“dress impeccably and they remember the woman”
How important is social media for building
a career in fashion?
It has become more and more important and
I oversee our social media activity personally,
as I am very interested to see the responses and
opinions from our customers. Plus size women have
found their voice in social media especially as
the main stream media still often excludes them.
What are the best parts and the worst parts in
your job?
The best part would be the creation process of
designing a new collection, the worst part is when
you spent months of designing and selling and producing a collection and then the finished product
gets ruined by someone along the way, like wrong
color, fabric flaws, printing mistakes, measurement
discrepancies, etc.
Finding the right factories to produce your products to a high standard and in a timely manner is
very difficult, and sometimes getting paid from your
retailers can be even harder. In fashion you have to
pre-finance everything.
What was the most important lesson you have learnt
along the way?
To never stop believing in my dream and that there’s
a solution to every problem.
What has been your greatest career highlight
so far?
There were many milestones, as in being able to sell
to stores like Harrods, Selfridges, Neiman Marcus,
Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdales. Appearing
on Mary Queen of shops gave us a boost, too.
What other areas do you need to understand to
make your business successful?
The power of the media and marketing, how to manage
your cash flow and every other aspect of running
a normal business, i.e. sales tactics, staff management, etc.
“ A woman who
What does your job typically consist of - do you
only do sketches or more?
That question made me smile. I guess sketching new
designs takes up about 5-10% of my time. I wish I could
spend more time designing. My work is very seasonal and
I don’t have a typical day as having a small company
means I am involved in many processes. My work includes
everything from sourcing fabrics and trims, designing prints
and garments, fitting garments, negotiating with factories,
showroom appointments with stores, selling trips, casting
models, art directing our photo shoots, engaging with
media and press, doing talk shows and interviews, social
networking, presentations and appearances with our
catalog business with Simply Be, interviewing and supervising my team, account meetings, etc. etc.
truly understands her
proportions and is
comfortable enough to
experiment with her
looks - that’s what
I consider stylish.”
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