When you were a fashion student, how did you approach your design style within the academic setting?

When I entered fashion school, I honestly didn’t know much about the fashion world. I didn’t follow designers or trends at the time. I just knew what I liked, how I liked to style myself, and what I wanted to create. I approached everything with fresh eyes. I feel like my intuition was my main guide. School challenged me to develop a more structured approach, particularly when it came to things like research, references, and mood boards. That process felt unnatural to me at first since I was used to creating from a more instinctual, hands-on place. I was never a big fan of sketching. I’ve always preferred starting with the materials directly. I like freestyling, experimenting, and letting the design evolve in real time. Ideas come to me in cycles. There are certain themes or silhouettes that stay in my head until I’ve worked through them. I have the same swirl of ideas that constantly needs an outlet. I personally like to do variations of these ideas over and over again until they leave my mind. There’s something magical about being physically present with the material, letting your hands and your imagination lead the way. I trust in my body, mind, music, and fantasy. For me, fashion has always been about self-expression first. That hasn’t changed. School helped me discipline my creativity without compromising its soul.

You started this brand from your Tumblr blog. What has this experience taught you as a creator, especially in relationship with your customer?

I’ve always followed my heart in what I create. I don’t design with trends or customer demands in mind. I make what I personally want to wear. My work has always been a form of self-expression, like a tangible piece of who I am in a moment, something to play with and share. Starting a brand through my Tumblr blog taught me a lot about vulnerability and growth. It pushed me to be more open to feedback and ideas from others. There is always room for improvement. I learned that if I want to build a sustainable business and live off my art, I have to listen. That doesn’t mean compromising my vision. It means learning how to engage with my community, stay grounded, and not take things personally, even when the work is deeply personal to me. Running a business through a blog is also just really fun. It allows me to connect directly with people and see how they style my pieces or interpret them in their own way. That part feels like a collaboration. It’s endlessly inspiring to witness others’ creativity and how they bring their own story to something I’ve made. I find people’s personal styling choices fascinating, and it genuinely brings me joy to see my work in the world of others.

After the demise of Tumblr, niche died out and trends come and go even faster. Where do you find inspiration nowadays? Do you ever feel the need to cater to ever-changing trends in the industry?

I kind of touched on this earlier, but Tumblr was never a major source of inspiration for me. It was more of an escape. I enjoyed looking at beautiful images, but it wasn’t central to my creative process. I mostly used it when I needed to create mood boards for others, which is something I’ve had to grow into rather than something that comes naturally to me. So when Tumblr’s influence faded a bit, it didn’t really affect how I create.Trends have never been a driving force in my work. I create for myself first and foremost. It’s not my priority to chase what’s popular. When you design from an inward place, a place of personal expression, trends become background noise. It kind of feels secondary. I think it’s important to stay aware of what’s happening around you, but not to the point where it drowns out your own voice.