Up & Coming Davis Fashion Designer Lisa Lo
Meet a new, up and coming Taiwanese fashion designer out of Davis, California. Her name is Lisa Lo. We sat down and talked to her about obstacles she has had to over come as an immigrant to the United States, what inspires her, her design style, and her future plans. Read on...
Pictured above: Lisa Lo fashion design
KARIMA: Tell me about how you grew up...was it tough?
LL: I was born and raised in Taiwan. At the age of 14, I moved to California to pursue my dream alone. I had to face some challenges, such as adapting to new culture and pick up new language. I also had learned to become more independent.
KARIMA: Who were your role models?
LL: My role model is my grandmother. She is a seamstress. I spend a lot of time in her sewing studio. I watch her making custom dresses. Everything she did seemed very interesting and fascinating to me.
Pictured above: Lisa Lo design at Sacramento Fashion Week
Pictured above: Lisa Lo, Davis Fashion Designer
KARIMA: Who did you look up to at a younger age?
LL: The person who motivated me was my aunt. She is a very brave, courageous, and an independent individual who has always been an example for me. I looked up to her, because she managed to gain everything by herself. She moved to the United States without her parents’ support.
KARIMA: What made you think about going into design?
LL: I've always love being involved in art and fashion design. I believe that design allows me to express my creativity in another way. Moreover, fashion design presents an opportunity to bring my art to life and to open it to the world. I appreciate this possibility- to transform my creativity into fashion.
KARIMA: Is this a natural talent or did you have to work at it?
LL: The challenging part is making the creative ideas into reality. Sometime, the results may be different from my initial idea. I believe that creativity is within self, but turning the idea into reality requires assertive efforts and work.
KARIMA: Which do you love more - photography or fashion design?
LL: I love fashion design. Through the design process, I learn a lot about my style and myself. It’s very inspiring and dynamic.
KARIMA: How long have you been doing fashion design?
LL: I have been engaged in fashion design for two years.
KARIMA: What are your plans for the next five years?
LL: At this point...working for a well-known fashion designer. I want to pick up more skills that I didn’t retain from school such as real industry experience. I know that I still want to be a learner and gain all the experience that I can get. Pictured above: Lisa Lo Design at Sacramento Fashion Week
KARIMA: Where do you see and hope your career will go?
LL: The skills that I got in the beginning will be very beneficial to even further career goals. For example, one day I might have own brand, I will be able to apply the operation technique that I got and apply the skills in my own business.
KARIMA: What is your next immediate goal?
LL: I think the most important goal for my future is to be always improving. I don’t want to stop learning and stay comfortable where am I today. To me, a successful future for a fashion designer is not based on how much money you earned. It’s the design progress, willingness to take the challenge and authentic, this is what really counts. I believe that this apply to all careers. I hope that one day I can become a source of inspiration for another designer. I want to make a different in the fashion design industry because of my existence.
KARIMA: You have your own models...can you tell us about that? How do you select them? Do they only work for you? What do you look for?
LL: The models that work for me work for other designers as well. I believe that it is important to select a model wisely. To my mind, confidence is an essential feature of a model. Therefore, I focus on this trait of character. In addition, the models that I select should be friendly to each other. Their enthusiasm about modeling is of great importance as well.
KARIMA: Have you faced any difficulties in the industry? If so can you share how you overcame a tough situation?
LL: I was very nervous to tell my parents that I decided to go into fashion design, because I worried that they would turn me down again like the first time when I asked them if I can I apply for art school. The first person that I told was my father. My dad usually is more open-minded and supportive than my mom. In the beginning, he showed a lot of concern about my future. He believes that this will be a tough road. At the same time, he is happy that I found my passion. My mom is obviously taking a longer time to
Pictured above: Lisa Lo Design at Sacramento Fashion Week
accept my career.
They later shared with me the reasons why they accepted my passion is seeing my hard works and my willingness to pursue this. They realized that if they don’t let me keep going, it would be harder for me to live with passion in the future. After receiving their consent, all I want to do is learn all I can and make my parents proud. There are many challenges for me to pursue design. I’m lucky that I have fallen in love with my career. I didn’t regret going to art school or going into art major. I am happy with where I am today and still looking forward about continuing forward in this industry.
KARIMA: What would you say to others who have a creative passion but are not yet where you are at in your career?
LL: I believe that there is nothing impossible for the individuals who are willing to pursue their goals and their dream. I would say to those people to be more assertive, courageous and believe in yourself.
KARIMA: Do you mentor others in the industry?
LL: Yes, I am engaged in mentoring others in the fashion industry. I taught undergraduate students who are interested in fashion during the sewing workshop.
KARIMA: What do you love most about what you do?
LL: Fashion design allows me to express myself and my inner creativity. I love every moment of it.
KARIMA: How would you describe your style, as a designer?
LL: I would describe my design style is elegant, artsy, feminine and romantic.
KARIMA: Where can people see more of your clothing
Pictured above: Lisa Lo Design at Sacramento Fashion Week
line? Do you have a website up or an upcoming show?
LL: My website is www.lisaclo.com. I'll be participating in Sacramento Fashion Week during Spring 2018. You will be able to check out my new collection during the fashion show. The Fashion week location might be different every year, but I will update the information on my website.
KARIMA: Thank you, Lisa. Best of luck in your future. We know you're going to do great things and we look forward to seeing more next spring.
LL: Thank you.
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Pictured to the Left: Lisa Lo Design at Sacramento Fashion Week