CHIARIstyle Lingerie Design Studio – Secrets to Her Amazing Success Revealed!

Tucked in the beating heart of San Fernando Valley is the freelance CHIARIstyle lingerie design studio – specializing in illustration – which offers wide range of services for manufacturers, designers, buyers, and creatives looking for design and trend inspiration, storyboards, color, illustrations, and CADs. Like Dorothy in the land of Oz, take a dive into her portfolio/website and you’ll spend many exciting hours in the magical world of her creation. Warning: it’s addictive!

Chari Coffey, artist, designer and owner of the Los Angeles CHIARIstyle lingerie design studio, generously reveals the secrets to her success in this exclusive Unhooked interview. Keep reading for Chari’s secrets to her success…

First, Chari, I want to say that I love your beautiful lingerie illustrations – and I’m very excited for our readers to read about you and the fascinating success story of CHIARIstyle lingerie design studio!

Chari: Paris, thank you for finding me. I love how you connect the intimate market with your online presence. It is a beautiful website.

It’s such a pleasure! You have a such an extensive portfolio of lingerie illustrations. Can you share a little bit how you got started?

Chari: Thanks, I put a lot of energy into my work. It may sound crazy, but I think any illustrator will tell you that their illustration talks, at least mine do. Sometimes they are very chatty about what they want from me.

My first fashion sketches were hand-drawn watercolors with tiny heads and long, lean bodies. I loved those illustrations; I learned a lot about creating fashion CADs by hand, but if there were any changes, the sketch had to be redone, so it was very time-consuming.

L is for loving Lingerie

C is for CHIARISTYLE!

That’s the old school method! How did you segue into computer graphics?

Chari: One of my freelance accounts offered me a full-time job as a senior designer running their design room.  The company was ahead of the curve using Adobe Illustrator for all their CAD design before anyone knew what Adobe was. It was exciting, but I knew nothing about computers or software. Fortunately, the company had a graphic designer working there who didn’t want to do my work. He was gifted, sarcastic, and a great teacher. So, I purchased a computer for my home office, and every day I would come to work early for my free illustrating classes. I went from hand sketching every day to computer sketches every night. It was a great lesson of change; Adobe Illustrator made fashion CAD, illustrating, and storyboards easy.

So how did that change your process for creating illustrations?

Chari: I went from hand sketching, cutting out CADs on color paper, and gluing sketches on cardboard stock to creating digital images. I could make changes fast instead of re-sketching the style repeatedly; this gave me the opportunity to work on a lot of different projects – especially when freelancing which I did a lot even when I had a full-time job – so I picked up more work because I was one of the few designers working in Illustrator. Also, I learned the platform through the eyes of a graphic designer, making me see the tools differently, I learned to create prints, screen-prints (for t-shirts), labels, tags, sales booklets, plus cad fashion storyboards for a broad range of fashion collections from denim to intimates. As a designer, knowing Illustrator moved my business in a new direction.

And when did you launch CHIARIstyle Design Studio? Was it gradual development or a big launch?

I created CHIARIstyle as a portfolio for my design work so I could move from a full-time job to freelance. I was lucky to find a website developer who introduced me to Squarespace, I love learning new things, and the platform was easy to absorb on my own. My first postcard was ‘No Wire Hangers’ which is crazy considering what’s happing in today’s political landscape. Thinking I should bring it back and turn it into a tee shirt even though it was initially a play on wire hangers in the dressing room.  I edited my portfolio and moved into Intimates, which was the right path to take.

Did you study go to art school for illustration? Where did you study? Or were you self-taught? 

Chari: I was born an illustrator. I don’t remember NOT having a pen or pencil in my hand. My father was a career Marine, and we moved a lot, so those drawings became my constant. I would sketch fashion illustrations dressed in outfits for hours from morning till bedtime. Working on my faces and hands as if it was going to take me somewhere fabulous.

In high school, I decided I wanted to be a fashion designer but had no idea how to achieve that goal; one day, I saw a fashion ad for a design school in Los Angeles. It was scary moving from a small desert town to Los Angeles. But I was determined; I stayed at the YWCA for a few months to make my mother happy. It was an amazing old historic house. I think it’s torn down now, but great memories still exist! I found myself there and even though FIDM was a tiny little space then, I learned a lot and received my first design job through the school – so it was the beginning of everything for me. 

Do you strictly work on the computer, or do you also create fine art (by hand)? 

Chari: I still sketch by hand for pleasure, but all my work is done on the computer now. 

What about the sparkly illustrations that move, are they videos?

Chari: Those are gifs, one of my favorites to create, but it takes a long time, and you have to figure out how many frames. So, I illustrate everything and then move it to photoshop. Photoshop has an animation tool where you can create gifs. It’s great. I looked at a lot of videos before I figured It out.

Do you also do all the backend work for your website?

Chari: I use Squarespace because they make it easy to use, and their templates are stress-free, so I can do whatever I want when trending out new concepts. 

Let’s talk about creating an illustration from scratch. What is that process for you? How do you start, what steps do you follow?

Chari: It depends on the Illustration. I save everything and, over the years, have learned to break down my sketches by the parts. So, if a client needs something immediately, I can get them what they need with quick changes by taking something from somewhere else. Sometimes I’ll sketch a concept by hand first and scan it into photoshop, especially if it is a new fashion illustration, silhouette, or body style. 

Chari: Every Illustration I create is broken down into groups and layers. For example, all my fashion illustrations are developed separately; faces, hands, and body parts are made individually and grouped together once I think the body line is complete. Technically, they are naked. I then take the body and lock it in a layer. Then I put the style line over the bodies. Then, all my girls are ready to be dressed for their fashion debut; sometimes, we fight about the trend, which may take a few hours or days to complete. Sometimes I’ll do the whole sketch and throw it out, but another illustration may take its place. If you look at the website, I use many of the same body lines. I’m a lazy illustrator. Too many layers clog the Illustration’s memory, so I like to keep the swatches and brushes to what I need, nothing more.

‘I’ is for illustrating Intimates

And how long does one piece take to create?

Chari: Some illustrations take a few hours because all the components are there, but if I start from scratch, it may take up to a week or longer, depending on what it is.

Everyone has their own special way of finding inspiration for a new work – how do you find yours? 

Chari: Most of my inspiration comes from designer influences, trend reports, travel, people watching, beauty trends…sometimes I research trend concepts 2 to 3 years in advance, so when I need to create an illustration, it can move forward quickly – so staying up to date on trends is crucial.

The intricate detailing of each garment looks quite technical! Did you have training as a fashion designer? 

Chari: I am a designer who happens to be an illustrator. I don’t think we are all that rare, but I do come across designers that don’t draw or draft their work. One of my first jobs was working at an import company where a patternmaker had to take my sketch and create a garment without conversation. I became very detailed because it took a long time to receive the sample, and we would have to drop the style if it came back with fit or sewing challenges. I love it when I send a sketch off to a factory and the patternmaker thanks me for the detail. I have lost a few trend jobs because my Illustration are too technical, but they are pieces of art to me. They need to be as close to perfect as I can make them because I imagine that someday, they will become an object of someone’s affection. 

Do you keep a notebook or sketchbook to write or sketch new ideas – or are you strictly a ‘scribble on napkins and envelopes’ type of artist?

Chari: I have way too many sketchbooks everywhere!

Have you ever created your own lingerie line? 

Chari: I was fortunate to have a lingerie line for a few years. CHIARI started with the backing from one of my accounts. Unfortunately, my very first lingerie showing in Los Angeles was the week the city went on strike. That was very disheartening, but I made some great contacts that week and kept it going for a few years till the economy changed. I am incredibly proud of the vintage silk collection and easy cotton pieces, but my packaged set of skin tone Lazer Cut intimates kept things going for a while – my hope was that I could move the concept into a range of skin tones for all the colors of the human rainbow – sadly, it failed. Sometimes you can be too early. It’s exciting to see that other intimate brands have caught the skin tone trend, and we can now find intimate basics for every person of color. I still have one of everything in the studio, so the brand still lingers in my imagination.  

Can you tell us what a workday looks like for you? Are you very organized and self-disciplined?

Chari: Every day is different: most days start with checking emails, analytics, and website updates. Then I focus on any work projects. I also like to trend 2-3 concepts on the website and blog, so there is always newness. Every sketch, Illustration, and muse takes you somewhere. I have way too many concepts, but I love that you can find new fashion sparks if you take the time to click around, so once a week, I try to update the flow of the website. If I’m designing something that takes workbooks with fabrics and trims, I break that all down so it can be digitally sent in whatever format the client wants.​

With so many details and components to each illustration, how do you keep track of everything?

Chari: I have learned to back up everything with files for all digital boards and sketches. Laces, trims, fabrics, and brushes are also stored on the computer for easy access. Sometimes I’ll have lace patterns that need to be scanned or prints to create for storyboards, so I’ll focus on that. And then there are the Dressing Rooms, which take forever because I’m trying to tell a story with every detail in the room. Next year I plan on bringing back workbooks, but that is still in the ‘thinking-about-it’ mode. 

‘D’ is for Design Studio

How do you get your gigs – primarily through your website or are you represented by an agent? 

Chari: Almost all my business comes through the website; social media helps, but I’m not very good at it. 

Can you mention a little bit about the business side of CHIARIstyle lingerie design? How do learn how much to quote for your illustration projects?

Chari: Everyone is different. I have a basic hourly rate, but I usually let the client tell me their needs. For example, some clients want design sketches or CAD workbooks that go to factories with collections – the cost depends on the style and size of the collection. I do give a few things away, especially if it’s a start-up and I have what they need in the computer – that’s rare, but it does happen if I’m in a good mood. I love surprises!

What did you want to be when you grew up? Any dreams of becoming a ballerina or scientist – or did you always wanted to be an artist? 

Chari: Growing up in the military can be a lonely environment; I drew all day when I wasn’t going to school – and in school, art class was where I was the happiest. I can’t think of a time when I wasn’t sketching faces or practicing hand movements. I still hand-sketch a few of the old girls and dress them up in vintage silks ball gowns for entertainment. 

What were your very first projects when you first started out? Any exciting or outrageous stories about how you nailed your first client – such as illustrating a tablecloth at a restaurant to show your mad skills? 

Chari: I have too many stories to tell, but my very first job was while I was still taking design classes at FIDM. I had just received a D on a sketching project, and the final was coming up. I decided not to sketch my last sketch in the manner the teacher was showcasing and do it the way I had taught myself. In the next class, she came in and announced that she was playing tennis with a manufacturer, and he looked at all the class sketches and wanted to offer one of the students an assistant design position. I was not too fond of that job! The designer there told me I would never find a career that gave me what I wanted, travel. She was so wrong about that, but she did teach me to respect anyone working with me and never to crush their dreams.

So, your first job out of college was working as a designer?

Chari: Yes! In the final year of school, they held a design contest, and I won a full-time design job with a company where the owner took me under his instruction, and I learned more than any school could have taught me. Every garment had to be draped, and I had to make my own patterns. The sketch and the garment clicked. I started to see the pattern pieces in my head. He taught me how to relate to fabrics and trims and that the outcome was a sale, not just a pretty picture. I was accountable for my designs from the first drape. He sent me on my first trip to New York alone to buy fabric, telling me he didn’t want to see me crying when he arrived the following week. Years later, I ran into him at the California Mart, and he smiled, reminding me that he made me tough. I had to agree; he taught me everything I needed to survive the fashion ups and downs.

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Illustration credits @CHIARIstyle – all rights reserved.

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