On any given weekday, students crisscross the University of Georgia’s Tate Lawn, backpacks in tow. Parked amid the chatter and class changes, a white cart stands out from the crowd, its interior draped with handmade jewelry, colorful clothing and carefully arranged accessories.
Couture A La Cart isn’t just any pop-up though. It’s a piece of UGA lore on four wheels.
The mobile boutique, designed and operated entirely by students, serves as a launchpad from outside the classroom to real-world experience. What first began in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences evolved into a fully functioning retail venture that rolls style straight into the heart of campus.
“This class is completely hands-on in that students run the entire course themselves through running the Couture A La Cart business,” said Clair McClure, senior lecturer in textiles, merchandising and interiors and the faculty lead for the project.
When McClure first taught the class in 2017, she arrived with lectures and lesson plans about entrepreneurship. But, she quickly realized there was no time for theory. Her students were too busy actually doing the work itself.
The students actually have to work in their positions, as a job, in running the retail business,” said McClure.
Mobile Classroom with a Mission
Couture A La Cart gives students across majors the rare opportunity to oversee a business from the ground up. From buying and branding to visual merchandising and day-of planning, every decision is made by students.
This fall, that creativity took on a new edge. The team’s rock-inspired theme merges bold everyday wear with local flair. Evelyn Russell, the student general manager of Couture A La Cart, helps keep the cart and its creativity rolling.
“This year, all of our products are sourced from around the Athens area,” said Russell. “You’ll see some of these hats here are from Mess Hall, which is a business in downtown Athens. Some products are made by students, so a lot of the jewelry, I think these buttons, some of these prints, are made by students.”
Each pop-up’s rebrand acts as an evolving snapshot of Athens style through this community collaboration.
Learning and Evolving the Cart
Beyond its charm, running a retail shop on wheels can sometimes come with its own challenges.
This far in the cart’s journey, those hiccups can look like a flat tire, dead cart batteries or faulty credit card machines. Yet, these very hiccups are what help keep the class at its most valuable.
“It’s honestly the hardest class I teach because I can’t predict what’s going to happen,” said McClure. “Now, approaching eight, nine years of teaching it, what I love the most is seeing students fail and then thrive, because it always happens.”
Passing the Fashion Torch
As semesters pass, so does the responsibility for keeping the cart, and its legacy, alive. What was once a class project grew into a living tradition, passed down from one cohort of student entrepreneurs to the next.
“One of the most beautiful things is coming back and seeing the next generation who set up the cart after you, and seeing kind of the improvements and things that they came up with that you wouldn’t have thought of, and just being able to cheer each other on,” said Russell.
Each pop-up carries the imprint of the students before it with new ideas, new designs and the same close attention to Athens’ creative spirit. With every stop across campus, Couture A La Cart adds another chapter to UGA’s style identity, proving that on-campus fashion doesn’t just walk the runway — it rolls right through campus.
Alexis Derickson and Demi Gilstrap are students at the University of Georgia reporting for Grady Nightshift.
Show Comments (0)