Jaxodyssey Interviews for the Orlando Fashion Battle

Interviews with Orlando Fashion Battle Contestants and Founder

Daniela: hi guys welcome to a Jaxodyssey episode. Today we are talking to some fashion designers and stylists. I'm really, happy about this. Orlando Fashion District's Founder (Gina) gave us the opportunity to come and just ask them some questions because they will be participating as contestants in the Orlando fashion battle. For those of you who don't know me. I'm a content creator, videographer, photographer, and fashion designer. Check me out at Jaxodyssey on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and at Jaxodyssey.com.

Note: The writing below is also available on YouTube and I have attached the video below. Feel free to watch it if you prefer.

Meet the Contestants

Daniela: today we are here, with Jackayla from  @pinkdollk. So Jackayla you are 16 years old?

Jackayla: yes

Daniela: so that's amazing you guys. She is a really young designer, so we will be asking her a few questions. If you're interested in being a fashion designer yourself, I think you'll find this video very interesting. So Jackayla tell us a little bit about yourself.

Jackayla: I am 16. I also am a model as well as a fashion designer, upcoming fashion designer. And I play basketball. I do other stuff outside of fashion designing and modeling activities.

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Daniela: I am here with Arowynn, did I pronounce that correctly?

Arowynn: yes, you did!

Daniela: I was invited by or Orlando Fashion district to come and interview some amazing teen designers. So this is so much fun, you guys. They will be competing in the fashion battle here in Orlando. By the way, she is super young. She's 13 years old, so she is actually the youngest participant for this contest. Isn't that awesome?

Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Arowynn: well, I come from a family who has been all over America. I live with both my parents and I have two brothers. They could be some rough around the edges, but I still love them.

My favorite part about being a designer is all the different types of fabrics and how you get to work with them. I think that is pretty cool and I am still learning on the different stitches and outfits to make. I am learning as I go and I’m glad Gina is there to help me with everything I need to get done for the battle.

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­­­­­­­­­Daniela: Ruth, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Ruth: my name is Ruth and I am from Reigning Diamonds (a business composed of 3 sisters). I am actually the eldest sister. And each of us does something different. I do the hair and wardrobe styling and we have another sister that does the makeup, her name is Tabitha. We have another sister that is in charge of the models and event coordination. It's really interesting what we're trying to do in the community. We're trying to bring a little flavor of Haitian, Caribbean fun into our art. We just want to showcase different styles and trends and get a lot of girls from different backgrounds and putting out their likes and the things that make them beautiful. I feel like every woman is a diamond and you just got to unleash your radiance.

Daniela: yeah, I mean I think that's something really important. She is talking about confidence and how yes, that's true. We're all diamonds. We don't just like them, but we are.

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­­­­­­­­­­­­­Daniela: hi gorgeous. Thanks for joining us. Check out this hair; love it! Look at this, I mean, designers be like, she loves intricate designs; so I love this shoulder. Very classy, on point. So, Zheni, you have participated at the Fashion Battle League before, worked for Gina and you were also winner in the contest, so that's amazing. We have a winner over here. Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself to start?

Zheni: okay. I'm from Bulgaria and I'm a costume designer. I perform in the circus and this is how I become a costume designer. I create my own costumes and my family costumes. I just stopped performing full time and I started to concentrate in my designs more. I started to work for her and she's helping me get new knowledge because I'm a self-learner. I learned to sew and design my own costumes and she's helping me to do it in the right way with patterns.

Daniela: so, that's something that we were talking about previously. You can learn on your own, but it's also great to go and look for mentors that work in the same field.

Zheni: you learn faster! Doing it yourself takes time.

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Meet Gina, Orlando Fashion District Founder

Daniela: we are here with Gina, she's been amazing and gave me the opportunity to interview not only her but also some fantastic designers and hairstylists. We are here in Orlando. I literally moved from them Denver to Orlando, so I was looking to get more involved with the fashion industry here. She was kind enough to not knowing me well enough. She's like, yes, come and do some story telling with us! That's how amazing she is. Thank you so much.

Gina: you are welcome. It's been great.

Daniela: we will be having some of this content in the blog and also @Jaxodyssey and @Orlandofashiondistrict social media platforms. Wherever we can, because social media is very important.

Gina: yes. We have social media profiles on Instagram and Facebook, Orlando Fashion District, Orlando Fashion Battle and Orlando Fashion League. Once they're in a battle, they become part of the league. Then they can come back and they can become a judge or they'll eventually start competing against each other once we get enough people in there to put some more teams together. So it's really fun. We're filming it. We're developing it for television. We want to turn this into a television show. This is part of our goal to make Orlando Fashion Destination with an event like this. Our goal is to uplift the talent here. The designers here help them promote themselves on social media. Give them some social media content to share. Then we write stories like what you're doing today. We will later take a post and connect it to all the links of the interviews that you did so that that becomes part of our file for this particular fashion battle and all the people that competed in it. That way people check it out, see what we're about and get a lot of different people's perspectives, different interviews and different contents.

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Time for serious questions:

Daniela: why do you want to participate in the fashion battle?

Arowynn: I was mostly just dragged into it by Gina.

Daniela: oh, you were dragged?

[Both laughing]

Arowynn: I didn't even know it existed until Gina already signed me up for it. But I'm like yes! My very first battle!

Daniela: you were volun-told but hey I guess you were really excited, right?

Arowynn: I was.

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­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Daniela: what would you say your target audience is? When you design who are you designing for?

Jackayla: I'm designing for teens, like my age or when I start getting more advanced with it, I want to be able to make plus size clothing and younger kids clothing.

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Daniela: I think that's something super interesting that you're a costume designer. Why don't you tell us a little bit about how that started?

Zheni: my design career started in the circus. I started to create, and I wanted to be unique and I had different ideas of costumes and designs. Depending on my act and on the performance, we needed different fabrics, stones and styles. Some of the acts we do are extreme and high in energy, so we have to incorporate rock style designs and more modern. I also have aerial acts, and some of the fabrics I have used have stretch, or drape like chiffon and are classier overall.

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Daniela: we were talking a little bit before joining here. I was telling Ruth, that I was a scientist. But I really wanted to switch careers because I didn't feel like I was helping people the way I wanted to. I wanted to help people while being happy at the same time. Did you start studying hairstyling or did you switch careers at some point? How did your whole career start?

Ruth: that’s why I mentioned earlier that we had that similarity with the love for science. I was on the pre-medical track and went off it just a little bit. Became a teacher for a few years. I'd been teaching k through 12 and severely mentally ill and physically disabled students. It wasn't until I started being a substitute for regular education that I started building along with the girls, Reigning Diamonds.

When Reigning Diamonds came out, we got so busy that I couldn't keep being a teacher. It's a seven to four or 5:00 PM and sometimes you take homework. I would leave work and style clients. I think the creative world took over a lot. So here we are today and we're hoping to bring our added learn benefits from our past backgrounds into Reigning Diamonds so that we can bring beauty and overall collective wholeness to women we meet.

Daniela: yeah, that's a point where we can relate. We both switched careers and we were also doing both at the same time. Which if you guys have done any of that in the past, that's definitely difficult. Trying to juggle between multiple jobs, but you got to do what you're going to do whenever you're passionate about something. Right? Then just follow that track, don't let anything distract you.

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Daniela: what inspires you to create your designs?

Arowynn: well, the first thing that inspired me was, of course, my little pony. Because it was like my favorite show back then.

Daniela: so cool! I also heard there was a cartoon that you liked. What is it called?

Arowynn: oh yes. I still love it. It's called Miraculous Lady Bug and I love it so much. I think it's really cute. It's kind of like the love story thing and I just cry every time I see an episode.

Daniela: now I want to watch it! Okay, actually one of my good friends I heard her daughter likes that show. She asked me if I could buy her something from that show and honestly, I couldn't find anything, but maybe I'll come to you.

Arowynn: of course, come to me! I will make something in her size.

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Daniela: any advice for other girls who are looking forward to becoming fashion designers or stylists?

Jackayla: my biggest advice is making sure that you have confidence and you believe in yourself first. Because if you believe in yourself then that means that nobody else can just tear you from that dream. If somebody doesn't believe in you, you don't need them to believe in you because you believe in yourself. Just keep following your dreams and don't listen to the negative.

Arowynn: yes. If you ever want to become a designer, go for it. I mean, sure, it may look difficult and there are some rough things around the edges but it's actually pretty easy. Always follow your heart and do your dreams, even if someone tells you no, that's impossible. Do it, because girls can do anything!

Daniela: so true! I actually just got a t-shirt that says that. I'm going to wear to the gym. Maybe, trying to feel a little stronger so I can lift more. But love your message. Thank you so much for joining us.

Zheni: the hardest thing for me is to stand out from everyone and just show up and believe in myself because I didn't want to… I like to design clothes, but I wasn't thinking I'm quick enough to be in a fashion show or to sew for someone or to design for someone. But my family, my cousin and my sister-in-law they’re very supportive and they’re always pushing me. They're like, yes, you have to do it! and I would tell myself “but I’m not good enough”. Nobody is born knowing what to do, you have to learn.

Ruth: one of the greatest things I've ever heard was there's always provision for the vision. Before you even started, a lot of times everything that you need is on your path. You just got to get on it. If you can’t see it, don't worry about it, just do it. It's out there for you.

Daniela: yeah, that's true and many times if you believe in God or not or if you're a spiritual in any kind of way. Certain things get placed in our path and sometimes we don't see them. Suddenly, you get to the right time, the right place, the right everything, and things come together. Especially trying to get incorporated into the fashion world here in Orlando, it's just amazing to get to know people in the industry. Because you may find your next mentor or your next collaboration and networking is truly important, not only in this industry but in any industry. Stay social because being social is very important. Right now, we're recording of Instagram and Facebook because we want to make sure the message gets heard. That all these talented people are here. They're fighting for a purpose, getting their artwork out there and I think it'll be fun to see them in battle.

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Daniela: I will be posting this video on my YouTube. You can also see some of this content in my blog and all other Jaxodyssey platforms. I know many of you either are fashion designers or are in the fashion industry. You may be a manufacturer, you may be a fabric vendor. Whatever the case is, if you find this interesting, send me comments, and send me e-mails. Where can we follow you?

Gina: my personal profiles on social media is @psychoseamstress because I'm the crazy one. My design house is a @houseofvincenza where I do patterns, prototypes, help designers get ready for production and manage production runs all over the world. Then @orlandofashiondistrict, and then our events @orlandofashionbattle, @fashionbattleleague if anybody's interested in competing.

Daniela: yes, so the battle coming up and that I was conducting a bunch of interviews for is for the teen one. If you are a teenager interested in becoming a fashion designer or hairstylist, check this out. Unfortunately, my battery is about to die which means it was a productive day. Please don't forget to follow Miss Gina and follow me at Jaxodyssey as well.

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You can follow everyone in the following social media platforms:

Arowynn (13 year old fashion designer): @ladynoir_21

Ruth (hairstylist): @reigningdiamonds

Zheni (costume fashion designer): @zheniscostumes

Jakayla (16 year old fashion designer/model): @pinkdollk

Gina: @psychoseamstress , @houseofvincenza, @orlandofashiondistrict , @orlandofashionbattle , @fashionbattleleague .

Daniela: @jaxodyssey , @globefashiontraveler 


5 comments

  • love this! I just shopped online with https://shopyourfit.com/ohyeah , this site is the best to shop all the latest trends and hottest trends

    Veronica
  • Adela,

    Thanks so much for all your support, glad you liked them!

    -Jaxodyssey

    Daniela Garcia Jacques
  • Gina,

    My pleasure and looking forward to tonight’s show/battle! Will be fun :D

    Daniela Garcia Jacques
  • Thanks so much Daniele for coming to my design house studio space at KDS One Studios to Interview our teen contestants and past contestants for the Orlando Fashion Battle. We look forward to keeping you informed on our progress in making Orlando a Fashion Destination with a Garment District!!

    Gina Vincenza Van Epps
  • Felicidades, me encantaron las entrevistas, well doneo

    Adela Jacques Briseño

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