David Peck, a Houston-based fashion designer with Parisian fashion training and New York experience, has opened David Peck USA, the South's first full-scale fashion house.

Peck established the company in 2010 and last year moved its headquarters and showroom into a renovated a 6,000-square-foot former real estate office located in Houston's Upper Kirby district. The facility also houses all design, production and distribution.

"The majority of American fashion brands manufacture outside the United States," Peck said. "We want to change that, and I am confident with what we are doing we are on the right path. We believe that providing local employment not only guarantees higher quality control but also provides fair wages for an industry that is notorious for the contrary."

The company manufactures custom bridalwear as well as Peck's ready-to-wear line branded CrOp - short for "creative opportunities" - which incorporates organic, fair-trade and natural fibers and is printed using low-environmental-impact methods.

March/April 2013