One of our own shares her lifetime career in the fashion industry, take the journey through her eyes, the roles and responsibilities she filled, advice she passes on to help us understand and manage work/career expectations.
Early life and Introduction to the industry
Adina Sousa migrated to Canada from Portugal as a child with her family. She remembered always being a creative individual. She recalled creating her first bag at age ten (10). The ladies in her family sewed, she especially admired a cousin who was a seamstress who she remembered made “Beautiful stuff for the ladies”.
This early introduction to fashion motivated her to seek further education in the field. She attended Central Technical High School in Toronto then applied to colleges for fashion programs. She said she chose George Brown because it was the first school to respond (a practice they uphold to this day) and close to her home. Skills that helped Transition from school to work Adina stated that while she had always loved sewing, at George Brown she found drafting “was not easy and grading was more difficult”.
As she developed her skills at school, she said she discovered aspects she enjoyed which led to her career roles throughout her career. Adina said she participated in the school’s year end fashion show and realized that coordination was something she was good at and enjoyed, she like collaboration with the different teams that made the show complete, was introduced to different roles and functions throughout the production and felt fulfilled watching it all come together. This exposure formed the foundation of her career choices, she started initially as a sewer then supervisor, coordinator and assistant buyer, all positions of ongoing communication, collaboration with internal and external customers and suppliers.
The transition from George brown to the workplace was at first unsettling as Adina, like many people, had a hard time adjusting from the change of school routine to a new environment and faster pace. At school she recalled staying as late as 9:00pm sometimes working on assignments and said she even had her coffee cup as a reminder from those days. She reported that work after George Brown was difficult as she missed the school environment and the camaraderie among peers, at work she said she felt like a child the new young person hired, often ate alone as she was not a part of the more experienced work force. She had to adjust and developed sleep apnea as she was conditioned to study late and preferred to work late as she was not a morning person, sounds familiar?
Her first job was with Canadian Designer Linda Lundstrom who created the ‘La Parka Coat’ still available on Etsy.com. It was a friend from college who got a job there that told her Linda was looking for a sewer to put beads hand sewn onto garments. She then worked in the Design & Development department sourcing material, finding and notions. She became a supervisor in the sampling area, here she emphasized priority scheduling, in this capacity she ensured everything was organized and on schedule, prepared work ahead of time for her staff e.g. drafting samples, cutters made aware of specifics, sample sewers had the supplies they needed, garments were pressed to look their best and ready for models to showcase.
This would often mean working late into the evening to ensure staff work was prepared and ready for them to start the next morning. In the morning, she would check in with sample sewers that all was well, check messages then get on with her other functions. Her position as assistant director required her to observe, listen, see the designer’s vision be able to translate it across the team and anticipate the designer’s preferences and direction.
Designers then generally gave hint of block or style number and fabric type, the assistant as expected to know and fulfill everything else. Adina worked over ten (10) years as a Private Label Coordinator at Parkhurst knitting Company where she managed order of 5,00, 6,000 and 10,000 units for 10 – 15 companies including brands such as Dillard’s, Nordstrum, Sears, Johnny Apple Seed with a 2 – 3 weeks completion rate from contact to delivery i.e. drafting and on the line, “Design is about proportions” she said and explained shape, colour and dimensions were all very important aspects to a design and ultimately customer satisfaction.
What was most rewarding? Adina happily recalled working at Marks and Spencer’s in Canada and recalled it to be her most rewarding experience as the fashion was classic, well made with emphasis on clean finishes. During her time with the company, she travelled and gained cross section exposure to the company operations. She admired fashion of the 1980’s stating that decade was pivotal, bold, innovative. Popular designers were Wayne Clarke who specialized in Canadian Dresses, Alfred Sung, Pat McDonna and Danier Leather company, in the 1980’s leather was an important material in fashion What she wished she knew Learning to accept things beyond your control, don’t take stuff to heart
Looking Back – Advice for future fashion students
Adina encourages skills for industry such as networking as she put it “It’s not what you know but who you know”. Loyalty, order, and having an organized space,’ dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s’ are good attributes to develop. Be passionate about your work. The profession sometimes offers low pay, last minute challenges, can be very demanding, passion is what will help you carry on. She wished there be more opportunity for apprenticeship as entering the work force requires on the job training to fully develop.
Last Words, “whichever path you choose, Practice! Practice! Practice!” Heartfelt thanks to our Alumni Adina for sharing her experience, insights and suggestions for success in the industry today.
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