Lashira Oakes
Dr. Hall
D-351
10-30-18
“Make it work”, Who Says That?
Every community has its own kind of language. One community that I relate to is the fashion
community. The girls and guys I’ve been able to grow with in this community are still motivational
figures to me due to all the experiences we share. This includes sharing language such
as, “yasss sis”, and the one I’d like to focus on most, “Make it work”. This saying, started by Project
Runway’s Tim Gunn, is an important one. It’s probably used in one way or another at the beginning,
middle, and end of every project. “ Make it work”, triggers encouragement, will power , and maybe a little disappointment at times depending on when or how it’s used. The heart of this phrase stems
from working hard to the best of your abilities to make sure you’ll reach your goals. In short it means
that no matter what you have going on in your life get , and keep, your shit together. Especially when there’s a deadline to be made.
Tim Gunn, the creator of “make it work” has built his brand off of these simple three words.
Everything he’s done before hand helps give this phrase it’s meaning. Gunn worked at Parsons for 29
years. While there, he aided in fixing Parsons stale fashion program and turning it into the
prestigious atmosphere it is today. He took seven years to revive the pulse of their fashion program.
Calling it , “a tremendous labor of love”(qtd. written in biography. Com). Which goes to show how the
father of “make it work” is one who is no stranger to hard work himself or the efforts that go into
making ones own achievements into a reality that touches others.
The question of why people in the fashion community say “make it work” so often doesn’t have a
complicated answer . In an article I read called, 13 Words That Mean Something Different to Fashion
People, it is written,” There’s a certain vocabulary you adopt if you belong to any group… If you’re part
of the community, there are certain words that act as shibboleths to fashion people”(1). Meaning that
every community of people has their own slang and the fashion community is no exception. We certainly
do have a way of speaking that ties us all together even though many different types of people can
belong to the same fashion community.
I had asked a long time classmate of mine, Neisa, who is one of the people who inspire me to
this day, what does “make it work” mean to you? I’ve seen this girl work her behind off through thick
and thin to create some of the most beautiful and outstanding garments amongst all of our classmates.
Given all the times I got to witness her success, I knew she was a great person to ask. Her answer was
Just as inspirational as I expected. Her answer resembled my own in how the phrase provokes a strong
and independent attitude towards life.
“Okay so for the phrase make it work. To me it means being able to take whatever was given to you and turning it into something extravagant! To make it work is to make it YOUR way. Either if its something that can be useful, or just pretty to look at, you took that opportunity and showed it who’s boss. They don’t have the say of “when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade” for no reason!
