Feeling unknown can be overwhelming, leading someone to feeling unappreciated in certain situations. During my senior year at the High School of Fashion Industries, I had experienced the feelings of being anonymous despite my dedication to hard work. As a student who was part of the fashion design program, I had to mentally and creatively prepare for the upcoming fashion show, where seniors and some juniors showcase their talents devoted to fashion. By this year, I had realized that the designing aspect of the fashion industry may not be for me, yet I still gave everything I got towards the fashion show to challenge myself and use the skills I had obtained over the last three years. Each senior was required to design four outfits that fit the overall theme of “Minimalists” with asymmetrical structures, in the hopes of being chosen by the teachers in charge of the show. Fortunately, two out of foyer of my very own designs were chosen to be part of the fashion show. 

Intrigued by the asymmetrical concept of the show, I wanted to focus on monotones which connected with the general theme and have the structure of the designs stand out more.  Both grateful and shocked, I knew that the process of pattern making, draping, sewing, and constantly fitting the garment onto the model for two designs would be too intense for me to handle alone. I had the option to chose a person I trust to help one of my designs comes to life, allowing me to focus on one piece but still give input and lend a helping hand throughout the process for the second piece. The garment I was physically making was a white leather mid-dress that had a one shoulder piece made of black leather, with a zipper that allowed the sleeve to open and drape over the other side of the body. The garment that I chose to receive help with was a black leather jumpsuit that also had a one shoulder sleeve, made of sheer white that transitions into black with black and white polk-a-dots throughout. Juggling six other classes with hours of work dedicated to making my designs, the hard work that my partner and I did payed off, respectfully thanking and congratulating her as well. 

During the fashion show, I had to patiently wait to see my designs walk the runway in the crowd just like everyone else. Although I was proud of myself and my partner show showcasing clean and beautiful work, no names of the designers were shared which made me feel unrecognized. A few days after the fashion show, fashion teachers were asked to choose two students from their class that showed hard work for their designs throughout the year to receive an award in designing. My teacher Ms.Parisse, announced the name of one student following with the name of the person who helped me, Pamela. Even though we were a team, my name was not mentioned for this reward which made me feel like I was behind the scenes. I asked to speak to Ms. Parisse alone and told her that I appreciated Pamela’s help but felt like my name should also be part of the reward since the concept and design came from me and I still helped construct the garment. She responded by informing me that even though I helped, the garment was assigned to her by me and is then considered responsible for it. Grateful for the help but bothered by the fact that I was anonymous without choosing to be, I decided to move and focus on my next path in life as this should not hold me back.