“NOT moving to NYC was not an option.” she tells me. “I grew up knowing that if I wanted a career in fashion design that this was where I would have to be to acomplish that goal. I went to school in Texas because I believed that the hands-on approach the teachers would be able to offer me would be invaluable. I was right. The teachers, although it was a conservative school, always indulged my design ideas and helped to cultivate in me skills that they hadn’t taught before. Being that I was pushing design into an area they hadn’t taught, we were able to learn together.

“I believed (and still do) that going to a Fashion Program where the students weren’t doing clothing similar to mine let me concentrate on my design skills and not worry about what the other designers were doing. That is not to say that I didn’t encounter jealousy. I was the only freshman and youngest recipient of two of the top design awards my first year. I won first in best design and best collection. This was a pattern that was repeated throughout the remainder of my college career. I continued to win first place in all three categories until graduation.

“Once I graduated I spent my savings on having a fashion show as to help fill out my portfolio and enter into the fashion industry. From there, I got an internship with Anna Sui in New York. It took me literally one week from the time I accepted the postion till the day I landed in New York City with a 75lb duffle bag, my portfolio and no place to live. I was the embodiment of the ‘moving to and making it in NYC’ cliché. I knew that in this city my design style would be embraced if not by the mainstream by an smaller underground aesthetic. Unlike a number of people in this industry I don’t do it for notoriety or the money. I do it because for an artist there is the choice to not create. It is like breathing, it is breathing.”

Her inspiration comes from many places. “First and foremost is Contemporary Art. My first field of creative study was Modern Art and it continues to be an inspiration. Underground cultures, music (not the industry but the sound), vintage clothing, furniture, anything with a creative pulse from architecture to a wilderness trail. The only problem that I have found is that I am prolific and I am unable to keep up and create my designs into the flesh. Thus far only a small portion of my designs are available to the public.”

We are priviledged to have a glance at her work. More available for viewing (and for purchase) at www.theaesthetik.com.

You can also catch Stacy on “Out On The Edge” on the Manhattan Neighborhood Network 56 (RCN analog channel 108) every other Sunday night at 11:30. A new broadcast will air July 6th.