Cary Authors: Becoming a Fashion Designer
Story by Lindsey Chester, photos courtesy Lisa Springsteel.
Cary, NC – With popular shows like Project Runway bringing the world of fashion into our living rooms, many young people fantasize about becoming fashion designers and ruling the runways.
Cary resident Lisa Springsteel, 20-veteran of New York’s Fashion Avenue, recently published a guide to the business called Becoming a Fashion Designer and just returned from her New York book launch.
Terry Hatcher, Sean Combs and Marc Jacobs
Lisa worked for many years for some of the top names in the fashion industry before moving to Cary, North Carolina. Her experience includes celebrity dressing of stars (Terry Hatcher and Jennifer Garner), consulting for Sean Combs’ runway collection in 2008, being filmed during his MTV documentary, founding a career managment company and working as the head booking agent for a model management company.
She has an extensive background in sourcing fabrics and trim for many of the top names in the Biz including J Mendel Ralph Lauren, and Marc Jacobs.
AM New York
During her extensive New York career, Lisa met so many influential people along the way.
She became a regular fashion/beauty columnist in 2004 for amNewYork, an independent newspaper, publishing over 50 stories. The writing led her to meet a wide range of designers .
Lisa states:
I was compelled to write the book because it was so difficult to figure out the industry and I wanted to put together a book that included all the information and resources necessary to build a fashion design career all in one place to make it easy for those setting out on their own journeys.
The idea evolved into a how-to book about what it takes to make it in the business today. Lisa recently returned form her official launch party in Manhattan and shared her story with CaryCitizen.
Becoming a Fashion Designer
Full of insider information, Becoming a Fashion Designer guides an aspiring fashion designer to navigate and succeed in the fiercely competitive fashion industry.
Complete with interviews and invaluable advice from a broad range of legendary fashion designers, leading industry experts, professors, attorneys, fashion design students and interns, it covers everything from educational requirements and design specialties to finding a job, building a career, and launching your own fashion collection.
With an introduction written by personal friend designer Nanette Lepore, Springsteel covers everything from how to pick a good college program, the importance of internships (which in fashion are largely unpaid slave labor) and the reality of the job market. She stresses the importance of developing a design portfolio, by which all job candidates are ultimately judged.
In short, if you think you have what it takes, read through the pages of this book and gauge if you really can stomach entering into one of the most competitive industries in which fame and glory can be yours, even if only for 15 minutes.
If you would like to meet Lisa in person, Barnes & Noble in Cary is an event for Becoming a Fashion Designer, July 16 at 7:00 PM including a discussion and book signing.
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The Arts on CaryCitizen is sponsored in part by Thai Spices & Sushi, at the corner of Cary Parkway and High House Rd.
Thank you Lindsey for writing such a great article on my book! I am so grateful to you!