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  • Aleks
    Senior Member
    • Feb 2009
    • 475

    Any advice for a starting designer.

    Well here's a background story about myself and the situation that I am currently in.
    I am a 20 year old absolutely broke fashion student that lives in Vancouver. Two years ago I went to the University of Victoria for an Economics degree. I ended up leaving after a year because I did not find myself pursuing that career path. After that I moved out from home in the hope of finding what I wanted to do and in my naivety believing that I could survive on my own with out much experience in the work force. I was jobless for quite awhile and decided to move back home and pursue a career in fashion.
    Right now I am currently in a part-time fashion design program at Vancouver Community College. My idea is to take one or two years here at a relatively inexpensive price and prepare myself for a better school (as I am relatively inexperienced and I believe that I couldn't get into a better school right at the moment). I am friends with a Tailor that does very high-end items and he told me that I could come by whenever I wanted as well.


    Does anybody have any advice/ideas on what I should do?

    I am thinking about applying at FIT in about two years. I am wondering if this is a good idea.

  • #2
    don't make out plans that reach too far into the future. use THIS moment to learn and get experience, and soon enough you will have found yourself grown out of the situation you are in in order to learn more, which will make you pursue the next step. Go to that tailor every free hour and work for him. I think that's a very good first step.

    Comment

    • Faust
      kitsch killer
      • Sep 2006
      • 37852

      #3
      Don't copy Rick Owens.
      Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

      StyleZeitgeist Magazine

      Comment

      • Aleks
        Senior Member
        • Feb 2009
        • 475

        #4
        Not his biggest fan really ^

        Comment

        • merkuri
          Senior Member
          • Sep 2009
          • 517

          #5
          copy margiela instead. interviews by fax. no cell phone. don't answer emails. inaccessibility is the new accessibility.

          Comment

          • TRSltd
            Member
            • Feb 2009
            • 73

            #6
            Originally posted by Faust View Post
            Don't copy Rick Owens.
            ohhh come on! in first time it's ok to copy somebody to understand your personal type of cut and style
            damir doma, odyn vovk and many other designers copying RO, is it ok?

            Comment

            • STEALTH
              Senior Member
              • Feb 2008
              • 250

              #7
              Find a really good patterner

              And then let them design your collection
              https://www.facebook.com/Marc.Stealth.Kaos

              Comment

              • zamb
                Senior Member
                • Nov 2006
                • 5834

                #8
                Originally posted by Aleks View Post
                Well here's a background story about myself and the situation that I am currently in.
                I am a 20 year old absolutely broke fashion student that lives in Vancouver. Two years ago I went to the University of Victoria for an Economics degree. I ended up leaving after a year because I did not find myself pursuing that career path. After that I moved out from home in the hope of finding what I wanted to do and in my naivety believing that I could survive on my own with out much experience in the work force. I was jobless for quite awhile and decided to move back home and pursue a career in fashion.
                Right now I am currently in a part-time fashion design program at Vancouver Community College. My idea is to take one or two years here at a relatively inexpensive price and prepare myself for a better school (as I am relatively inexperienced and I believe that I couldn't get into a better school right at the moment). I am friends with a Tailor that does very high-end items and he told me that I could come by whenever I wanted as well.


                Does anybody have any advice/ideas on what I should do?

                I am thinking about applying at FIT in about two years. I am wondering if this is a good idea.
                Alex,
                hopefully your experience of leaving home and having to return, would've taught you that the world can be a very difficult place and that the support of your family and friends is often (though not always) essential to your success.
                you are in a very good position, young, broke and at the bottom of the ladder, so your ambition, coupled with hard (and smart) work can only bring you further than where you are now.
                You should think very long and hard about why you want to be in fashion, and what aspect of fashion you want to be in. there are many different kinds of careers I the fashion industry,sadly, everyone wants to be a designer!
                Do not believe that it is difficult to get into good fashion schools, the key to getting into these schools is to be able to sell yourself to the admissions counselors (and have a lot of money to spend) as many of these schools are businesses, selling you (or whomever has the money to pay) an education, and ultimately professional credentials.

                you have an excellent opportunity with the tailor, and I would never want to over emphasize the value of that. try to learn from him as much as you can, as you will never learn that much in a school
                Also, dont be afraid to seek out internships with other design companies that may be in your area/ country................networking is key to success in this business, as the old saying goes "its not what you know, but who you know"..........or better yet, who knows you!
                “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
                .................................................. .......................


                Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock

                Comment

                • christianef
                  Senior Member
                  • Feb 2009
                  • 747

                  #9
                  most of it will depend on your own level of skill/creativity and your own personal ambitions. guys like Ackermann went to good schools, did terrible, and now have their own successful line and are getting asked to replace margiela. chances are you aren't going to be the next ackermann. aside from working with the tailor, with is a great start, dont over-look other helpful and free tools like... this forum (assuming faust doesnt start to charge membership fees soon aha jk ;) but seriously this is a great community of contacts -- richard the obscur designer and the designer of collateral ( i forget his user name here) are close with a lot of people here and it has for sure factored into helping get their work recognized and in stores ( not that the work doesn't speak for itself but this industry is a lot smaller than you think and having a good support system on your side can go a long way) if you can take it a step further and start going to the paris fashions weeks etc and meeting as many people as you can etc. it can also help a lot (from a business perspective.) i never studied in fashion aqnd have no clue to your ability so i can't give much advice on where to go to school or when but talent aside the industry is pretty accessible so don't forget to make lots of friends!!

                  Comment

                  • zxc4030
                    Senior Member
                    • Aug 2009
                    • 121

                    #10
                    same here, Im living in Vancouver, studying econs now.Yet Im planning to study FD at Blanche or A.I. Schools here are limited in FD. :(

                    Comment

                    • humancrack
                      Senior Member
                      • Feb 2008
                      • 243

                      #11
                      zxc. def forget about AI. I went there for sound engineering and there isn't much for fashion design

                      Comment

                      • C'est Fini
                        Member
                        • Sep 2009
                        • 75

                        #12
                        Hey man, its a tough world.

                        What you really need to be a designer? Lots of cash. (Talent is secondary) ... Its very easy if your gay because you can take the tried and tested route of rent-boying your way to the top.- This is how the real fashion biz works in many places. Basically find suga daddy ( think st laurent- pierre berge)

                        If youre straight.. find a rich girl and marry her. This is less likely than the former.

                        As they say, you gotta be ready to go gay for pay.

                        Comment

                        • zamb
                          Senior Member
                          • Nov 2006
                          • 5834

                          #13
                          Originally posted by C'est Fini View Post
                          Hey man, its a tough world.

                          What you really need to be a designer? Lots of cash. (Talent is secondary) ... Its very easy if your gay because you can take the tried and tested route of rent-boying your way to the top.- This is how the real fashion biz works in many places. Basically find suga daddy ( think st laurent- pierre berge)

                          If youre straight.. find a rich girl and marry her. This is less likely than the former.

                          As they say, you gotta be ready to go gay for pay.
                          you cant really be serious about this kind of advice, are you?...........Matter of fact this is no advice at all, and if you are serious, cannot be anything but utter disrespect, not just to the person who asked the question, but the whole d forum!
                          “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
                          .................................................. .......................


                          Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock

                          Comment

                          • Aleks
                            Senior Member
                            • Feb 2009
                            • 475

                            #14
                            Thank you zamb and Heirloom and christianef for your insights , I will take them to heart.

                            I do not want to get into the glitz and glamour of the fashion industry (which I find repulsive) and would rather go the CCP, LUC etc. way. If it takes excessive time and effort, than so be it (I don't mind the basement at my parents place and I have an industrial sewing machine set up down there already )

                            Comment

                            • Enaml
                              Senior Member
                              • Apr 2009
                              • 890

                              #15
                              Originally posted by TRSltd View Post
                              ohhh come on! in first time it's ok to copy somebody to understand your personal type of cut and style
                              damir doma, odyn vovk and many other designers copying RO, is it ok?
                              I believe he meant dropping out of school to design. Maybe not though. Regardless, you are in a perfect position to learn huge amounts and begin work. I know it's already been said, but value your education! It's one of the most important things you can have, and you can never learn too much.
                              How do you guys like the fit of my new CCP suit?

                              Comment

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