Portfolio
Hi !
Add your text here.
Who's JMK?
Hello my name is Joyce Marie Kraus.
I’m a fashion designer with a love for creativity and discovering what’s new.
I moved to Paris early in my career with the dream of working with an innovative fashion designer as an intern. When I quit my fashion job in New York I was immediately asked by my boss if I would "keep my eyes open for what was new in the Paris stores and send back samples?” I said "sure why not" as I knew my budget only allowed me to stay in Paris for one year.
What started out as one small job developed into many continuous clients over several decades and the shopping expanded to all of Europe. And to top it off, I got the internship in Paris and went on to design and manufacture my own clothing line for 12 years.
Joyce Marie’s Story
It was no surprise to anyone who knew Joyce Marie Kraus growing up in the Midwest that she would end up in the fashion world. Sewing and design were handed down from her grandmother, who was a professional couturiere in the early 1900’s. Her creativity and style were passed down to Joyce Marie’s mother, who taught her to sew before she was 10. Soon Joyce Marie was sewing her own designs, and making her own patterns. At 16 she discovered her destiny when she saw her first live fashion show while visiting Stephens College in Columbia, MO. Joyce Marie went on to study fashion design at Stephens and at 19 bought a one way ticket to New York City to realize her dream of a career as a fashion designer.
​
Once settled in New York City, she spent her first years working on the design teams for such iconic junior companies as His for Her, Bobbie Brooks, Tommy Hilfiger and Eber San Francisco. It was here that she learned all about trend forecasting services and saw the suitcases of clothing samples the head designers brought back from their European shopping trips. Realizing that American fashion was being driven by the creativity of the Europeans, Joyce Marie knew that somehow she had to be part of that.
​
Leaving a designer position in New York, Joyce Marie packed up and moved to Paris for a fresh start. She set her mind on learning to speak French and knocked on the doors of big fashion houses. After six months of persistence she landed a job with Daniel Hechter. She then went on to work with Jean-Remy Daumas, one of the leading and most creative Parisian designers of the 80’s.
While living in Paris, Joyce Marie quickly realized a significant void between the Americans’ semi annual shopping trips and the steady stream of new merchandise in the Parisian stores. Having trouble obtaining working papers to legally stay in France, Joyce Marie started her own trend service business as a way to remain in Paris. She started sending photos and samples to her clients back in the states every month or every week! This formula quickly took off and a very successful business was started. Soon many established trend forecasters were adding photo packs to their services, which had traditionally been books of black and white sketches. Needless to say, this business model helped lay the foundation for contemporary trend services.
Simultaneously in 1993 after many years of success as a trend consultant, Joyce Marie followed another dream and started her own clothing line under her name. Not wanting to follow the same trends she was reporting on, Joyce Marie created many of her own prints and fabrics, staying truly original. She was also greatly inspired by vintage clothing and old Hollywood movies. This did not go unnoticed for in 1995 she was given a "Nouveau Talent" award by the French Federation de Pret-a-Porter. Additionally she was named in France's "Journal de Textile" as one of the top five designers to create the "Second Skin, Nude" movement that was sweeping the mid-90's. The other designers credited were Jean-Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, Martin Margiela and Wolford. Joyce Marie's line was carried by Henri Bendel in NYC, Victories and Galeries Lafayette in Paris, Harrods in London to name a few.
In the late 90's Joyce Marie moved her company back to New York as the US contempoary market was very strong. She introduced a second line of better tops and T-shirts, Made in France. The label was Glamour Toujours after her own style philosophy: "Always a little dressed up even when dressed down". The line found it's niche in the better contempary market, eventually adding skirts and dresses. The Glamour Toujours line was sold in hundreds of specialty stores throughout America. Joyce Marie accredits the success of her 10-year run with Glamour Toujours to her constant European shopping associated with her continuing trend service business.
​