Student Stylist at the Art Institute of Charlotte Wins with Miss USA

Eloria Downs always dreamed of being in the entertainment business. If reality slightly detoured her from the path that she dreamed of as a dancer/student at the Duke Ellington School of Art in Washington, DC, it didn’t change her course altogether.

Today, the 23-year-old, third-quarter Fashion Marketing student at The Art Institute of Charlotte dreams of fashion styling on the world’s largest runways, and in April she got her start in a big way. 

Downs was in a grocery store, shopping for herself and her 3- and 4-year-old sons, when her cell phone rang. It was her manager at BeBe’s at SouthPark, where Downs has worked for the past four months. It took Downs a minute to process the news when he said, “She won…she won!” He was referring to Miss North Carolina Kristen Dalton, formerly of Huntersville, who a few days earlier was crowned Miss USA in the Miss Universe pageant.

Downs styled all of the clothing -- except her ball gown and swimsuit -- for the contestant for the Miss USA pageant week including 10 or 12 outfits for all occasions. Dalton had asked BeBe’s, where Downs is a stylist and sales person, if they would consider sponsoring her clothes for the pageant. (She bought her own shoes and accessories). The manager agreed and turned the assignment over to Downs.

“We had a lot of fun, she’s very down-to-earth, not at all a diva,” said Downs of the three-hour fitting session she had with Dalton on a Sunday morning prior to Dalton’s heading for Las Vegas and pageant week.

Downs hardly has time to savor the moment, though. She’s in the midst of styling a six-page fashion layout in Charlotte Style magazine. That’s in addition to her job as a hairstylist with Charles Grayson, her full-time academic study at The Art Institute of Charlotte, and her family.

“I’ve always been like that. Even in high school, I was always running from one thing to another to another,” Downs said. “It’ll be good preparation for how hectic things will be when I get my (Associate of Applied Science) degree and become a stylist.”

Downs moved to North Carolina about five years ago with her husband who was in the military. She lives in the Albemarle Road area of East Charlotte.

This isn’t the first brush with Miss USA for The Art Institute of Charlotte. In 2004, Miss North Carolina Chelsea Scott Cooley, a first-quarter Fashion Marketing student The Art Institute of Charlotte, was crowned Miss USA and went on to finish in the Top 10 in the Miss Universe pageant.

The Art Institute of Charlotte offers bachelor’s degrees in Culinary Arts Management, Digital Filmmaking & Video Production, Fashion Marketing & Management, Graphic Design, Interior Design, Photography and Web Design & Interactive Media. It offers associate degrees in Culinary Arts, Fashion Marketing, Graphic Design, Interior Design and Web Design & Interactive Media. 

The Art Institute of Charlotte is licensed by The Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina to confer Associate of Applied Science and Bachelor of Art degrees, licensed by The North Carolina Board of Community Colleges to award certificates and diplomas. The Art Institute of Charlotte is accredited by the Accrediting Counsel for Independent Colleges and Schools.

The Art Institute of Charlotte is one of The Art Institutes (www.artinstitutes.edu), a system of over 40 education institutions located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary arts professionals.

CONTACT: Susan Jetton
704.357.5963 or sjetton@aii.edu