Fourteenth: My Designs From The Beginning
Clients often ask how I became a designer. I didn’t decide my career direction at the end of high school. I believe it was something inborn and nurtured during my early childhood.
Growing up, I was surrounded by talented family members. My mom loved to do embroidery and taught me this lost art at a very young age. Both my Nana and Grandmother were great at sewing and all other forms of needlework. They often made two of everything, one for me and one for my sister eleven months older than me.
That is me, in the handmade blue dress!
In school, I loved any project that had to be imagined and constructed. I remember while studying ancient Egypt in sixth grade, making a pyramid out of cardboard. It was big enough to walk inside and filled with hand-drawn hieroglyphics on the walls. While in middle school, I won the top prize for the Fire Prevention Poster Contest after constructing a frame of a house from burned wooden matchsticks. It was so tedious to make. Placed inside was miniature furniture I made and then charred. The poster said, “Don’t Let This Be Your House” in fiery letters. When the Fire Chief came to present me with the $200 savings bond, he told me my poster brought him to tears because it reminded him of a house in town that had just burned down.
In fifth grade, I asked my mom if I could get a desk to do my school work. We found the perfect wooden structure in the basement. It turned out to be a sewing cabinet with a Singer Style-O-Matic 328K laying dormant inside. At age ten, I began sewing. I still sew on this vintage 1963 metal sewing machine today!
“I entered my very first sewing contest at a young age. I loved this skirt and jacket made from a floral corduroy. If only I had a knack for modeling, I might have won!”
“By the time I was a senior in high school, I had taken every sewing course and art course offered. I aced Advanced Sewing and the only other option was to create an independent study course in my junior and senior year. My English teacher, Mrs. Petescola, asked me to make her dresses. She may have been my first customer ever. ”
I graduated seventh in my high school class and was awarded the Home Economics Scholarship—AND the United States Army Scholar-Athlete award. My teammates often teased me and called me Suzy Homemaker. I spent my free periods in the sewing room while they hung out in the gym.
As time went on, I made costumes for so many friends. I remember designing my witch hat and knowing I wanted a black veil coming from the tippy top. Maybe it was a sign of things to come. I ended up marrying Robin Hood. I knew he was a good catch when he didn’t put up a fuss when I told him he had to wear tights to finish off the costume.
When it came time to apply for college,I applied to only one school, the Fashion Institute of Technology, as it was the only place I wanted to attend. Many are unaware that I entered as a Fashion Buying and Merchandising Major because I didn’t have confidence in my artistic ability. By the end of my first year as an FBM major, I knew that all I wanted to do was design. I applied to the Design Program and was accepted!
I have kept just about every sketch, rendering, notes, design textbooks, draping project, and sample sewing application from my vintage days of studying at F.I.T. The techniques I learned there were classic and a basis for every step in my career. I knew that eventually, I would need to reference them again, and I have on many occasions.
It is funny when I look back at some projects. We only had typewriters back then, so we labeled all of our work with handwritten text.
“It was a struggle to receive an A in Fashion Illustration. I often received a B, B+, or A-. Fashion Illustration kept me off of the highest honors upon graduation.”
At the end of my second year of F.I.T., I married Jeff (a.k.a. Robin Hood) in June of 1982. I knew I wanted to design my wedding gown. I had little money, so I cashed in the $200 bond I won in middle school and had enough money to buy ten yards of satin, ten yards of organza, and forty yards of lace to make my dress.
“Still to this day, I love the train on my wedding gown. It had a victorian flair with ten rows of hand ruffled embroidered lace. I always seem to be sewing until the last minute. On my wedding day, I sat on my bed and sewed the hand covered buttons on the bodice.”
My baby sister was three years old and was my little flower girl. I designed her gown to match with the materials in mine.
I also made my mom’s gown and created my first cascading bouquet made of white silk roses.
In my final year at F.I.T., I chose to specialize in intimate apparel design. The year culminates with the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology Fashion Show, which includes all specializations. It is presented three nights in a row with one night strictly for top designers and recruiters in the fashion world. All students hope that one design will be chosen by the committee to appear in the show. I had three garments selected.
This ensemble was my term project and chosen for the show. The requirement was that fashions of the past inspire this final design. My inspiration was the Victorian Era. I think my design might have been influenced by my wedding gown, as well. Of course, I still have all of my garments stored away.
“While I might not have made my mark with a recognizable name on Fashion Ave, I definitely left my mark on F.I.T. I was the first student ever to design a corselet and panty to be presented at the final fashion show. It was considered borderline scandalous in 1983. I had to receive final permission from the President for it to be shown on stage. I can only imagine what walks the runway today!”
I don’t ever think I will lose my passion for design. I often think of how I can improve and what I can design that has never been done before. I am thankful for the days gone by and grateful for everything I have learned from using an embroidery hoop to threading a sewing machine. God gave me a gift, but it is the people I encountered along the way who taught me what to do with that gift.
Rendering by Marie Hunt 2020
See you next month on the Fourteenth