Isolation comes from the word “insula” which means island. It’s also how one might describe the feeling of starting your own label. From ideation to realisation, it takes an insurmountable amount of energy and willpower to start independently. Perhaps a few years ago I was willing to forgo external influence on my creative process for the sake of freedom to do whatever I wanted. I truly felt involving others would’ve been more of a hindrance, as just I did not have it in me to foster the relationships I needed. Perhaps a few years ago my cup was full.
That was one of my biggest mistakes when we first launched this brand.
It’s easy to mistake the process of building a career as a successful fashion designer with that of a mad artist. It all starts from a sketch, perhaps in your current favourite notebook or even a piece of A4 paper you’ve stolen from the printer at your day job. You take that sketch and you build on it, you put it through conversation with the rest of the world and you check if it’s within the context of the general subconscious but all the while you must NEVER compromise your originality either.
After you’ve killed enough darlings, you go onto calico. One sample, two samples, three samples… finally by the seventh time you’re happy with the cut, length, proportion -what have you. And you’ve been alone all this time. Alone with your tools, your thoughts, and the slow hum of your sewing machine left on standby. How many incense sticks have you metaphorically burned in the hopes of literally sparking a breakthrough? What time is it? In the end, years of practising on my own weren’t enough.
Surround yourself with good people who understand you, and who have your back. No, this isn’t me giving you general life advice (although this is good general life advice). This is me telling you the single most important thing I’ve learned in starting your own label. Doing this has afforded me the clarity I so desperately craved. It allowed me to put my vision in the hands of people who could help me -not only realise it but bring it forward to a place much further than I could on my own.
I can’t wait to introduce the people who have gotten us to our next collection. I would love to show you their work, but you’ll have to wait for the next post when we make another really big and exciting announcement as well.
Thanks for reading. Until next time. ✌️
- Yavi