It All Started With Cinderella

Sometimes when people talk to me, they're surprised that I am pursuing a career in fashion. Perhaps it's because I went to Harvard, or perhaps it's because I often dress like a homeless person (especially according to my parents).

The truth is, I've wanted to "do" fashion since before I knew what fashion was.

My earliest memories of this is back when I was a young girl. There is a scene in Disney's Cinderella which captured the magic of fashion for me. It's that scene when she's locked up in her little tower, and the mice take these odds and ends and magically transform them into a beautiful dress. I also had a Disney Cinderella picture book, and I would pore over the pictures, and try to copy the images with my paper and crayons.

Some girls loved playing house and with Barbie. For some reason, I wasn't really into dolls, but I loved to draw. I would draw variations of Cinderella in her ballgown -- beautiful women in beautiful dresses. Of course, my dexterity as a child was lacking so the pictures weren't as great as I thought they were. My mom would put them up in our tiny apartment and when my aunt (her eldest sister) would come over, she would yell at her to take down those tacky pictures.

But something kept me drawing -- I think it's because whenever I drew a picture, I'd feel it wasn't good enough.

I would draw during class a lot, and give the drawings to my friends, who would be appalled when I would try to crumple them up and throw them away. I've made quite a few friends by giving them drawings of my women in pretty clothes.

There is a quote in Karl Lagerfeld's most recent interview:
"There is always disappointment in the work. But I always have the feeling there is a glass border I cannot cross. "

You know you love doing something if this is the way you feel about it -- this desire for (unattainable) perfection.