Open Letter to the Skeptical...

Date: May 20, 2013

To Whom It May Concern:

Dear [Recipient]:

            I have been interested in fashion since I was a little girl. I would cut out pictures that I liked out of my mother’s magazines and make paper dolls. I would watch America’s Next Top Model, Project Runway, and red carpet shows for the annual award shows. I had so much inspiration bottled up by watching these shows that they had to be put on paper. I would do my own illustrations and indicate which fabric they were made of. Growing up I did not have the proper knowledge of how to do fashion illustrations nor how to make a full garment. I did my own research and learned. I did research on designers and brands, other than Coco Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Guccio Gucci, and Burberry. When doing research I picked up on the task of learning about the sewing machine that collected dust in my house and used it for a few projects. After a little bit of practice I then enrolled myself in the Brookline Adult Education fashion design classes. I made a pair of pajama pants, a pillowcase, a tissue holder, and a few other things. With all of this happening, my love for fashion was growing.

             Few years later and I finally enrolled into a school that had what I wanted: FASHION. The major was titled Fashion Design & Retailing. My concentration was Apparel Design. Throughout these past four years I learned many things about doing business overseas as well as how to construct a garment. I learned how to do a proper hand drawn fashion illustration and build a professional portfolio. I spent MANY hours working on garments and illustrations that were due the next day or few weeks later. Sometimes the garment I was making did not come out the way that I wanted it to. This major/profession requires patience. Do you have patience? Can you sit at a sewing machine for hours on end trying to make a garment perfect?

            So you ask what can I do with a degree in fashion? Let me tell you: EVERYTHING!!! With a degree in fashion you can be a:

·       Head designer/design director

·       Designer

·       Assistant & associate designer

·       CAD operator/designer (computer-aided design)

·       Fabric research & development

·       Sales & showroom representative

·       Production manager

·       Pattern maker/draper/sample hand

·       Retail buyer

·       Retail manager

·       Sales associate

·       Fashion journalist

·       Costume Historian

·       Print/Textile/Surface designer

·       Accessory designer

·       Costume designer

·       Stylist

·       Public Relations specialist

·       Trend forecaster

·       Event Planner/Show producer

·       Fashion Illustrator

·       Fashion photographer

·       Graphic designer

       With each career there is a whole lot of work to do but is fun. A career is something you love & enjoy. A job is a place that just pays bills and you are not satisfied with. Being a fashion designer is a career I love. “Fashion design encompasses a tremendous array of skills that relate to nearly every area of the industry. What may appear as disparate elements operating within their own area is actually a highly choreographed system that chain reacts to produce a collection every season”*. So when you’re in the store shopping and you pick up a dress, shirt, blouse, pants, skirt, handbag, jewelry, and/or shoes just think of me!!

Sincerely,

Sue-Ann V. Francis
 Fashion Designer &Blogger

*quote taken from Creating A Successful Fashion Collection by Steven Faerm