Q&A with a young fashion professional
Aspiring fashion designer Irene Mavridis on the steps to a career in fashion
by Marita Vlachou
Irene Mavridis, 20, is a young fashion professional who was born and raised in California, but decided to abandon the West Coast in order to pursue her dream career in New York City. Having earned her fashion design associate degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Mavridis currently works as a freelance fashion intern. She welcomes us into her cozy fashion studio in the East Village and talks about what it takes to be a young fashion professional in the city that never sleeps.
Q: What got you interested in fashion?
Irene Mavridis: I actually don’t know because it is a decision I took when I was around 13. All of a sudden I was like “oh I’m going to do fashion now,” and I started looking into a bunch of designers, especially Alexander McQueen and I was very fascinated with Lady Gaga and her aesthetic. I started researching who she was wearing and watching fashion TV and looking at runways and thought “well, I can actually do this for real.”
Q: What does fashion mean to you?
IM: I think of fashion as wearable architecture and something that defines you as a person.
Q: What are your fashion inspirations?
IM: I get inspired from paintings, like going to the Met and seeing paintings and the colors or textiles or ornamental things. Also when I touch fabrics I can get really inspired by that.
Q: What are the challenges of being a young fashion professional in New York City in an industry as competitive as fashion?
IM: It is very competitive and going into it you have to know that it is going to be very competitive because one, everybody tells you this and two, it is like this.
Q: What are your coping mechanisms?
IM: It’s good to look at what everybody else is doing, but at the same time it’s good because then you get too sidetracked with that and start doubting yourself. To be successful at what you’re doing you shouldn’t be insecure about yourself and you should know “this is what I’m going to do, this is my vision and I don’t care what everyone else thinks about it.”
Q: What drives you to continue working in this industry despite the challenges?
IM: I do it because I feel that it’s right and in my head at that moment that’s my vision. If I see something in my head and I know that is something I have to do, I will do it, because I’m a very stubborn personality. Myself is my drive, but also seeing other young people around me who are very successful in fashion and other fields drives me to keep doing it.
Q: What is the next project you have in line?
IM: I want to start a renewable vintage line, but with my own brand name. I want to get a bunch of stuff, then tear it apart and then sew it back together and add other things to it and make it contemporary in a way that touches upon a younger audience or an audience that’s around my age.