How My Love For Fashion Began
My love for fashion began before I was born. Thank you to my Mom who carried me every day for nine months down the glamorous halls of Condé Nast - that is where my love for fashion started. As soon as I could read and write I took up looking at the pictures in fashion magazines and barely coloring within the lines of my fashion coloring books.
A crisp memory from my 5th birthday is when my parents gave me my first ever Barbie with a few sets of clothes. Oh, was I in love. From that point on I sat in the playroom and dressed up my Barbie; planning what she was going to do for the day based on how I dressed her. I could play for hours and it would feel like seconds. Later on, that turned into recruiting my younger brother into being my model. I dressed him in old costumes would put on a fashion show for my parents.
Now I am a twenty-year-old adult with an overwhelming desire to have a career in the fashion industry. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to intern at Theo & Spence and Danielle-Nicole Handbags. To be able to set foot in a real fashion showroom as a teen was an unreal experience.
One of the many reasons why I chose to go to school at Miami University is because of the extraordinary fashion program. I am co-majoring in Fashion Corporate Business which has opened my world to the many different paths that are fashion. I have been able to take classes such as Trend Forecasting, Textiles, Design, and History of Fashion. If you asked me years ago if I would have interest in design I would have said no way, but through long nights and patience, I have learned that in fact, I do have a love for design. And, that when it comes to a line there is no limit to how crazy or minimalist it can be. (You can check out my portfolio here.)
As the summer is approaching and my college graduation is less than a year and a half away I am on the hunt for a summer internship. It has been nothing short of difficult; I cannot even begin to tell you the amount of LinkedIn messages and cold emails I have sent out without hearing a single word back. When beginning this process in September I thought that I could go to the "Career" section on a company's webpage and an email and application would be readily available for my convenience. I was poorly mistaken. However, even to my surprise, I am not defeated, I know my love is so strong that I will end up right where I am supposed to be.
XO,
Kelley M. Flynn