fashion blog, fashion blogger, fashion design, fashion marketing

Return to Parsons: Fashion Design Career

Posted by Perry Uwanawich on

I’ve finally relocated to NYC after a 19-years-long journey in the pursuit of my career in Fashion Design. It isn’t easy to break into the fashion industry- with every job having nearly 100 applicants or more, and the required skillsets and experience to be inducted into it, it is a highly competitive and sought after job .

I am returning to Parsons after having received a certification in the Parsons X Teen Vogue Fashion Industry Essentials program, for which I was the ambassador, having created multimedia content for the course. Since then I’ve earned two more certifications in addition to my Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing, one in Industrial Sewing and another in Fashion Design. I was placed at Amerisewn in Rhode Island as an Industrial Sewing Machine Operator- which I felt was a great stepping stone in rounding out my experience in the fashion industry- having done graphic design and screen printing, marketing, fashion design, and retail in the past. I also practiced constructing garments at home: I purchased an adjustable dress form and created garments to wear as well as to practice on.

While I know how to sew, and can draft and construct a bodice, inset sleeve, or pair of pants myself, I can’t help but feel a proper education in pattern drafting, draping, dart manipulation and the like might help me land a job at a New York fashion house, or perhaps enable me to expand my business, Auric Wear (Shop AuricWear.com if you have Enlightened Style!).

In truth, I’ve applied to thousands of jobs over the years, but attributed my not having been located in New York in the past to companies not taking me seriously. I’ve watched, with schadenfreude, as companies that went with “more experienced” applicants went out of business over the years. I did have several interviews immediately upon my arrival to New York, which was promising. However, they were in industries which I had not gained any experience in, and I agreed with the hiring manager that the demographic was not suited to my aesthetic and experience, being that it was in layettes for babies. I’ve come to the realization that I don’t want just any job, I want the job that is right for me and which I am suited for…or for my business to take off!

I am very excited to take this course and may choose to complete another certification program or at least another course in the future. I will try to blog on my experience in it without disrupting the class, so subscribe and stay tuned for more!

See my post on Working in The Fashion Industry, and visit my Fashion, Beauty, Lifestyle Youtube Channel or @SubversiveStyle on TikTok and @PerryUwanawich on Tiktok to see examples of my experience in Industrial Sewing and the Industrial Sewing Certification Program.

Comment on your experiences with fashion design and the persuit of a career in the fashion industry.

Published by Perry Uwanawich

Perry Uwanawich is an American fashion designer and illustrator- AuricWear.com; fashion, beauty, and lifestyle blogger at Subversive.Style; and Spirituality Lifestyle Blogger at TheGypsyMystic.com. Perry has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from The Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship, two certifications in Fashion Design and Industrial Sewing, and has a background in graphic design, marketing, journalism, and fashion design. Perry Uwanawich launched two fashion collections, the first called Deity Greek Wear, while enrolled full-time in college, and the second in 2020 called Auric Wear available at AuricWear.com and on Etsy. While pursuing a Certification in Fashion Design, Marketing, Public Relations, and Photography, he became the Parsons Teen Vogue Ambassador and created multimedia content which was included in the course. He completed another Certification in Industrial Sewing and was placed as an Industrial Sewing Machine Operator in a Rhode Island mill, working in production sewing for Military, Bags, and Medical Health industries. Perry Uwanawich has worked in retail, acted as a graphic designer for multiple brands creating graphic prints for screenprinted garments. His marketing experience spans several industries from Fashion to Media, Medical Billing to the Medical Field- he's created graphics, logos, digital and print media assets, designed and managed websites (HTML, XHTML, CSS, WordPress…), managed social media accounts, and created marketing campaigns and ad campaigns which drove significant traffic in the local and national markets for respective industries. He has experience with photo and video editing, re-touching, motion graphics, and also worked as a freelance makeup artist working in Beauty as well as SFX makeup.

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