A Letter to you From…
Welcome to the life of a designer,
Don’t underestimate talent, it may not be necessarily calculating the orbit of the earth or the speed of a rocket, it would not be the ability to detect viruses and prescribe medicine nor will it be the knack to argue and win a case. It’s high time to break the stigma of the so called more important jobs verses the jobs not so intellectual people do?
Talent and passion go hand in hand. Sometimes children are born with the passion to things which are out of the world. For you it may be impossible, but for them the opportunities are endless. Do not stop them. But teach them to do anything they do at its best.
My mother is very superstitious. When she got pregnant at 40, she was very hesitant to move forward with the pregnancy. So, she went to a fortuneteller. And, I guess, the fortuneteller, you know, advised her to keep the baby and to move forward with it, and that I would be something that would be very beneficial for her to have, you know, in the future. I was born on 26th December 1983, in San Francisco to parents originally from Taiwan. Besides me, the family includes two elder siblings.
My sartorial leanings set out long before at the age of three. My mom would take me to restaurants, and the first thing I’d ask for would be a pen and a napkin, and I’d sketch shoes and shoes and shoes. My first fashion show, at age of fifteen, consisted of 33 evening dresses, which I designed for my sister-in-law. I think part of it had to do with my sewing skills and not being able to actually sew tailored garments. No one ever taught me, and I never had formal classes in pattern making, so I was like, Okay, I’ll just drape, and I’ll sew as I pin it. I always knew I wanted my own collection, even if that meant creating clothes on my time off from school. So I did that, and I brought them to an editor at Teen Vogue and she was like, ‘This is great!’ When I approached my family about leaving school, I thought they were going to say, ‘No way!’, but my mom was intrigued and said ‘Let’s try it’. And I said, ‘Oh my gosh, ok!’ I moved to New York City in 2002 to attend fashion school at Parsons and launched my namesake line just two years later in 2004 at 19. Since its inception, the Alexander Wang business has been a family affair; my brother is the company’s chief financial adviser and my sister- in- law is the chief principal officer. “I’m not like most designers, who have to set sail on an exotic getaway to get inspired. Most of the time, it’s on my walk to work, or sitting in the subway and seeing something random or out of context.” I love what I do and I’m always passionate and inspired. There are so many things to extract from our surroundings that go unnoticed because of our busy lifestyle.
When I was 20, I turned down a job that von Furstenberg offered me personally after she spotted one of my knits on a Vogue staffer. I was really flattered when she called, but I’d dropped out of school to start this line, I’d made a commitment to my family who had supported me in it, and I wasn’t ready to give up. Whenever I saw good opportunities I got the best out of them but never lost sight of my goal.
On a typical day, I wake up at 7: 30 a. m. “I wake up to a really annoying ring on my phone because I’m a deep sleeper. I barely have my eyes open and I’m flipping through texts and emails; people have already emailed from Paris,” Luckily, I doesn’t have a hard time getting dressed. “My closet is like a uniform—I could sleepwalk into it, and my right hand would pull out black jeans, and my left would pull out my T- shirt. I have more than 50 pairs of black jeans, and my closet is filled with black shirts: my slouchy black, my stiff black, my dressy black that I wear under a jacket, my brushed-cotton black, the more dressy cotton black, the cashmere black, the knit black that’s made to look like a T- shirt. I’ve always loved that scene in American Psycho when he opens the closet and it’s all arranged by color. And I love sneakers and sneaker culture. I have around 40 pairs and usually three of the same style. But I feel like I can’t pull off crazy sneakers, so I wear toned- down all- black ones.”
Fashion is a lifestyle. I live and breathe with my creations. It’s a knack to style yourself which is the first stage of your love towards fashion. It’s a modern industry which is ever changing.
It hasn’t always been smooth sailing I’ve had allegations made about my business which I did prove wrong. But what is life without its ups and downs. I have to admit I am one lucky chap being able to come so far with the support of everyone I love.
It is very important that a Childs family supports them no matter what. I’ve been passionate about what I do from a young age, and sometimes children can’t figure out what they want to do. But do not limit their imagination. It is our duty to show them the limitless choices of passions, lifestyles and careers.
Give your child the freedom of choice. Young. Wild. Free. Alexander Wang Devuni Goonewardene Email any comments, criticisms or feedback to devuni@gmail.com