Basic Info:
I am 18 years old.
I currently attend FIDM- San Francisco
I do have a job at American Apparel as well as selling my own line of clothing.
Have you always been interested in fashion?
I have not always been interested in fashion, everything just fell into place sometime before my senior year. I taught myself to sew when I was 12 and had been designing a few things here and there for a while until I realized designing was something I was really good at, so I decided to pursue a career in it.
What drew you to fashion?
I like the idea of being inspired by abstract objects, music, or feelings to create a collection, it can be like art in a way. I'm never inspired by fashion, clothing, or style when I am designing, its always something else and I still manage to design whole collections of beautiful dresses that people love. That whole concept of inspiration coming from so many different sources is what drew me into fashion.
What is your inspiration usually?
My inspiration comes from many different things, each collection on its own is inspired by something different. My Fall 2008 collection was inspired by 80s hip hop culture. My Spring 2009 collection was inspired by a song called "Shores of California" by the Dresden Dolls. I try to show my inspiration in the photo shoots for each collection, but sometimes it might be hard to tell exactly what was the inspiration.
What kind of girl do you picture when you make your designs?
My target customer is a young woman ages 14-25ish. I design a lot of summer dresses which would be more ideal for a teenage girl, as well as cocktail dresses which targets women in their 20s. The type of girl that would wear my designs is a fun, outgoing, flirty girl who just wants to look and feel pretty.
What schooling did you have?
I just graduated High School in 2009, but now I am majoring in Fashion Design at FIDM, I am in my third quarter and plan on graduating sometime next year.
Who is your favourite fashion designer?
Marc Jacobs and Betsey Johnson are my two all time favorite designers. I just love that they can design clothing that is actually wearable in everyday life.
How does your clothing line differ from others?
I definitely know that my clothing line differs from others because everything I design is handmade by myself. I also do custom orders for bridal and prom dresses, where my customer tells me what they want specifically and I will make it to their measurements. Also, I do free alterations on dresses that customers have purchased, but don't fit quite right.
I know your Spring 2010 line isn't out yet but could you tell me when you plan on releasing it and what your inspiration for that collection is?
My Spring Collection should hopefully be up on my website this week, if not it will hopefully be up by the end of January. My inspiration for the line was the evolution of my personal style. I went from wearing dirty Chuck Taylors and band t-shirts to wearing super feminine designer dresses everyday. The collection definitely has an unexpected twist to it.
What are your goals for the future of your line?
My long term goal for my clothing line is to eventually have my own boutiques all over the world selling my designs and to hopefully show in New York Fashion week. For now, I just want to make dresses that make women feel beautiful and confident in.
The photos for Alyssa Bird's Spring Collection were released on Tuesday. To view the collection check out her website here :
http://www.alyssabird.com/. It's a beautiful, fun, flirty collection and I hope to pick up a piece. :)
My article on her for The Hatchet will be relesed in print and online on Tuesday.
I hope you all have a great weekend. Study hard and this will be over before we know it.
Love, Jenae.
