A lot of people think fashion is a shallow thing. That fashion designer is a non-essential, materialist occupation. Yes, I do see a lot of material. But the reason I do it, is because of the smiles. You see, in truth, clothing is one of the most fundamental forms of self expression. Any human in the world, given a choice, has a preference for what they want to wear. And itโs not just about looking good or attracting lovers either. Itโs about expressing outwardly how one feels inside. We all know that terribly frustrating feeling of not being able to decide what to wear. Itโs not really anything that words can describe, itโs just a yucky, skin crawling type of feeling, like being misunderstood before you even leave the house. Or what about being forced to wear a uniform that you hate. You hate it right? We all do. Even one year olds have fashion preferences! Maybe you know one person who thinks they donโt care about clothing at all; and therefore only have one style of pants and shirt that they wear every day. Well, thatโs a fashion choice too, and you bet it is a style that perfectly expresses them.
As a fashion designer, you might think I do myself up fabulous every day. Well no, Iโm actually an introvert and generally don’t like to be the center of attention. Each season, I have a handful of looks that I weave through daily, slowly weeding styles in and out over several month chunks. I am really not high maintenance in this department. Unless, my basics are nowhere to be found. In which case, I probably would come across as a diva, because nothing will do! And there is a side of me that sometimes shows up with an insatiable urge to wear something super cute, usually in conjunction with a strange urge to actually be social. I really donโt know what it is, maybe something that happens in my dreams the night before.. Or just waking up on the right side of bed. Or something in the air.. And I just wake up feeling more fun, or pretty, or daring than usual. I love that kind of day! Because most of the time, I just choose the usual, something dark colored, comfy, stretchy with a cute silhouette. I like to look pretty. But not fancy. And not attention grabbing. I see that as a liability. Iโd rather be like a ninja, while I do my work of creating clothing that will hopefully be exactly what someone is reaching for, when they wake up this morning. And itโs my absolute privilege and joy, to be able to make their day run a little bit smoother and brighter.
