“Make it work”: Who says that?

This is an image of Tim Gunn giving critique on Project Runway 

           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 phrase I’d like to focus on the most, “Make it work”. This saying, started by Project Runway’s Tim Gunn, is important. It’s probably used in one way or another at the beginning, middle, and end of every project. “ Make it work”, triggers encouragement, and maybe even a little disappointment  at times depending on how it’s used. If you’ve ever worked so hard on a project that you’ve found yourself running on 2-4 hours of sleep and willpower only to have to tackle one endless obstacle after another, then you can understand what this phrase means. The heart of this phrase stems from working hard to the best of your abilities to  ensure 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 beforehand helps give this phrase its 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. Tim Gunn). 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 one’s own achievements into a reality that touches others.
         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, resembling my own in how the phrase provokes a strong and independent attitude towards life. Here’s her response:

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 it’s 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 saying of “when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade” for no reason!

       In short she explained “make it work” as a way of describing what it’s like to be the boss of your own life. This is what happens in the mind of a creator. You learn to take what you have, all while knowing what you want and  turn your resources and materials into what you’ve envisioned for them to be. Communities other than just the fashion community are filled with people just like my friend Neisa. If you can label yourself as an artist than the phrase “make it work” may apply to your life. It pays to be stubborn when working on whatever it is you care about. Sometimes the best opportunities are made not given. In this world full of artist we are go getters and  over achievers. Where one lacks confidence or skills they are made through non stop work . When we want to get something done we MAKE IT WORK.

        My learning experiences from high school were all baby steps into understanding what it’s like to be in the fashion world. I can remember the two weeks before our garments were due for evaluation and only two thirds of mine at the time was complete. As it turns out  time flies by fast when you have a lot of work to be done, and tension can build even faster. Especially when you aren’t a seasoned professional of twenty plus years in your craft. I would go over everything I needed to get done in the final days with my instructor.  I would create scrappy list of all the finishing touches needed to keep my final high school  garment from being cut from the line up. My instructor at the time would offered her advice and add the typical motivational cherry on top. Which went somewhere along the lines of this “ here’s where I think you should focus on. you have two weeks, make it work hon” . And with that came the usual call to action. Late nights at school, working in between classes, starting in the morning well into sun down on my garment. I started out with the idea of a bodysuit and somehow landed on a crop top and long pants.   At the end of the day I made sure my work was complete and reflected myself as I wanted it to. That way I could be proud alongside all the rest of my classmates of what I had aloud to walk down that runway because I knew everything that went into completing my garment. All my hard work felt like it was worth it when my garment went down the catwalk.

    There is  a kind of torment that comes from always trying to make each and every project  perfect, especially since there’s always going to be something that you wish you had done better. The  sacrifices to one’s health, such as running on coffee for two weeks, that creators are willing to put themselves through can be a bit much at times. This is the reality that some choose to live. When you intend to put your all into your work you do. The phrase” make it work” caries  some negative energies with it because those who live by it tend to strive for perfection above and beyond their limits. In fact, just the other day I made a joke with another one of my old classmates about how to tell if you’ve truly put enough effort into a task. I had asked, “Have you really worked hard enough if you haven’t been brought to tears a few times yet?’’
      However sometimes the grass is greener on the other side. To make eye catching pieces that feel like a part of yourself, or even just to develop a skill level that seems other worldly compared to where you started takes guts. At times it would be impossible to get to beautiful ending results without a few sleepless nights and a whole lot of obsessing over both large and minor details. The fashion community is built out of people who forced themselves to push through their own personal obstacles and grow themselves as a person and a professional. The results of this mindset is the phrase ‘make it work” where no matter what you start off with you ensure you get to the results you wish to achieve.                                                                                                    

     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.

     Here’s how the story usually goes for anyone working on a large, and largely creative project . You start out with an idea. Then you get all your materials together and hit the ground running with a new project. Somewhere in the middle you decide that everything is going to hell and have a minor melt down. Finally you reach an aha moment where you make everything fall into place and somehow end up with grand results. You don’t have to live and breathe fashion in order to have moments like these. These kinds of moments are what come to my mind when I think of the phrase “make it work”. So as far as i’m aware if you can continue to make your own success , then you have contributed to giving  “make it work” its meaning just by releasing your ambition into the world.

     Call it tough love or crazy, but at the end of the day “make it work” is here to stay. It is the mindset  that drives creators into always trying to improve their skills. If you know what you want you can make the almost impossible possible. Whenever we use the phrase “make it work”  it is when it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get hands on with our work. Or when we find ourselves working long hours to make sure our projects are completed by a specific timeline. The phrase is also used when things don’t work out the way they were originally intended to, but instead of giving up a solution is made instead. To me “make it work” will always mean to let the best of your abilities shine.

Citation

“Tim Gunn.” Google, Google, 2018, www.google.com/amp/s/www.biography.com/.amp/people/tim-gunn-594086.
US. “13 Words That Mean Something Different To Fashion People.” Google, Google, 12 July 2017, 9:15am, www.google.com/amp/s/www.refinery29.com/amp/en-us/fashion-words.