Chelsey Carter-Sanders moves through her Chicago studio with the quiet confidence of someone who knows exactly what she’s building. More than clothes, she’s crafting armor—emotional, cultural, unapologetically personal—with conversation stitched into every seam.
Since launching her unisex label Alex Carter in 2015, she’s become a quiet disruptor in the fashion world—lacing Black legacy, streetwear edge and reimagined artistry into bold, genderless silhouettes. Her early works turned heads for their fearless reinvention of trench coats and denim. Vintage finds, sharply tailored into statements.
This September, the 36-year-old designer introduces a mini capsule of fresh designs, all built around an enduring staple: the trench coat. Each reconfigured to reflect her point of view.
The collection is “intentional, unpredictable and deeply felt,” she says. “A study of perception—a layered reflection of how I see the world and choose to show up in it.”
She built her brand to create everyday wear for not-so-everyday people. For fashion risk-takers and statement-makers who stand firm in who they are. The new collection is no exception, fusing pared-down aesthetics with daring design.
“If you're buying with me, you want to standout,” she says. “Just a little bit, not like crazy.” Adding, “I want them to feel empowered and see themselves in this brand."
Every item is a singular expression, designed to be worn. Designed to engage. From signature reworked trenches to revived denim, Carter-Sanders threads story into structure. Alex Carter isn’t just a brand—it’s a living narrative.
“I create each piece to be a conversation starter,” she explains. “I layer in narrative, story development and clear understanding of my artistic point of view.”
Wearing her designs isn’t about fashion for fashion’s sake—it’s about stepping into a story that credits your confidence, your culture and your voice.
“I want them to feel seen, but not just in a stylistic way,” Carter-Sanders says. “I want them to feel proud when they purchase and wear a piece from Alex Carter.”
Fabric Becomes Voice
At the heart of this capsule is the “Tronsie,” a trench coat–onesie hybrid that graces our cover. It’s bold, but familiar territory. Not just a garment, but a thesis. A silhouette of contradictions: structure and softness, nostalgia and future.
“It’s transformation in motion,” she says. “That’s how I think of fashion. It’s how I think of myself.”
Also in the collection: the “Mocktail Dress,” a clever riff on the cocktail dress. Gone are the rules. Fluid lines replace rigidity; sharp tailoring takes center stage. It’s flirty yet grounded, feminine, unbothered by gender.
“The dress has this extremely intricate, edgy pleating,” she explains. “Then it drapes, then it gets big, then it gets long, then it gets short, then it gets long again. You know, scales and variations to the way in which I think all art is consumed.”
The third design photographed: “Sleevie Nicks Trousers.” Languid pants made from vintage trench coats, touched with Stevie Nicks flair. The name is playful, the craftsmanship exacting. Hand-cut, each pair honors the past while pushing toward a more inclusive sartorial future.
These aren’t just clever designs—they’re part of a layered practice of transformation, personal and cultural. Through Alex Carter, the artist has carved space where style and identity meet.
“Everything I do is rooted in storytelling,” she says. “My work is my way of preserving legacy—of honoring where I come from and where I’m going.”
That message pulses throughout her collections, each rooted in purpose. Fashion, she says, is what catches the eye. But it’s also what tends to go unseen. This capsule “is centered around the void of it not existing in the world.”
“Each piece invites you to pause, look, and then look again,” she continues. “Because beauty isn't always loud. It sometimes lingers in the shadows of texture and motion and silhouette and shape.”
Heritage in Every Hem
Raised by her grandmother Bennie Mills, who she affectionately calls Nana, Carter-Sanders is a native to St. Louis, and carries echoes of its rhythm, resilience and tension in her work. It was from Nana that she learned the art of thrifting—spotting scraps and envisioning masterpieces. Her aunt, Vickie Danely, taught her how to sew and nurtured her creative mind.
In their presence, Carter-Sanders first understood the emotional architecture of clothing—not just how it was made, but what it could mean.
“My aunt had a sewing background and was incredibly creative,” she shares. “She taught me the fundamentals of sewing.”
In 2006, the 17-year-old moved to Chicago to attend the School of the Art Institute, where her vision crystallized. There, her philosophy—rooted in matriarchal strength and creative inheritance—became more deeply woven into the fabric of every Alex Carter piece.
“I love trench coats,” she says, “because they remind me of my grandmother. She used to have so many of them. They are very transformative.”
In Chicago, before launching her brand, Carter-Sanders spent nearly a decade waiting tables—a role she credits with sharpening her approach to business. The job became unexpected training ground for entrepreneurship.
“I learned the rhythm of customer service, how to read a room, multitask and deliver an elevator pitch in under a minute,” she says. “You had to captivate strangers, speak to the magnitude of experience, and be fully present without overwhelming.”
It was her last job—and one that continues to echo in her work.
The city’s Black creative community has shaped her aesthetic, fueling her ambition—and she returns the favor through mentorship and activism. Her commitment is clear as she tries to uplift local talent, invite representation and create visibility where it’s often lacking.
She mentors young creatives through SocialWorks—a youth empowerment nonprofit founded by Chance the Rapper—where she’s been tapped the last couple of years by Executive Director Essence Smith to lead workshops at their summer camp.
Carter-Sanders and Smith also co-founded BWAE (Black Women Are Essential) in May 2020, using fashion to spotlight the pandemic’s disproportionate toll on Black women. The brand-turned-movement champions solidarity, empowerment and visibility.
More Than a Brand
Alex Carter may nod to trends, but it never chases them.
“I want to create something that outlives trends,” Carter-Sanders explains. “Something that feels like truth.”
Her designs begin not with sketches, but with feelings—a memory, an absence, a question. Often sparked by what’s missing.
“Things I didn’t see growing up,” she says. “Things I still don’t see.”
Out of those voids comes vision. Her garments whisper, rather than shout. Yet their power is unmistakable—born of clarity and refusal to compromise.
In 2019, Carter-Sanders broke out on “Project Runway” Season 18 with a tribute jacket honoring her grandmothers. Winning that (and another) challenge fueled momentum, leading to high-profile collaborations with artists like SZA and Erykah Badu.
Her work has earned attention from magazines and museums, artists and everyday wearers seeking depth. But recognition hasn’t swayed her. Her collections remain small. Intentional. Guided by values, not algorithms. Sustainable with a soul.
Upcycling isn’t a trend—it’s her principle. She does so to reduce waste, yes. But also to honor lineage.
“There’s history in the fabric,” she says. “Somebody wore this. Somebody lived in it. I want to honor that and make it into something new.”
September’s capsule is the most recent articulation of this ethos. The trench coat becomes a site of creative excavation. She doesn’t discard tradition—she listens, dialogues with it, then answers in fabric and thread.
Each piece begins as a feeling but evolves into something more layered—speaking in allegory for storms weathered, identities shaped, transitions lived. They’re designed for the in-between: past and future, fluid and fixed. In Carter-Sanders’ hands, fashion becomes a mirror. Not of expectation. But of truth.
That same meticulous energy fueled one of her most ambitious undertakings: patterning, cutting and sewing custom honorarium jackets for 25 of the top WNBA players.
“We had almost a week to make all of these jackets so they could ship in time for the ceremony,” she recalls. The results? Every single one fit perfectly. It was a feat of speed, grace and collaboration—proof that Carter-Sanders doesn’t just design with intention, but executes with precision.
Even her label’s name, Alex Carter, is a study in nuance: part homage, part alter ego. It gives her room to explore, blur lines and expand the narrative of Black fashion and identity.
It’s not fast fashion or trend-obsessed. It’s deliberate, soulful and fearless. It honors those who came before—and dares to imagine those yet to come. It asks us to move differently. To dress with meaning.
For Carter-Sanders, that’s the goal.
“I not only want people to feel seen,” she says. “I want them to also feel strong. To feel like they can show up as themselves, fully.”
This collection isn’t just a seasonal release. It’s an invitation. To wear your story. To speak your truth in thread and silhouette. It’s clothing for the bold. For the reflective. For anyone ready to be trenched in purpose.
Available now at shopalexcarter.com.
In 2022, Chelsey Carter-Sanders debuted “9558,” an all-black, upcycled denim collection honoring her late grandmother, who passed down the joy of creating and transformation. Designed to inspire artists to mine personal stories, the four-piece series was deeply personal. “Fields” followed in 2023, reclaiming denim’s legacy in Black history through reimagined classics. In 2024, “Waves” captured life’s emotional rhythms—a wearable symphony of resilience, reminding us beauty often rises with the tide. Her 2025 mini-capsule—unnamed at press time—was unveiled in an exclusive shoot helmed by Ray Martinez of Done By Design (@Ray_donebydesign), photographed at Highland Park’s Upside Events (@upsideevents440) by Amee McCaughan (@amccaughanphotography). A standout glam team—makeup artist Elise Brill (@leesib) and hair stylist Lira Guzi (@liraguzisalon)—created Carter-Sanders’ sleek, editorial-ready look.