awaiting the return of the labeled tie so that I can wear it to a party at Millennium Park in Chicago.
Mark Roscoe sells ties for $135, and they can only be purchased at David’s Men’s Clothier, 113 Lincolnway, Valparaiso, IN. Mark’s e-mail is markroscoe@markroscoedesign.com.