00:00Hi my name is Dani Oh and the name of my brand is Eclecticist. The preparation
00:06for this I got the call two and a half weeks ago while in LA. I didn't have a
00:13plan of showing for New York Fashion Week but when it dropped in my email I
00:17definitely took it and spent the last two and a half weeks sewing, being my own
00:22fit model, doing my patterns and conceiving this collection that you guys
00:26just saw and then hopped on a plane to show it in New York and I was a model
00:31here two years ago so it's even more sweet of a story. While I was modeling I
00:37was like I would love to be a featured designer here and here it is
00:40manifesting. So as a model it was one of maybe my second New York Fashion Week
00:47shows I was actually a model for Fee Noel who I've walked for before with Harlem
00:52Fashion Row, love her brand, love her as a person so happy to see her growth so I
00:57was happy to you know be a model for her when she called me and it was such a
01:01great experience I met so many other great models other designers and it was
01:06just really great to be around a lot of people of color doing amazing things in
01:10the creative space and I knew it was something that I wanted to be a part of
01:13on the other end of the the spectrum but I'm a freelance model so it was
01:19definitely great to to be a part of such a big inspiring event for creatives of
01:24color. I definitely wanted to represent the variety of women that are here
01:28because they're my customer I don't just design for one person I designed for
01:32people who have the same mindset I'd say which come in different sizes women who
01:38want simplicity but still be bold so I'd say Max Maximus maximal minimalist if
01:47that makes any sense like I I love simplicity I love things that you can mix
01:50and match with other pieces of your wardrobe and curating it that way but
01:55then having a bold print or a bold color I grew up loving Lisa Frank so living
02:00in Miami in these places where there's lots of color even though sometimes I
02:03default to black but I lived in New York for seven years so it happens
02:07but I feel like I create clothes that evoke a smile on the person that sees the
02:14wearer in them and I know I smile every time I look in the mirror and I'm
02:17wearing something bold instead of just black so for me animal prints are neutrals
02:25when I look at this I look at I see black and white it just happens to be zebra you
02:29can wear black and white with anything with a pop of color with black with jeans
02:33so I like to find prints that have neutral colors in them or can be paired back to other things and
02:40honestly I don't really design for seasons I design for occasions so if you're going on vacation and you
02:48live in New York and you want something that you can't really find in the store
02:52because it's not on season I just like clothes that you can wear anytime and within the US you have so many different temperatures so you can't just create for one season I think that
03:02I understand the model but I think as you know we grow from a just a national space the world has so many different temperatures and views and styles to create for that mass market versus just a little community that you live in
03:17since I was a kid I mean I've always been tall so modeling was always something that people wanted me to do and while I love it I'm a control freak so I'm like I can control this variable I can't control if someone thinks I'm a good look for their brand
03:33so I decided to create my own and you know catered to women like me who may not find sleeves that are long enough because it's hard or pants that sweep the floor that I have to hem because you can always take it up you can't let it down
03:48um but yeah that's definitely kind of my inspiration and what's kind of brought me to fashion as a designer um I've been sketching since high school I went to school um in Miami learned how to sew and have been doing that for I'd say about 15 years now
04:05what does essence mean to me um I mean essence is iconic I grew up with essence seeing beautiful brown black women of color in this luxurious space um it's definitely a brand that I wanted to be a part of and I'm so happy I am and like for this to be the first show with essence like it means the world to me so
04:31I never thought of really having a runway show but this was perfect for me it's essence it's aligned with
04:37you know who I create for and who I am as a woman so my style is eclectic but I didn't want to use eclectic this
04:44or eclectic that so I went to the dictionary and found eclecticist so a person who chooses from a variety of
04:50things I think my inspiration comes from a lot of different things I love vintage shopping I love
04:56glam but I love tomboy style so you know figuring out how to mix those and create something that
05:03someone who likes those things would buy from one place if that makes any sense
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