Last week, Her Campus uOttawa hosted Capital Catwalk. The show stopping designer, Alexandra Guraliuc, tells us how all of her designs come to life and what is inspiring her in 2018.
Her Campus uOttawa: How did your interest in fashion begin?
Alexandra Guraliuc: I’ve been interested in fashion for as long as I can remember; my mom always made sure I dressed up when I was young and that I had really nice clothes. Later in life I had a desire to learn how to sew just to be able to hem pants for myself; since I’m 5”1 nothing ever comes in the right length.
HCuO: Are you self taught or did you study fashion design?
AG: I borrowed my parents sewing machine and started by watching youtube videos. Once I sort of figured out how the sewing machine worked I made a few baby dresses that I showed some of my friends and posted on social media. One of my close friends really encouraged me to pursue this because of my love for fashion. Shortly after that I started studying at the Richard Robinson Fashion Academy in Ottawa.
HCuO: What inspires you in the creative process? What inspires you right now?
AG: Inspiration can come in many forms but the biggest one for me is going fabric shopping. That’s when all my ideas come to life.
HCuO: What advice do you have for anyone who is trying to break into fashion design and doesn’t know where to start?
AG: For starters do it because you love to create and not because of the fame or that sort of attention that can come with it. I can’t stress enough how much work actually goes behind the scenes of any show or creating any single piece of clothing. Other than that get someone you know that can sew to teach you or take a beginners sewing course. Also most schools will give you tours or let you sit in on classes.
HCuO: How do you find your work/life balance?
AG: I don’t think I’ve fully mastered that myself but lately I’ve learned that it’s all about small wins. For me to see progress I usually want to get a lot done at once but now I’m trying to take a step back and do a bit of work here and there when I have small windows of time.
HCuO: What would you like to achieve by the end of 2018 in terms of short or long term goals?
AG: My goals this year are to make a new collection for fall as well as open an online store.