Feeling unknown can be overwhelming, leading to feeling unappreciated in certain situations. During my senior year at the High School of Fashion Industries, I had experienced the feeling 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. Although, by this year I had realized that the designing aspect of the fashion industry may not be for me, I still gave everything I got towards to the fashion show, to challenge myself and use the skills I have learned over the years. Each senior was required to design four outfits that fit the theme of “Minimalists” and asymmetrical structures, in the hopes of being chose by the teachers in charge of the show. Fortunately, two out of four of my very own designs were closed to be part of the fashion show. 

Both grateful and shocked, I knew that beginning the process of pattern making, draping, sewing and constantly fitting the garment onto the model for two garments 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 come to life, allowing me to focus on one and check in on the process of other, giving my input and a helping hand throughout. The garment I was in physically making was a white leather mid-dress that had a one shoulder, black leather sleeve 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 sleeve with black and white polka dots. Juggling six other classes with hours of work dedicated to making my design, my hard work and partner’s hard work payed off.

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 for showcasing clean and beautiful work, no names of the designers were shared. This made me feel unrecognized by the designs I had creatively came up with, since I had to tell my friends and family which design was mine. 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 to receive an award in designing. My teacher had chose one student along with the person who had helped me with my design. 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 had explained to my teacher that I appreciated my partners help but felt like my name should be a part of the reward since the design came from me and I still helped in construction on the garment. She had told 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 on and focus on my next path in life as this should not hold me back.