My CWC Experience

By CWC Fellow Taylor Stevens

Hello, I’m Taylor Stevens. I am from New York, and I attend Spring Valley High School. The start to my CWC journey was the summer 2021 program fully paid for by the CWC. When I say fully paid, I mean it. They gave me my own sewing machine, which I now consider my favorite possession.

I participated in the art program online with the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. During the program, I took a fashion construction class and character design. The online class made me section time for creativity and something that gave me joy. I hadn’t taken art classes in a long time because I created this sole focus for education. However, it wasn’t until I was given this opportunity that I realized I didn’t need to put my eggs all in one basket. I was able to reevaluate my drawing and sewing skills. I was also given effective critiques and feedback, which I really needed in order to push myself. Overall, this first opportunity really set the groundwork for the vision of what I could become.

In my mentorship with Joshua Myrie at Nike, I have learned so much. I have never had such an in-depth conversation about fashion with someone and actually fed off someone’s ideas in this manner. Other than my mother and sister, I never talked about fashion, in general, with virtually anyone else. I was able to talk about my favorite collections, like the most recent OZLANA, and some of my favorite companies, like Dior and Prada’s subsidiary Miu Miu. I personally like the OZLANA collection because it embodies the level of femininity I have, so I have been really drawn to their creations. With Dior I have really fallen in love with the evolution of the brand and as someone constantly branches out their own ideas, there was commonality in thought process. Finally, with Miu Miu, it is a combined idea of why I loved the OZLANA collection and versatility in concept of the brand.

Taylor’s final project in her Character Design course

My mentor also recently introduced me to fashion illustrators who I was not particularly familiar with, but extremely fascinated by. The illustrators Aitor Throp, Steven Stipleman, and Antonio Lopez were the few shown to me. I was drawn to all their work and have been inspired to work on creating my own unique way of showcasing my designs. One of the most important things I have learned from my mentor is how many different jobs there are in the fashion industry. I never feel like it is made clear to students how many jobs there are in different fields. Having a knowledgeable person breakdown the inner workings of something is unparalleled to just looking it up online. Even though I am only halfway done with my mentorship, I can still say that this is one of my best experiences to date.

Taylor’s design process and her final design for her fashion construction course

My mentor first used the term “fostering my creativity” in relation to him acknowledging me putting forth the effort to better my skills outside of school so I can consider myself well-versed in different areas. Honestly, I do not think of my intelligence in terms of fashion was where it was almost a year ago. CWC has really been the ones fostering my creativity. I can say that I put forth the effort, but I am so grateful for the doors the organization continues to open for me. It may sound cheesy, but once you immerse yourself in the organization, they truly have your best interest in mind. I have never felt so supported by any entity outside of my family before. Walking into the CWC, I felt that fashion was a mere hobby or something to do on the side. Now, I feel like I could become a fashion or technical designer and apply to FIT and Parsons. My hopes for the future in this organization is to continue to gain information about the ins and outs of the fashion industry and gain more knowledge on the marketing and business aspects of fashion.

 I’m very excited to continue with Creatives Wants Change!