Follow your dream with a great deal of ambition!
“I would say that I am an artfashion designer, but I know I still have a lot to learn in order to get there. I neither do fashion, nor art… I create artfashion, the kind of pieces that you like or dislike, there’s no middle way. The items are designed for certain types of women, who make a statement trough their attitude!”
Enjoy an interview with a very talented Romanian artfashion designer, Ramona Rusu on how to follow your dream with a great deal of ambition. Be inspired by her philosophy about the art of fashion!
How did you get into fashion design?
It all started with my passion for drawing human figures. And after a while I realized that I enjoy dressing the human body. For me fashion is now more than a passion. My future will be somewhere in the fashion world. Couldn’t say exactly where but it is going to be my reality..
What are the stories behind your illustrations?
I love simplicity, there’s nothing like the perfection that a simple shape holds so I try to express as much as I can trough simple forms.
Where did you go to school? What did you study?
I studied in Romania, graphics in high school in Brasov and graduated from University of Arts in Timisoara. Currently I’m studying fashion in Cluj Napoca Romania and constantly doing research for my MA diploma project.
How education benefit your career?
Education in arts helps you to perfect your talent and keeps you focused. It also teaches you were and what to search and to learn a certain discipline by dealing with strict deadlines. It helps you by living in an artistic environment that also develops your creativity.
Attending an Art University is like nothing else. It’s fun, creative and full of interesting experiences.
What factors should prospective students consider when choosing a school?
The quality of the school is an absolute importance. In fashion you should also consider what style you want to pursue and what school could develop your talent in the direction you want it to be developed.
Did you have to train or apprentice with another designer? How was that?
One of my teachers from Timisoara was actually a designer and it was ok because she used to analyze our work with a more practical vision of the domain. That was useful because studying fashion at an Art Institute makes you somehow more conceptual and you tend to create wearable art not wearable clothes.
What inspired you to get into fashion design?
The princesses that I used to draw when I was 5 years old. (laughs)
Describe your philosophy about the art of fashion?
Fashion is everything that surrounds us, and opposite to popular belief it’s not shallow at all. Fashion combines every single domain that you could imagine being a real source of inspiration for contemporary artists. Most of all fashion gives you a great freedom of expression. There is nothing more amazing than to see how people gain confidence in themselves only by wearing a certain type of clothes. How they chose your creations to express themselves. Since ever I dreamt of seeing people wearing my designs . For me fashion is like a work of art that you can also wear and admire unlike a painting that you can only admire.
Describe a little bit your style of illustrating fashion.
Graphic, expressive and somehow minimal.
What about fashion as a business?
Unfortunately we all have to grow up eventually and you get into the complex industry of fashion . From my point of view it’s essential not to lose your passion on the way. You have to remind yourself why you started doing fashion at first and never lose that pleasant thought. If you start doing fashion for money well ..to bad. If you do fashion with passion and after a while start making money from it well that means you have something to offer to the world.
What skills do you need to be a fashion designer?
There’s no secret way to get there. You need talent, creativity, and lot of perseverance in following your dreams like in any other field. Never give up and work hard – I think that’s the only secret that applies.
How do you market/promote your work?
At the moment I promote my work trough my personal website. There you can find my portfolio and all my projects as well as articles that feature me and my creations.
What advice do you have for a young woman who wants to be a fashion illustrator/ fashion designer?
Follow your dream with a great deal of ambition!
Photo source: Ramona Rusu
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