Fashion,  Creative or Technical Nerd ? The Stories Behind Fashion

In this episode, we discuss how we identify; “creative nerds”, “fashion nerds” or “technical nerd”. We engage in a heartfelt discussion about our unique approaches to fashion and the significance of storytelling in design.

Key Highlights:

Individuality in Design:

One host expresses admiration for designer Tom Brown and advocates for the creation of singular, standout pieces, like coats, instead of traditional seasonal collections. This reflects a shift towards more personal, meaningful fashion.

The Power of Storytelling:

The conversation emphasizes the importance of storytelling in fashion. The hosts reminisce about their experiences in the industry, noting how a focus on lifestyle branding can overshadow the intrinsic value of clothing as art.

Sentimental Anecdotes:

A memorable story is shared about an employee who, through a unique store policy, helped her mother purchase a luxurious woolen cashmere coat for just one cent. This anecdote illustrates how fashion can carry deep sentimental value and personal connections.

The Tech Designer’s Perspective:

Tisha shares her journey as a tech designer, discussing the challenges of managing an overflowing wardrobe filled with designer samples. Her insights highlight the intersection of creativity and practicality in the fashion world.

Inspiration and Preference:

The hosts explore their personal creative preferences, revealing how inspiration drives their work and the importance of understanding the stories behind fashion items. Listen now to explore the heart and soul of fashion design! Links: Free Cover Me Chic Kimono pattern: https://covermechic.com We want to hear from you! If this episode inspired you in anyway take a screen shot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram stories and tag us, @designersplantsandcoffee

00:00 – 00:04 Welcome to the Designer’s Plants and Coffee podcast where we discuss how to succeed as a designer   00:04 – 00:09 while staying true to yourself, finding peace in the process, and making money doing what we love.   00:09 – 00:12 Subscribe on YouTube and wherever you get your podcast.   00:12 – 00:19 Today, we want to invite you all into a discussion we were having the other day, and it centered   00:19 – 00:23 around, are you a creative nerd or a fashion nerd?   00:23 – 00:29 And what we mean by that is I always consider myself a fashion nerd. I’m the creator, designer.   00:29 – 00:34 Tish is the technical, make clothes, but I’m gonna make sure your clothes fit.   00:34 – 00:39 And Zahiyya is the, I’m just gonna design everything and have somebody else make it.   00:39 – 00:43 And we realized that that is how we ended up in our separate careers.   00:43 – 00:48 So the vision that I have in my head, I can make it to make sure it comes to life.   00:48 – 00:50 But after that, I’m like, it’s done. I’m finished.   00:51 – 00:53 I can push it on to somebody else.   00:53 – 00:59 At the top of my fabric bookcase, I have a stack of fashion magazines that I’ve collected throughout   00:59 – 01:02 the years, and I’m gonna look and see what the oldest one is.   01:02 – 01:04 I just love Fashion That A Lot.   01:04 – 01:07 And so I wait for fashion week.   01:07 – 01:11 I used to watch all the shows that I wanted to watch.   01:11 – 01:13 So I would only watch shows that the designers I like.   01:13 – 01:15 That’s how I discovered a lot of new designers.   01:16 – 01:18 And Tish, I think you know this.   01:18 – 01:19 I am in love with Tom Bright.   01:19 – 01:22 Like, I am a groupie. I am a fan.   01:22 – 01:27 When I teach it and it’s a rainy day, I make them watch his shows on YouTube. Like   01:27 – 01:28 Who is Tom Brown?   01:29 – 01:34 Believe London based avant garde designer, but even his avant garde pieces are wearable.   01:35 – 01:41 So you get these big puffy coats and these dog shaped handbags and I mean, but his stuff is   01:41 – 01:44 really wearable, but at the same time, he’s putting on the show.   01:44 – 01:46 I would say I watch shows.   01:46 – 01:49 I I love, like, the fashion collections and history.   01:49 – 01:52 And but I also like the creative side.   01:52 – 01:56 But I will say I don’t want to sit and create a full collection.   01:56 – 01:59 I don’t. I wanna create pieces.   01:59 – 02:05 I just wanna see something or dream about something, and I wanna get up and I wanna make it.   02:05 – 02:07 I mean, but a collection tells a full story.   02:07 – 02:13 You can’t necessarily show everything that you want to express in one piece Because otherwise,   02:13 – 02:14 it’d just be too busy.   02:14 – 02:19 So but then you put a collection of pieces so it’s cohesive and it works together. It’s the same thing.   02:19 – 02:21 Like, I think about a collection as a wardrobe.   02:21 – 02:24 So, like, for for the season, it’s just like, okay.   02:24 – 02:28 How would I present this piece as a part of a bigger collection?   02:28 – 02:34 Well, see for me, my collection would be like, the only collection I would ever want to make is coats.   02:34 – 02:37 And I would make a whole season’s worth of coat. Right?   02:37 – 02:40 But I don’t wanna make the pants to go with the coat.   02:40 – 02:44 I just want a whole bunch of different coats, and I want that to be my entire collection.   02:44 – 02:46 I’ve designed a collection before.   02:46 – 02:52 I think it’s more of having the inspiration and the creative thought to think a full collection   02:52 – 02:58 because I’m thinking about how everything is going to tie together to go back, but I’m also   02:58 – 03:01 thinking of of the fits because that’s what I do.   03:02 – 03:07 I’m thinking of the different silhouettes, making sure everything kind of looks balanced but cohesive.   03:07 – 03:10 And it’s it’s really interesting because I was working at this company.   03:10 – 03:15 And I’m listening to the owner say, this is a lifestyle. We’re selling a lifestyle.   03:15 – 03:17 We’re not just selling clothes. We’re selling a lifestyle.   03:17 – 03:19 Where are they gonna wear it?   03:19 – 03:22 I’m not I’m not I’m not person to say this is a lifestyle.   03:22 – 03:23 You have to sell the lifestyle.   03:23 – 03:25 You have to sell the you know?   03:25 – 03:31 But, I mean, the way people stylize it and wear it is totally different than sometimes I would have thought about it.   03:31 – 03:32 You know what I’m saying?   03:32 – 03:37 But I love coming up with the the inspiration, the pieces, and people do what they want with it. You know?   03:37 – 03:41 Because when I see people wearing some of the stuff when I that I designed in the street, it’s   03:41 – 03:44 like, that’s not necessarily how I intended it to wear, but it still looks good.   03:44 – 03:45 You know what I’m saying?   03:45 – 03:51 I would be the person who is wearing it not necessarily how you intended to wear it because   03:51 – 03:59 if I can, I had the pleasure of testing one of your patterns, and I wore it?   03:59 – 04:04 And I don’t think you intended it for it to be a matching set with the shorts I made with it.   04:04 – 04:08 So I think I’m more of a fashion style girl who creates.   04:08 – 04:12 I’m a creator because, I mean, we’re just talking about the size of our wardrobe, you know.   04:12 – 04:16 And I’m like I mean, you would think I would have a lot of clothes, but I do not have a lot of clothes.   04:16 – 04:20 I I make a lot of my own, but it’s very specific pieces.   04:20 – 04:22 And the stuff that I don’t like, I give away.   04:22 – 04:25 But, Naima, why don’t you explain to the people how big your wardrobe is?   04:25 – 04:29 I have a very extensive wardrobe, and I have pieces in that wardrobe.   04:29 – 04:32 And I like, for for prime example, and I also take a picture of this.   04:32 – 04:35 I used to work at a major department store.   04:35 – 04:42 And, at that major department store, if somebody bought a garment back from say California and   04:42 – 04:48 they returned it in DC and we didn’t have that, it would be marked to 1 cent and sent to like   04:48 – 04:50 a TJ Maxx type place.   04:50 – 04:55 Just so happens this coat ended up on the sales floor for 1¢.   04:55 – 04:57 Employees couldn’t buy 1¢ things. Right?   04:57 – 05:00 Because you can’t use your employee discount.   05:00 – 05:01 So what did this girl do?   05:01 – 05:06 And this coat is gorgeous. It’s it’s woolen cashmere. It’s thicker. Gorgeous coat.   05:06 – 05:12 So I called my mother, and I said, I need you to listen very carefully.   05:12 – 05:13 I need you to come to the store.   05:13 – 05:17 There is going to be a rack with 6 coats on it.   05:17 – 05:22 I want you to try on 3 of them, and I’m gonna point you in the direction of the 3 you need to try on.   05:22 – 05:23 And you need to buy the one that cost a penny. Right.   05:23 – 05:29 Because if you find a penny coat or a penny garment on the floor, they have to sell it to you.   05:29 – 05:33 So she takes the coats and she’s trying them on, and I come from out there.   05:33 – 05:35 I worked in the back, and I come out the back.   05:35 – 05:36 I was like, oh, yes.   05:36 – 05:37 My mom, she wanted a code.   05:37 – 05:40 You know, I’m gonna get it for her with my discount.   05:40 – 05:42 You know, we we played it up. Right?   05:42 – 05:45 And the the guy rang it up, and he was like, this   05:45 – 05:47 is a penny. She said, I’ll take that one.   05:47 – 05:49 And I still have that code.   05:49 – 05:52 Now I might not can button it, but I’ll never get rid of it.   05:52 – 05:53 And this is how I tend to collect.   05:53 – 05:57 Tell you a story behind most of my favorite pieces.   05:57 – 06:00 I can tell you why I got it, where I got it, how I got it.   06:00 – 06:03 But, yeah, I I do have a very extensive wardrobe.   06:04 – 06:06 I wear most of it.   06:06 – 06:10 You know, you just I could go for 3, 4 weeks and not repeat something.   06:10 – 06:11 So Tisha, what about you?   06:11 – 06:13 How does your wardrobe compare to Nameless?   06:13 – 06:14 Just as bad.   06:14 – 06:15 I have a reason though.   06:15 – 06:22 Because as a tech designer, everything that is in the stores come across our desk. I literally come home.   06:22 – 06:24 I got trash bags right now of samples.   06:24 – 06:26 And can I just tell you she’s an enabler?   06:27 – 06:29 In those trash bags, there’s probably half of the stuff is for   06:29 – 06:33 because when you work in the industry, the designs are the last people to see it.   06:33 – 06:37 Not unless I mean, we see, like, the first fit sample, but when it comes to, like, the production,   06:38 – 06:44 tech design sees it and they snag it before the designer that designed it actually gets a sample. So that’s not right.   06:44 – 06:49 I’m just telling you right now because designers are the last people to see the stuff that they made.   06:49 – 06:50 And then it’s like on   06:50 – 06:53 the sales floor. No. It’s like as it’s it’s in the showroom in themselves.   06:53 – 06:55 Like, oh, I didn’t even know that came in.   06:55 – 06:56 And you’re just like, oh, yeah.   06:56 – 06:59 And everybody has a sample but the designer.   06:59 – 07:01 Alright. And that’s all for now.   07:01 – 07:06 I’m Leticia of Keeping You in Stitches along with Zahir from Regent Design Lab and Cover Me   07:06 – 07:10 Chic and Naima of Fearless Threads. Until next time.