Today I want to share with you an interview I did with a lovely designer, Alexandra Grecco. I met her at the Chictopia10 Summit where she presented a few pieces from her collection. Her designs are full of whimsy and charm, and take me back to the glory days of the pin-up.
How did you know you wanted to become a designer? Growing up I always said I wanted to be a fashion designer, but it felt so distant and unreal to me, very much like an extravagant dream. I started my first collection last summer knowing that I loved to design clothes and reconstruct vintage, but I didn't have specific goals in mind and I didn't know much about the business. I started creating patterns and developing pieces and talked about them on my blog and through etsy.com. The beauty of being able to sell on-line and represent yourself through a blog, is that its entirely in your hands and you can reach out to anyone. The response has been really lovely and encouraging and I think it hit me the other day when I saw my name in NY Mag, that I was a designer!
What made you finally take the leap to begin designing your collection? I owe a lot to the responses I got from readers of my blog and my etsy buyers when I first started. There is a plethora of inspiration available though photography and fashion blogs, and I was reading them frequently when I was designing my first collection. I still read blogs everyday, the writers inspire me and I like to think that I'm designing for them.
What were you doing before you began working on your collection? Working some awful 9-5's for a little while, but before that I took a year after college and hopped on a plane to London with the highest of hopes to travel the world! I made it to a few places for sure, but my pockets emptied pretty quickly.
What are your sources of inspiration? Oh, lots! I daydream a lot which was always an annoyance in school, but really good and helpful now that I get to solidify those dreams into clothes! I'm inspired mostly through older silent films and dreamy, soft focus photography, and alluring women.
Favorite thing to do when you're not designing? I'm thinking it's going to be making luscious cupcakes. I've been thinking about that for the past 20 or so minutes, so it's safe to say this will be my future favorite activity, when not designing. xoxo
Do take a look at her blog and website, I promise they will inspire you.
In fact, I am now contemplating on putting on the Grand Hotel, doing some soft light photography, and enjoying some luscious cupcakes.