Jasmin Thomas, age 21, is an up-and-coming fashion designer that you should look for in the magazines one day. Every time I see her designs on Facebook, I always wish I could buy them in stores or online.
Thomas always enjoyed fashion. She took time to look her best and always dressed her sister when they went to the mall together. Her dad recognized how happy this made her and suggested that she look into fashion design. Her passion for fashion combined with her talent for drawing made fashion design the perfect career for her. She hasn’t looked back since. She sketches designs and creates clothes for her brand, Jas House of Design.
“I love sketching clothes and seeing my work come to life from paper to reality. It’s such a great feeling,” said Thomas. She is a student at the Art Institute of Schaumburg and has showcased her designs in numerous fashion shows. Of the three fashion shows she has participated in, she has won two awards.
Thomas won her first award for best design at the Spa Bleu Trashion Show in September 2015. This was also the first show she showcased her work in.
Her winning design, pictured above, was displayed at her school for other students to see.
The Art Institute hosts an annual fashion show, and Thomas won most creative designer at the show, entitled Transform, this year. Some of the designs for this show were inspired by the death of a close friend of Thomas’s.
“She was a childhood close friend, [and] when they announced that we were doing a show I knew right there [that] I wanted to contribute and do a piece inspired by gun violence and domestic violence and the tragic incident leading to my friend’s death,” explained Thomas.
“I knew from the beginning that I wanted her story to be heard and that I wanted to honor her memories.” Thomas had some unique ideas, but the theme of the school’s anniversary show took her in a different direction.
“I knew I wanted to still pay tribute to her, so I brainstormed and came up with [the idea of] doing pop art because you can let loose and go crazy,” said Thomas.
“Pop art was a perfect category because it fits with Samirria’s personality [with her] being so outgoing, loving, goofy, loud, bubbly, and so much more.”
“She was the whole package,” explained Thomas.
“With all [of] that [in mind], I took her face, and also my friend’s and [my] cousin’s face, and [I] made them on my print design [to give] honor to Samirria. And I made her my last final piece of my designs with the fan going around my model’s neck that represents her halo,” said Thomas.
Photos taken by David McNaney
This was the most recent show Thomas designed clothes for.
She participated in a Pac-Man inspired fashion in October 2015.
Thomas with her models from the Pac-Man inspired show.
The best part of being a designer for Thomas is seeing her work come to life from paper to conception. Sometimes, though, she struggles with feeling like she is not good enough.
“I get a lot of people telling me how talented I am and that my work is so good, but I tend to over think or worry about other designers being better then me,” said Thomas. However, she has developed as a designer since her freshman year of college. She is receiving positive feedback on her designs and winning awards, which is building her confidence.
I wondered if Thomas had struggles with being a black designer in a predominately white industry. Thomas recognized the same plight when her class PowerPoints failed to mention a black designer. Her teacher listed various black designers and noted that Olivier Rousteing, designer and creative director of Balmian, is mixed with black.
“By him telling me about those designers, it made me feel that it was possible make it as a African-American designer,” said Thomas. Thomas’s goal is to work under a renowned fashion company like Balmain or Givenchy to gain experience in the industry and learn the ins and outs of working for and running a successful, designer brand. Ultimately, she would like to branch off and start her own brand that celebrities will wear.