worky worky

pants... in progress

an idea?

in the office...

the usual 3:45 am set up at school.

last day... less than 24 hours. PRESSURE!!

My first attempt....

So, as I said in the previous note, having your heart, mind and soul in the game is essential. Heres why.

I recently graduated from the fashion design program at La Salle International College Vancouver. Extremely intense 2 year program (ask anyone who has gone there) that involves EVERYTHING, or at least it felt that way. I was taught drawing, sewing, drafting patterns, marketing, manageing, blogging, applying, fine art, communicating, conceptualizing personal style, and sooo much more from the worlds finest experienced instructors. They gave us everything they could and helped prepare us as best they could for our experiences in the real world.

However, saying that, I feel there is a major grey area left out that no one can teach you. For instance how to plan and follow thru your own show , from designing, fabric sourcing, constructing and your personal performance on show day!

It seemed feesible from the beginning, to debut my graduation collection of elegance and luxury via crisp flowing chiffons that were seamlessly draped onto the female form. I would hand cast gold jewels as detailing accesories and hand paint all the silks myself. Concept was set in stone, and I was on a mission. I started off really strong, full of fuel, planned perfectly, sourcing every detail, buying and painting fabrics, it was excellent. It was excellent and nothing could bring me off my cloud of excitement and anticipation to see the final outcome. And beleive me, my standards, like always, are set very high for myself. So perfection was the goal.

Night after night, of staying 24 hours a day at school, sewing and working and not sleeping was becoming more and more easy. Two weeks went by so quickly, and all that hard work was beginning to look sooo amazing. Although unfortunately, for me it stayed in the beginning stages. I cant say exactly what happened, because i worked my behind off - literally! It wasn't until about 12 hours before show time that i realized there was not a hope in hell that i would be ready in time, at my standards that i had set. - with the jewellery, head scarves and complete collection sewed properly.

So in the end i ended up failing myself, backstage, handsewing, no idea what outfits were on who, hair and makeup was disastrous and i was running behind by about 5 hours. um yah.

So in front of friends , and family and peers and professionals, I had let myself down. Blow to the ego? yes. Complete and total failure? not quite.

I have now learned lessons that no one could prepare me for, I have figured out things my own way and taught myself from mistakes. It may not be the most phenomenal showing or even really swell showing of what my talents are, but i have made a good step in preparing for the next show.

So i will now share with the rest of the world, the ins and outs of my life ( with my two besties) for two weeks pre- Vancouver Fashion Week. Quoting my original title. The most successful acheivements are those that fail......

The most succesfull acheivements are those that fail.

So I recently went to China. For a month as an assistant to a designer. Wonderful man, amazing designer, close friend, demanding human. (period) I mean demanding. When he needed something, he usually needed it right then and there. Fair enough... but sometimes not everything is automatically prepared for him in this world. So that is where i came into play. I did my best to make his life easier -not always a successfull venture for me :) However,  i did my time and tried to keep things running smoothly during the show. Oddly enough, when I did a great job, it just wasnt as satisfying as when i bombed a task for him.

When you do a great job and get thanked and told, "You are the best assistant, thank you , good job" Its simply the best accomplishment you have made. Then you gloat on yourself and how hard you work, then you are satisfied with the status quo, and then , BAM! - you forgot the camera on interview day. dum. ass. You will understand about 20 different reasons all at once of why this situ iion is so bad. I honestly can say this though, you will face challenges everyday and you can never be too prepared. Ever.

I learned firsthand exactly why having things neurotically prepared and micromanaged could have a extremely positive impact on the project as a hole. Schedules, 3 am email replying, hours of contemplation over lineups, indecisive styling details, and demanding attitude are essential components that have to be done with all of your heart and mind in the game.