Calla Haynes Introduces Her Line, Calla, at New York Fashion Week "I FOUND myself in jeans and a sweatshirt underneath a 60,000-euro gown, sewing little pieces of feather," said Calla Haynes, whose first job in fashion was at the Paris house Rochas, working with Olivier Theyskens, then its designer. My personal style is almost tomboy. It was a very funny paradox. From her modest studio in the Marais, Ms. Haynes, 31, remembers this contradiction as the inspiration for her label, called Calla, which, after five seasons in Paris, she is presenting for the first time at New York Fashion Week on Saturday. The move to New York will not only make her boyfriend jacket and robe gaine (gaine is French girdle - think of the world's tiniest bustier dress) more accessible to the American market, but will avoid the high costs of showing in Paris, which for many young designers can be prohibitive. "Nothing exists in Paris like Milk Studios," said Ms. Haynes, referring to Mazdack Razzi's photo studio on West 15th Street. Milk has built itself into Fashion Week's locus of growing talent by offering young designers the use of its resources - from photographers to hair and makeup artists to presentation spaces - free or at low cost. Ms. Haynes will be one of more than 30 designers showing at Milk this Fashion Week, among them Jeremy Scott, Sophie Theallet, Carlos Campos and Ohne Titel. While Calla's mélange of haute couture and nonchalant chic has garnered coverage in magazines like Elle and French Vogue, distribution in the United States at Opening Ceremony and a nomination for the 2010 Andam award, it is still nearly impossible for the young designer to find sponsorship for a presentation in France. Meanwhile, in New York, beauty companies like MAC will provide makeup artists and hairstylists. Beverage companies, both alcoholic and non, will offer occasional sponsorships. Models can be another issue. For a show or presentation, Ms. Haynes has to pay Parisian agencies a minimum of 800 euros per woman (roughly $1,060), while in New York, professional models will work for lower fees or trade. Ms. Haynes estimates her New York show will cost her one-fifth of what it would have cost in Paris. But finances are just part of the reason Ms. Haynes is looking to New York Fashion Week. "The main goal of being in the States is for the press and North American market," she said. The exposure is something she feels Calla is ready for. It's been baby steps: first season we had a showroom by appointment only. By the third season we were having presentations in Paris," she said. Ms. Haynes, a Toronto native, went to Paris in 2002, during her junior year of college at Parsons. An internship opportunity with Mr. Theyskens ended her formal education and introduced her to the world of couture. When Procter & Gamble closed Rochas in 2006, she followed Mr. Theyskens to Nina Ricci, where she designed much of the collections" textiles. That same year, she married Adrien Blanchat in a gown designed by Mr. Theyskens (Ms. Haynes designed the fabric), officially the last garment to leave the Rochas atelier. "The main thing I took away from that experience was the importance of fabric: research, pushing fabrics as far as you can creatively and customizing fabrics with your own special touch, especially with prints," said Ms. Haynes, who left Nina Ricci in 2007 to pursue her own projects. Ninety percent of Ms. Haynes's collection is printed. Taking cues from interior decoration, the main print for this season's collection was derived from a daisy pattern she discovered in a book of upholstery swatches from the 1950s. The image was scanned into Photoshop and rendered with granite textures and with an abstract floral print Ms. Haynes had concocted from paint sample textures and photos of flowers. Her focus then shifted to the fabric, which she heightened with touches of couture. Prais, a company that works with Nina Ricci and YSL, customized Ms. Haynes's buttons. She was also given access to the archives and resources of Mahlia Kent. a Parisian weaving house known for its work with Chanel's tweeds. If New York Fashion Week gives Ms. Haynes the exposure she's looking for, she will be confronted with a new challenge: how to expand a line whose core is artisanal. If the orders start getting larger and her process has to become somewhat industrialized, what couture elements would she be willing to sacrifice? "None," she said. The people I'm working with are extremely professional. While it's super cool to be making 10 meters of fabric, they can also make 5,000.