Fashion designer Karen Pottle started designing her own clothes as a teenager.
The clothes that her mom made for her simply weren't cool. "I was determined
to learn how to sew," she remembers.
So, she did just that. "I was, at the time, taking a pair of pants...and
ripping them up and adding new fabrics -- to my mother's dismay!" she
laughs.
In retrospect, Pottle says her taste in fabrics was horrid. At the time,
however, she felt unique in her paisley polyesters. "I really wanted to feel
different at the time. I was one of those kids who didn't mind being
different, and as people looked at me weird, it was almost like that was an
advantage," she says.
So, by the time she was 12 years old, Pottle had claimed an identity through
fashion. Now she designs for her own company.
Her company began with a single design. Pottle had been making costumes
for a historical theater company and came across an old design that she really
liked. She remembers her thoughts: "I thought, 'Wouldn't that be
great to bring that old design back into fashion using fabrics that are accepted
today?'"
And out of that thought the maritime oil slicker was born, an idea from
which she started a whole line of rain jackets.
"I just had a sense that it was different. There was nothing like it in
the marketplace as far as the storyline goes [and] the type of twist I was
doing. At the time, it was a romantic idea."
Nobody knows, says Pottle, whether or not their designs will sell. "I think
you go in blind. I think you go in excited. I think your energy drives it,"
she says.
Now in its fourth year, Pottle's company sells outerwear clothing across
Canada and the United States. However, business success was never the driving
force for Pottle. "I think when you're driven by something that you feel
is going to work, and especially if you're a designer, the creative part
of it [overrides] the business part of it -- and if the business part works
it's a plus."
Fashion designer Ronnie Bogle remembers the first time he walked by a store
window and saw one of his designs on a mannequin.
"Six long years of experimentation, thousands of hours of research and
the ups-and-downs of producing a catalog -- and there it was standing before
me," he recalls. "It was an incredible rush of accomplishment."
It's no wonder Bogle felt so passionately about this moment; he's
passionate about his art.
"Many people don't think of clothing as art, but I firmly believe
it should be," he says. "A design should receive as much dedication, attention
and care as any other work of art."
Fellow fashion designers also speak about the love of art and the flash
of inspiration.
Every designer has a unique style that makes his or her work recognizable.
Coming up with an individual, marketable style takes lots of practice and
plenty of research, says Bogle.
"I have two degrees in spatial and fashion design, which helped me to create
my own style, but I still needed to do a lot of studying," he says. "In this
industry, you can't have too much information."
Some good places to collect information are textile factories, art galleries
and museums. Bogle feels research and experimentation are the signs of a dedicated
fashion-design junkie.
Bogle's dedication to the fashion industry is also reflected in the
sheer number of hours he puts in every day. As the designer, producer and
merchandiser of his own company, Bogle is involved in all levels of the business.
With three studios, there are a lot of levels of business to attend to.
Bogle says he doesn't mind all the hours. He calls it a labor of love.
"I'm thankful I don't belong to an industry where I look forward
to the weekend," he says. "A designer is always at work. I often find myself
sketching designs over morning coffee or waking up in the middle of the night
to jot down an idea."
Another method of entering this field is to go straight to the manufacturer
and ask them to look at your portfolio. This takes persistence
and self-confidence, but these are necessary ingredients for a fashion designer.
"I cannot begin to tell you the number of times I marched into a manufacturer's
office and refused to take no for an answer," Bogle says.
Bogle's initiative has paid off and he says a career in fashion design
has been well worth the effort.
"There is no better feeling than seeing someone wearing something you have
designed and knowing they feel wonderful wearing it," he says. "I am proud
to be part of this industry for just that reason."