The designer of Zanniekini fiddles with a piece of black-cloth material that’s almost the size of her whole body. It drapes over her arms as she measures it out.
“I usually use one that’s bigger,” she said.
With my small knowledge of the fashion world, I think to myself that Zannie’s material could make a normal-sized dress, but she’s molding this large piece of fabric into a small bikini.
Alexandra “Zannie” Jones, A.K.A. the designer of Zanniekini, recently had her hands full with preparing 12 bathing suits for Gainesville Fashion Week (GFW).
GFW, in its seventh year, is where fashion enthusiasts come to celebrate their love for design. This year’s event featured student designers, models and directors. A few of the emerging designers included: Zanniekini, YeYe by Chinya Ni, Francine Elizabeth, Mikho by 1oz and Xiaolin.
Via: facebook.com
Francine Elizabeth Schulze, 21-year-old creator of Francine Elizabeth Designs, has been designing jewelry since she was 5 years old and clothing since she was 7. Schulze has been participating in GFW since her first runway show when she was 18, she says. She feels the event is a great opportunity for student designers.
“It’s really a good place to start out and branch out from,” she said. “It’s a good place to grow your portfolio.”
These designers, though students, have already established themselves in a complex industry. While many girls dream about one day becoming fashion designers, a small percentage of them actually pursue as a career. If you find yourself itching to be the next (insert your favorite designer here), I’ve compiled a few steps on how to get started in the messy, glamorous world of fashion.
First, buy a sewing machine
Jones encourages people to start out by learning how to sew, cutting their own clothes and wearing their clothes differently. While her grandmother taught her how to sew headbands initially, she thinks it’s a good idea to take lessons. After you harness your ability to create clothes, it’s time to put it all together with materials.
Choose fabrics wisely
Both Jones and Schulze stress the importance of picking good fabrics. Jones says that searching for fabric takes her a lot of time, because bathing suit fabrics tend to be tacky. Finding the right material can allow you to use it an innovative way.
“I get the fabric and then I let the fabric tell its own story instead of forcing a sketch,” Schulze said.
Develop your style
Both Schulze and Jones have developed unique styles through their designing so far.
While Schulze’s clothes have a sophisticated, edgy look, her jewelry takes a elegant, yet earthy turn. Her jewelry features a lot of beautifully colored stones that emphasize their earthy origins..
Jones’ style plays with a variety of colors and patterns, while also using the manipulation of straps to her advantage. Her suits embody the female figure, while also keeping a playful, classy vibe.
“I like things natural and simple. I do have a little bit of earthy, tribal patterns, but I try to keep them like classy,” Jones said. “But, they’re still a little bit daring and they’re a little bit skimpy.”
Market your designs
Once the clothes have been designed, the next step for any fashion designer is marketing. Jones advice is to start blogging about your newly designed, get on social media and share your creativity. Most of Jones’ sales come from her Instagram: ZANNIEBIKINIS, with over 1,700 followers. Both of the girls also promote their designs and Etsy profiles through Facebook.
Showcase your work
GFW gives young designers the opportunity to showcase their work to models, other designers, students and citizens of Gainesville. Although Gainesville isn’t the fashion capital of the world, it still allows a young designer to gain experience with the runway and get their name out there.
After the show, Jones was impressed by the way her line turned out.
“The models, I have to say, killed it,” Jones said. “They practiced it and they made the bathing suits look so much better than I could have ever imagined.”
Via: facebook.com
Whether you dream of competing on the next season of “Project Runway,” strutting down the runway in the latest Vera Wang or simply love the creative process of fashion designing, GFW has a variety of internships and positions available to students.
The mostly student-run event takes months of planning, but all comes together on a runway of bright lights along with excited, young minds. While Jones may finally be done with the runway pressure of GFW, she’s still in the process of creating.
Her hands pull a bikini strap, measuring it around her neck.
“It was so fun seeing my designs on the runway,” she said as she plays with the bikini strap. “I tried to keep it as simple as possible,” she said. “But maybe next year I’ll make more.”
Featured photo courtesy of: San Antonio Current
