00:00I just love seeing how playful you are with your designs and then also how there's always a story with everything.
00:09And so I'm just curious with each collection, what kind of advice could you give to an aspiring designer or someone that's kind of starting off that is really having a hard time keying in on what their narrative as a designer is in terms of like design prowess, design code?
00:29And do you have any tips for someone that's kind of really trying to figure that out?
00:36That might be a hard one.
00:37I feel like, you know, I mean, see, it's really hard for me because, you know, I have managed to, you know, maintain a very distinctive brand identity within this very competitive industry by honestly, I mean, just being honest, by staying true to me,
00:58and by staying true to my initial beliefs, you know, I just continue to think about my woman.
01:06I started thinking about who my woman is and what kind of women that I was inspired by.
01:10And then it really, it really got even deeper because beyond designing, it was like, well, where is she wearing these designs to?
01:17Where does she vacation?
01:19What does she drive?
01:20What kind of automobiles does she drive?
01:22What kind of hotels does she stay in?
01:24What does she smell like?
01:25You know, what's her favorite cocktail?
01:26I really started breaking these layers down to try to understand exactly who my target audience is.
01:31And it really was just for me, it was very clear to me that my woman understands quality and she understands luxury and she loves her body.
01:40And, you know, she has an affinity of New York City and the true authentic culture.
01:46So it was very easy for me to just tap into things that really resonated and amplified all of those different moods and aesthetics.
01:55You know, my woman loves nightlife.
01:57And so it allowed me to really go into, you know, reflective textiles and things that felt more sparkly and holiday and celebratory.
02:04And I mean, I don't know, I just think that really it's about writing down, you know, maybe five to ten cold words of what your brand resonates, what your design ethos is, and then really lean into that, you know, on all aspects.
02:20I think really think about your woman, not just through a collection or a particular, you know, one dress, but think about your woman or think about your client from a 24-hour perspective.
02:30I think that that would help really build out and carve out a DNA for, you know, any designer, really understanding, you know, who exactly are you designing for?
02:40And just really being able to lean in on, you know, again, like what your core DNA is.
02:45That's not something that's really easy to find.
02:47But again, for me, that was just like, it just kind of felt natural.
02:52I hear you.
02:53I definitely love that because I think when I've gone to like the FIT grad show, sometimes I see that there's not many Black designers at times showing in terms of them not necessarily being like a design student.
03:08So I kind of grabbed one this past season and I've been meeting with her to kind of just talk about what's next, you know, like what can you kind of do with the designs that you're interested in doing or kind of moving forward?
03:25Because I think she's kind of at a standstill right now because she is working as like a design assistant for someone, but she's really trying to figure out when she can either leave this place to kind of take a leap of faith or does she need to kind of stay to figure out kind of what the next phase of her life is kind of going to be because she graduated last semester.
03:47Okay. Yeah. No, I get it.
03:51You know, it's, you know, it really is about understanding your core values, you know, define your personal and your brand values, you know, and, you know, I just think it's about really standing up and standing firm and identifying what you stand for as a person, as an artist, as a creative.
04:08Um, and I think that those, you know, I think that those principles will then reflect in your work, which then creates a brand DNA.
04:17Yeah, no, I love that. I'm definitely going to share that with her because I think she's, honestly, she's been a little discouraged.
04:24I think I could kind of feel that energy. So I know it can be tough when you graduate. I like, I remember those days when I graduated and I was just like, I'm just going to move to New York and then I'm going to figure it out because I'm not from New York.
04:36But I know like New York natives, you guys have so much at your fingertips. And I love that there's so much creativity in the city. You never know who you're going to run into.
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