AN OPEN LETTER TO FASHION ASPIRANTS

Remember the time when you chose your very first outfit? Or the time you thought you would create clothes for yourself and the world to adorn?

Or even the time when you would have imaginary fashion shows in your bedroom with your mum as audience?

It all seems like rainbows and unicorns until you realise your dream is not going to turn itself into reality. It's your job to make sure that the dream you had with open starry eyes gets turned into a reality, right? But the question is, how?

What should I do?

Whom should I ask?

Can I do it?

Am I good enough?

I have also asked all of the above questions and more! So I am sure a lot of you might have these queries too.

There is so much to know and so much to learn in the beginning that it can change your whole career graph. There’s so much knowledge to consume that can definitely take you one step ahead of others.

Coco Chanel once said “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different”. We are all unique, just like snow flakes. But to be different, we need to ask ourse the right questions!

You can say that it all starts at the core: if your core has a strong foundation, you will be able to cross all the hurdles that you may face in the future. When you know who you are, inherently the power to embrace any obstacles in your career becomes a breeze.

I am only 16 but I started my career young so I have some advice which may help you to not only be a better version of yourself but also take you one step closer to your goals

1. Gain more and more knowledge

Before indulging yourself in this area do research thoroughly about what is fashion. Research about all the numerous opportunities that are provided in this field and options to choose from. Cause fashion designing is not the only thing which comes under it, there is more to it fashion designing is just a part of it. There are an enormous number of things for you to do like textile designing, fashion forecasting, fashion technology, accessory designing, styling, leather designing and many more. Read as many blogs and fashion magazines as possible because it will give you an overview of fashion. It will give you a better understanding of this industry and will help you explore your thoughts on fashion as a career.

2. Make time your friend, not enemy

We all think that we have an abundance of time but we do not. I used to think that too, leaving it all to do later, procrastinating to do it but not doing it. And it became one of my drawbacks for my slow progress. Today's rest becomes tomorrow's regret. To save yourself from that regret stop procrastinating your life instead take action for it. My suggestion is to always make a to do list and jot down all your daily tasks, also try them to complete them. At first it will be difficult but eventually you'll develop a habit of it. This habit is important for proper time management.

3. Follow designer Shala

Designer shala is the one stop solution for all your questions. It's in fashion Academy that aims at educating fashion aspirants and providing them with a platform to develop themselves. You can read blogs on designer shala regarding various tips and tricks to guide you throughout your journey. You can also have in-depth information on topics related to fashion, not only this but designershala also offers you courses to improve your skills. You can enroll yourself in concept to creation cource which will give your illustrations a better shape. drawing for rookies is one of the courses provided by designer shala which will enhance your drawing skills and which will prove to be beneficial for other college entrance exams. go follow designershala on all social media platforms and get notified on all fashion updates.

4. Develop several skills

Things that set you apart from others are having several skills. As a young aspirant it is easy for you to develop various skills at such a young age. It is a way to upgrade yourself and add on to your portfolio. possessing several skills will not only make you an all-rounder but also, we'll give you an opportunity to flourish yourself. having skills with only make you better and independent skills like drawing painting live sketching etc are very much needed in this area. one skill that you should develop is of reading it is a very important skill that every youngster should have, it calms your mind and opens it for various perspectives and gives you an overview of the world

5. Social interactions

It is always beneficial to interact and connect with people of the same interest. communication is necessary if you want to connect with people and express your thoughts, you should be able to express your emotions to others as it is needed if you want people to remember you and your work. It is better to do social networking to find like-minded people and connect with them. It gives you an opportunity to know different points of view of people and know what's actually happening in the world.

6. Digital skill set

Nowadays the world is tilting towards a digital approach to fashion, one should be able to work with the latest technology as it is the most crucial part of designing these days. content creation, editing skills have become important. Almost everything has become digital from fashion shows to garment construction to digital printing. Every design company demands someone who can easily go hand in hand with technology and knows to use various software. but it's the beginning and it is not possible for you to know how these technologies and software work’s, but what you can do is to be updated and learn to do editing at the beginner's level or try digital art.

7. know your goal

There is so much to choose from, learn, and get inspired from in fashion. fashion is an enormous term which consists of never-ending opportunities, but no one can be a master of all. You need to find your area of interest or field that interests you, fascinates you and to do so you need to do research a lot, learn about all the courses in depth and find out which course you want to continue and start working on it. Being passionate and determined towards one goal will make the job much easier, also choose your stream accordingly based on the requirement of that particular course. Rather than going in several directions identify your route.

All the points mentioned above are advice from my personal experience, the things I face and the things I personally think I knew at the beginning which would have done. My journey would have became much easier and more efficient. I hope you find it helpful as a beginner.