STYLD INTERVIEWS: JAYDA ELLIS, FASHION DESIGNER OF JAELL DESIGNS.

What's sha-poppin' STYLRS! Welcome back to STYLD 101 & welcome to the first ever STYLD interview! It was my honor to sit down with my goodT sis and upcoming fashion designer, Jayda Ellis! Jayda is a twenty year old Houston native who currently resides in Atlanta to pursue her career in fashion & I must say she is definitely doing that!

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INTERVIEW TIME:

Q: When did you first start designing? And how did you learn to sew?

A: I got into fashion when I was like seven years old. My aunt, she was a fashion designer, a seamstress and she use to make clothes for her church, her daughter and I thought it was really cool. That's what made me get into fashion. I used to make clothes for my dolls. I would used to get my sister's clothes and I would cut em up into outfits for all my little toys. Once I got into middle school, that's when I started doing the whole rips, dyes, distressed denim look, and I actually started selling clothes then. Once I got to high school that's when I really started learning how to sew, so I've been sewing for about 5 years now. I started off with doing real simple things and I want to say by like my junior year that's when I started getting into dresses and doing more elaborate stuff.

Q: Where do you do draw your inspiration from?

A: I honestly feel like I get my inspiration from a lot, whether it be like different eras like the 70s and the 90s. Even like stuff I'm learning at the moment. Like my senior year, I was learning a lot about African culture so that made me want to make a whole African themed prom dress and even put out an African collection. I get my inspiration from a lot of things, when I'm designing I love using bright colors & I love patterns. I just love creating things that stand out, it won't be things that you just normally see. And I don't mean this for my formal gowns and stuff, I mean like actual clothes you can just wear out. I have a lot of different styles, I like to incorporate what I wear into what I design. I love the tomboy look. You know one day I might want to look like a boy, one day I might want to look sexy, & another day I might want to look really edgy. All of those styles is what I incorporate into my designs and inspire me while I'm creating.

SOME OF HER CREATIONS, CHECK THEM OUT!

Q: Last month, you were just at fashion week! How was that experience and how did you even get the opportunity to go?

A: Fashion week was SOOOO wonderful! That was probably like one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I got to meet a lot of people and just learned a lot of different things. I had got the opportunity honestly just from being persistent. I had emailed Christian, Christian Cowan, and sent him pictures of my work. After the email, I had just waited a couple weeks before I shot again. The second time I emailed him I would say I got a response that next morning. He said loved and told me to be out there ASAP so I got out there soon as I could. It was just really cool seeing how the whole fashion show was being put together. Just learning about resources, how the pieces were put together, how the models were chosen, and just seeing all the people that Christian was connected with. I got to meet the editor of Vogue Italy, Slick Woods, and more. In total, fashion week was really wonderful and hopefully I'll be back in September for when they do the next selection.

Q: How would you describe your journey from where you first started to where you are now?

A: This journey has been very very long, but its been so beautiful to just watch how far I've come. Like I said earlier, I started when I was seven so I went from making doll clothes. You know, getting stuff from the thrift store just to you know rip, bleach, & dye all this denim. Then high school, I was actually selling candy bars. Chips and cupcakes to my class just to afford sewing classes. From taking sewing classes and learning the basics of sewing to me being able to grow, elevate, and learn how to make dresses. Got accepted into Clark Atlanta and when it was time to go my dad said he wasn't going to help me pay for it. So I took a semester off, saved money, & went to Atlanta my second semester. I started working and trying get my name out down here. I spent a year at Clark and after that I didn't have money to stay so I got my own apartment and it was time to go hard for my business. I've been through so much and I came so far. There are a couple things that I could say that significantly have changed, my confidence and my work ethic. I have grown so so so so so so so so much and I'm really proud of myself because I'm twenty years old making gowns. Able to pay for my own place in Atlanta, no family out here or nothing like that. I came out here on was on a mission to basically chase after my dreams & I'm really doing it ya know!

Q: If you could design a piece of your own for anybody, who would it be and why would it be that person?

A: If I could have anybody in one of my pieces, it would have to be Rihanna. Just because I love everything about her, when it comes to fashion she is definitely an icon. She pulls off incredible looks, like she can really pull off anything. It doesn't matter what the style is. I love how she doesn't keep herself in this box or tries to keep the same look or anything. She loves loves loves switch things up, I would definitely want to have her in one of my pieces one day.

Q: What fashion brands do you look after?

A: I would have to say some of my favorite brands, or designers, would have to be Moschino by Jeremy Scott and also Christian Cowan. I love everything about their designs, they're so colorful, youthful, fun, and creative. I also love, another designer, her brand is called Creepyyeha. She creates a lot of edgy and sexy pieces that involve like a lot of latex, buckles, chains, corsets and things like that so I really really really love those few brands a lot.

Q: What is your creative process like?

A: When I create things, I guess I can say I do everything in the moment. I don't necessarily plan everything out. Like, say if I have a collection it'll be like I have a idea for this one piece and then once I start working on that one specific piece then I start coming up with all these other ideas to create an entire collection. Or if I'm like "Oh, I want to make a dress out of this material" I get a general idea of how I want the dress to look but I don't start adding everything that's special and unique about the design until all of the ideas come to when me, when I'm actually in the moment creating.

Q: What are the ups & downs that comes with being a fashion designer?

A: Some of the upsides of being a fashion designer would have to be that you get to connect with people all over the world through fashion. Everybody has their own look on how they view fashion and I really like that. It just allows me to express myself through the clothes I make, it's art in another form. I love the fact I can give people the confidence to feel beautiful or special and unique from wearing things that I made for them. As far as the downside, there aren't many long lasting black brands. I feel like fashion gets their inspiration from black people but there aren't many black brands that are long lasting like Gucci, Versace. Chanel or anything like that. I feel like every black brand that makes it big they're just a trend and they go away. I don't want to become a part of that, I want my brand to be around for generations.

"I feel like fashion gets their inspiration from black people but there aren't many black brands that are long lasting... "

Q: Last question, where do you see yourself in five years?

A: In five years, I plan to be making six figures, if not more. I'm working on a lot of things as far as increasing my income and just growing my business. Right now, I'm working on growing my clientele and getting my name out more. I have a couple boutiques that are interested in selling my gowns in their stores. One of the things that I'm working on is getting some manufacturers to make my dresses that way I could start having my prom dresses sold in boutiques all over the U.S. I'll still do custom orders upon request but that'll just help me generate a lot more income by having my stuff sold all over the U.S. Secondly, I plan on launching an online sewing class which I'll just basically be teaching people different types of cute and how to create cute projects and things like that. I wanted to branch off of that and wanted to do like a fashion summer camp with kids. The third thing I plan to do over the next five years, is to launch a showroom which will be for people in the entertainment/film industry. I want to basically have like gowns, bodysuits, and different types of pieces just ready for pull. Whether it be for a TV show, red carpet, music videos. Just use that as a way to get my name out as well. Over the next five years, I'm really just focusing on growth. Growing my skills, increasing my resources, income, and all of that stuff. I plan on making six figures within the next 2-3 years but I have a lot of stuff in the works. I want to be more than a fashion designer. I'm an entrepreneur first, fashion designer second. I want my name to be big and that's what I'm working on basically, that's where I see myself in five years.

It was such a pleasure sitting down with Jayda, she answered her questions truthfully and unapologetically. That's all for today STYLRS! More interviews and content will be coming soon so make sure you guys stay up to date by subscribing or follow on all social platforms for updates. Until next time, see ya!

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