From Kristine: WHY I DITCHED RUNWAY SHOWS, BUT AM GLAD I STARTED THERE

 

It's that time of year again! Fashion Week! It’s been 3 years since Declarative’s last runway show, which is crazy because those presentations were a big part of our early years. Fashion Week launched the brand, debuted our first four collections, and although we probably won’t participate again, I couldn't be more grateful that it’s how we started.

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Why? Because it's not too hard to work on a project (or business, career shift, etc) in secret. It’s also not too stressful when there's unlimited time to make everything perfect. But, here’s the kicker though. If you’re a beginner like I was when I started Declarative, your first chapter will to be a diamond in the rough regardless of how much time you spend on it. In fact, you could probably nitpick it forever in the quest for perfection (at least, I know I could.) This is why I’m grateful for Fashion Week.

When I started Declarative (called RESPONSIVE TEXTILES at the time), I was very green. I’d never created a collection or even seen a runway show before. I had one knitting class under my belt, a lot of passion and that was legit all of my “experience.” I was a perfectionist who still had a lot to learn about making clothes, and because of fashion week, my first collection had a deadline before I even started working on it. Thank goodness sister!

The contract was signed and paid for. Ten women were going to walk down the runway on my behalf and now I needed to dress them. I had a set amount of time to get it done, and that’s what I did. For 5 months, I lived and breathed that first collection. I worked as hard as I could to make it as great as possible, and then I shared it. On October 2nd 2014, RESPONSIVE TEXTILES and SS15 launched. Was it my best work ever? No. Was it the best I could do at the time? 100% yes. Visually beautiful, hardly functional (hello side boob) and a very different aesthetic than my work now, but it was my starting point and honestly, that’s what I needed. An official, out in public, starting point.

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Over the next two years, I proceeded to do 4 more shows, completely immersing myself in creating those collections. Although very expensive (literally all of my $$$), these fashion week commitments made me put in hundreds of hours of knitting. They motivated me work through many ideas and produce a lot of work in a short amount of time. I had no choice, but to hit the ground running. I didn’t have time to procrastinate or endlessly nitpick, and through this process, I became a good knitter. I learned how to make clothes, cultivated my aesthetic, eventually figured out who I was as a designer and discovered what I wanted Declarative to be.

Ironically, what I learned about myself and Declarative from these runway shows is why I no longer do them. I realized I preferred selling directly to customers rather than to boutiques, whose buyers make up the Fashion Week audience. I also wanted to focus on making timeless staples that women could wear everyday, rather than the statement pieces that are more geared towards a runway show. Basically, none of the things I wanted Declarative to be fit in with the benefits of showing at Fashion Week and the cost to took to participate.

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All of these realizations fell into place right after my last show, which was at NY Fashion Week. This was a major goal and after two years of pouring my soul into my knitting, I had made it happen. I’d reached the top of the mountain only to realize that I’d climbed the wrong mountain. For a while afterwards, I was upset with myself over the money I “wasted” on these shows. However, now I look at the situation with kinder eyes. The truth is that when I started, I didn’t know any better. I didn’t know what kind of designer I was yet or what I wanted my brand to become. And who knows? If I hadn’t been motivated by those runway deadlines, there’s no telling how long it would’ve taken me to figure those things out. Although I don’t see Declarative putting on a runway show again, I couldn’t be more grateful that they were a part of the journey because they got me here. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: time is never wasted.

xKristine


Photography:
Lina Chernikova
Beauty #bts at Declarative’s last LAFW show in March 2016