The Rollercoaster Ride of a Lifetime - My life as a fashion designer.
What do you think of when you think of fashion? The glitz. The glamour. The models. The runways in Paris. These were many of the reasons why I wanted to be a fashion designer. Let's not forget about "Sex and the City" and the vast influence it had on me as well. Don't get me wrong, I loved this show, but was it realistic to live like Carrie Bradshaw? I was chasing fame, fortune, and celebrity status.
My love of fashion started at a very young age, learning about my grandmother's alterations at the age of 10. Once I got to high school, I remember declaring," I will be a famous fashion designer, live in New York City, and run my own business." My first job was at a fashion store, which is where I started my journey. Once I got to college, I focused on trying anything and everything in fashion. I was hungry to learn because I wanted to be a business owner that understood every aspect of the business. When I tell you I did everything, I did E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G, which includes:
Sales
Styling
Manager
Assistant Manager
Visuals
Showrooms
Tradeshows
Operations
Wardrobing for Movies, commercials
AND SO MUCH MORE!
I interned for numerous brands, including BCBG, Apparel Mart, LF Stores, and studied abroad in Paris, traveled to China to learn about fashion's business side, and finally back to Dallas, Texas.
Once I got to Dallas, Texas, at the age of 24, I started for my womenswear brand. Let's say I dove into business blindly, which is why I learned so much. I partnered with another woman to build a more luxury womenswear brand, but nine months later, we separated and launched my luxury brand. Let's say I was the "talk of the town." My womenswear line was in numerous stores, had my studio, a team of 5, production, sewers, sale assistants, and had quite a bit of publicity. I was on my way to being the famous fashion designer living in New York but, as soon as I lost an investor, everything came tumbling down.
(Side Note: I had to face my $100,000 of debt in clothing during this time. You can watch my Fashion Addict documentary here to learn more about how I overcame that adversity.)
I did not want to give up on my dream. I took a risk and ended up packing up my bags and moving to New York two years later. One year later, I relaunched my womenswear brand, showcased at New York Fashion Week twice, got featured in Vogue, and build my celebrity clientele list. I was on my way to fame, or so I thought.
In 2015, my whole perspective of being a fashion designer changed after watching the movie True Cost. I was angry, upset, and disappointed because of how naive I had been and never researching the fashion industry. The more I researched, the more I realized how much I didn't know. I launched a more sustainable womenswear brand, but deep down inside, I could not continue to make new apparel when there was already enough in the world and chose to upcycle, reuse, and create zero-waste garments and art. I also wanted to focus my education efforts and share my personal story from a fashion addict to a fashion advocate.
I share my story because a part of us always wants to be famous. We want to be known. We want to be appreciated. Fame, fortune, and celebrity status are things that some of us want and will do anything and everything to arrive at this destination. However, we have to ask ourselves why we want this life? I wanted to be famous because I wanted to feel loved, feel good enough, and get approval from others. Although I had everything I wanted for a part of my life, in reality, I had nothing because I did not have myself.
The biggest lesson was learning how to learn from my mistakes and genuinely understanding that no material possessions will ever fill an empty void. Knowing what I know now, my goal is to continue to be part of the solution. We all have a choice to chase fame and fortune, or we can take the road where we do things the right way. Which one will you choose?
