Designer Aviva Falk shares how she went from being a Midwestern girl to selling her clothing alongside of the world's biggest names in fashion.
And she does. After moving to New York to pursue her dream of starting her own label, Aviva landed a prestigious internship, gained accolades from some of the industry's most influential bloggers, and has sold her clothing line alongside some of the biggest designers. Here Aviva shares her tips to making a name for yourself in the fashion world:
1. Don't be afraid to stand out.
"I'm one of eight kids and when I was little my parents forgot me at a restaurant," says Aviva, who learned early on that she had to stand out in order to succeed--and survive. "I ran outside and saw their car pulling out of the parking lot. As I was standing there I thought, Man I have to stand out more than this!"
But that honest mistake (they swear!) was nothing compared to the fear of spending her whole life in the Midwest town she was raised in.
"A lot of people there didn't have an eclectic style and I always loved clothes and I always loved to dress really crazy," says Aviva, who used her unique style as a way to express her personality. "My dream was to move to New York and be a fashion designer. I told everyone in high school I'm getting out of this town!"
So with two suitcases and a Singer sewing machine Aviva made the move to New York. Even among her couture-obsessed classmates at the Fashion Institute of Technology, Aviva stood out thanks to her creative designs and ambitious nature, enough so that she landed herself a coveted internship with Diane von Furstenberg.
2. Maintain good relationships.
Sure, some internships might be all coffee runs and photocopying—especially at bigger companies, where the hands-on work and practical experience might be minimal—but they still provide an opportunity to network, which Aviva says is incredibly valuable.
"It's really important to meet people," says Aviva. "I have friends and contacts that I met interning six, seven years ago that I still use to this day." For example, when she got her first big order, she called an old friend who worked in production at one of her internships to ask for a factory recommendation. Same thing when she needed a pattern grader.
"I'm the first one to say that I've had so many people be so tremendously kind and really just champion the brand," she says. "It's okay to accept that help."
3. Focus your energy on achieving your own goals, not someone else's.
When the recession hit 2008, Aviva was scrambling to find a job, so she accepted a position working for a jewelry company on the production team, even though she didn't see it has a stepping stone for one day creating her own clothing line. Aviva found that she was putting her energy into creating jewelry for this designer, when instead she could be putting that same effort into developing her own brand. "I lasted one week," Aviva says. "I just thought, if I'm going to spend so many hours making someone else's dream happen, I would rather work extra hard and make my dream happen."
4. Expect to make sacrifices.
Money, a social life, and her own bed were just a few luxuries Aviva had to forgo when she was starting out.
"I put every dollar I made into my business," Aviva says. "I liken it to having a child. When you're the mother of a child you give up everything for yourself so you can give your child the best of everything,that's how I feel about having a business."
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