Pursuing Your Dream of Becoming a Fashion Designer

Hi everyone,

Its been a while I wrote any article, I have been super busy with work so please forgive me and I hope you enjoy this write up. The moment I sighted the article below in my mail from Bella Naija on the 2nd of this month, I knew I had to share it. A very inspiring article by  Temitope Williams-Adewunmi: Why Haven’t You Pursued Your Dream of Becoming a Fashion Designer?

So the main reason I am sharing this is to inspire others and wake them up to the reality of life.

 

This article explained the situation and excuses people I have come across give for not pursuing their dreams. As a fashion designer and a teacher of this art, many individuals I have met tell me everyday why they can't start or take up a class in it...The bitter truth is you have no excuse whatsoever (forgive me if I sound too harsh). For those that know my story, I had no dime when I was to start, I could not even take up a class in fashion design at the beginning because of funds. I had to dust up old books and make good use of my blackberry bold 2 (faithful phone), watching videos and downloading write ups and articles I could find around me, trying every style I could at my novice level not minding how it turned out, knowing I was learning from my mistakes on every garment.

Truth is I am more proud of myself right now knowing that the stress, pain and sacrifice was worth it. Please don't get me wrong,  I am not claiming to be Stella McCartney or valentino and the likes, even with my current knowledge I know I still have a lot of learning to do. For me learning is a continuous process and never stops no mater how good you think you are. So my advice is please wake up from your slumber, get your old clothes,  recycle them by yourself,  make good use of your phones, visit public libraries, read books, articles and everything you come across about fashion.

 

There is still a lot to explore in this field. If you claim you've got passion for it, then get up and show the world you how much you love it...Act and work like Fashion and Art is what you are made of.

Enough said, I will do my best to keep up with my articles (I promise), maybe sometime soon I will write about the hurdles and challenges you face as an aspiring or upcoming designer and how to overcome them with my very many experience in a space of 3yrs. 

To let me know you enjoyed this article,  feel free to comment, ask questions and if you want personal answers to some questions, please send a mail to Evelyntailor@gmail.com
Cheers!!!

 

Ok… so you have always wanted to become a fashion designer…for any of the following reasons:

You have always loved sketching clothes as soon as you were able to hold a pencil;
You used to make clothes for your dolls; You know you have the talent and everyone knows that – they even come to you when they need styles for their aso-ebi; … or the one I get often…
You were just tired of your tailor and you knew you could do better. It’s the classic tale of ‘I tell her one thing and she churns out something else and we keep going back and forth!’ (This was my story…) You know it. Everyone knows it. You just have to become a fashion designer! You have the gift, you have the talent and you know you will make a lot of money from it. And you keep promising yourself that next year you will definitely take this up!

 

December comes and you write your goals for the coming year, and top of the list?! “Finally pursue this dream of mine!” The new year hits and you are all fired up! Google becomes your best friend. You start your research “How to Become a Fashion Designer”, you start making calls and you even visit some fashion schools because you want to learn how to sew. And then the holidays are over and reality hits. Work or school begins and the momentum you built over the holidays starts slowing down. Before you know it, the excuses start pouring in. You begin to convince yourself that “now is not the right time”. Why?

 

You tell yourself…

• I have an extremely busy schedule and simply cannot create the time!
• Won’t people think I’m crazy?! Leaving a good job for fashion?!
• I have a family to feed, how much money can I possibly make from fashion;
• I think I am too old and don’t even know how or where to start from;
• I don’t have the money so let me work some more to gather more funds;
• The good fashion schools are too far and I cannot give up my weekends;
• I cannot get distracted now, I am at a crucial point in my life;
• I’m about to get that promotion so now is not a good time to leave.
• I cannot do this, what if I fail?!

And the excuses keep piling up. And yes, these are good and valid points which make all the sense in the world… or are they?! Maybe… just maybe these excuses are just a cover for the real reason you have refused to make that move – FEAR! And worse, you have refused to admit it to yourself!

 

Yes we all face these fears.

• Fear of failure;
• Fear of the unknown;
• Fear that people will laugh at you;
• Fear that people won’t like your work;
• Fear that you are too old;… I can go on and on…

I can, however, assure you that there is one thing way worse than fear and that is the regret you feel years down the line when the world has moved on and you are still stuck in the same space. You think you have missed that opportunity (emphasis on the word “think”) and bitterness sets in. You blame everything and everyone around you, including yourself (if you have the guts to blame yourself), for missing that opportunity.

 

But guess what? It is never too late to make the move. So what if you fail? Big deal. You try again or worse, you backtrack and go back to your job or get another job – you will not be the first to do so. But at least there is that satisfaction you get knowing that you scratched that itch and bled in the process; knowing that you discovered after trying it out that it was not for you. At least, now you know.

 

But then again, you really do not need to dive into the ocean and give everything up in a flash! Baby steps they call it. Test the waters first. Use your spare time (and yes everyone has some spare time no matter how busy they are) and start something on the side no matter how little. Could be selling your sketches to designers or even your colleagues who need fabulous styles for Asoebi Bella, working with your tailor to bring your sketches to life and selling them to colleagues or even learning how to sew. The best thing is your market is all around you! Everyone loves a fashion designer because everyone must wear clothes! Do that until you build that confidence to take the full plunge!

 

Oh… and one more thing… try not to give in to procrastination! Yes it is difficult and I, for one, am extremely guilty of it! Take this article for example. I have been meaning to write about this for ages and this is what?! July already! I just kept postponing until I said to myself just now “Argh! You know what?! Just do this now!” And it is exactly 2.18am!

And that is literally all it takes! For you to say to yourself “Argh! I’m doing this now!” Not tomorrow, not when I get home, NOW!

 

So there you have it! I’ve made my move! How about you?! Tell us why you have not yet made that move into the fashion industry

 

Source: Bellanaija