In my line of profession, only a few designers become household names.
The masses can only give attention to so many things after all.
At the end of the day, most clothes are utilitarian and disposable.
To make people want your name caressing their back, you have to not only be a name people recognize but design a piece that makes them stand out in the crowd.
The few of us that share that honor also share one trait that is unattainable by most: artistic vision.
It is not something you can learn or teach, you either have it or you don’t.
I still feel bad about Heather, the designer who knew everything about fashion but couldn’t utilize that knowledge to its full potential. She was the most dedicated out of any of us.
If she had an ounce of vision, she’d be bigger than even me but in our business, knowledge without intuition is futile.
It’s like being a penguin, having wings but not being able to fly.
She knew everything, she taught me about color theory, the meanings behind the colors and how to utilize them in a way that every color used was intentional, how to pull attention to your design by elevating the person wearing it with color choices that match their aesthetic or their personality.
She showed me all she knew but the moment I used her knowledge for my own design, she ran out of the room crying.
A few days later, I got a note that read:
Dear Narcissa,
I hope you’re not upset with me leaving the class but after seeing your design, I realized I have no shot at ever being successful. Your first design was better than anything I have ever created. I gave up everything for this. I became blind with passion, I devoted my life to fashion. I was in the slums and hopeless and I thought this was my way out but all hope is gone now, you’ll go on to great things and I’ll die alone blinded by something I love that never loved me back. Be better than me and keep that vision you’re blessed with. If you lose it, you’ll become like me, able to know everything and not do anything about it. Becoming blind for a passion isn’t worth losing sight of everything you do have.
Sincerely,
Heather
She went missing for two weeks until they found her in a dark alley with a note that simply said, “I hope whoever finds this has better vision than I did or I’ll rot here like I rotted my life away.”
I hear that letter everytime I think of you Vision and for your sake, I hope your life has a better journey.
You both had a wealth of knowledge, you both were willing to go blind for what you care about, you both saw a chance to get out of the slums. You both found hope.
I hope you can hold on to that because without it, you’ll perish like her.
Blinded by passion with nothing to show for it.