Wilmington designer to have work in European fashion show featured on 'The Crown'

A Wilmington native and fashion designer who learned to sew in the Port City will soon see some of her designs on the catwalk of a famous European fashion show.

On March 16, Sutton Horger, who grew up in Wilmington performing in and helping to costume shows for Opera House Theatre Co., will have some of her designs in Don't Walk, a fashion show at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

The show, which was formed by college students in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, as a response to the terrorist attacks, is known for supporting various charities, and for being student-run. Its biggest claim to fame, however, might be as the setting for a royal origin story.

Kate Middleton, aka Catherine, Princess of Wales, was a model at Don't Walk in 2002 when she caught the eye of Prince William, a meet-cute chronicled in hit Netflix show "The Crown," which is technically fiction but also based on real-life events.

"I was honestly very surprised to be approved," Horger said via phone from New York City, where she works as an assistant designer for department store Macy's intimate apparel and sleepwear lines. "It's such a good opportunity. I'm excited to see everyone else's designs."

Horger, whose parents live in Wilmington, grew up performing in such musicals as "The Music Man," "The King and I" and "Chicago" for Opera House.

"It was such a big part of my childhood," Horger said.

She also worked on some shows with costume designer Debbie Scheu, the woman who taught her to sew when Horger was eight or nine.

"She's been an incredible support system" over the years, Horger said of Scheu. "I've had so many incredible mentors in Wilmington," including Opera House director Ray Kennedy. (Another Opera House connection: This year's Don't Walk head of fashion is St. Andrews student Grace Murray, whose mother, Rachael Murray, performed in the musical "42nd Street" for Opera House in 2019.)

Horger went to college in New York determined to break into the fashion industry. She landed at, and graduated from, the esteemed Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in 2019.

Horger said she started out wanting to design evening wear, but her focus changed to intimate apparel at FIT.

"I was always drawn to intimate apparel pieces, particularly the amount of detail and the attention to detail," she said. "I love to hand-bead."

In a profile on the fashion site LoveLuxury.com, Horger said her "aesthetic is timelessly classic with a modern touch. I am deeply inspired by a woman’s expression of power through femininity."

The appearance of her work at Don't Walk is separate from Horger's work at Macy's, where she started working in March of 2020, just as the pandemic was beginning.

"It was a bit of a crazy start," she said, but she's since settled into living and working in New York.

Horger doesn't have her own line yet, though you can see some of her designs on her Etsy page, SuttonNewYork.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington, NC designer to have work in Don't Walk fashion show