Perry Ellis fashion designer Natasha Rodriguez visited Gables on Nov. 17, to visit Ms. Monzon’s fashion students and gave them tips about how to make it in the fashion industry and explained the process involved in designing new products. Rodriguez also shared how she get’s inspired to create something new and innovative by seeing what pattern and styles are popular for the season.

“My number one advice is to never feel intimidated [when working in the fashion industry] because a lot of people are competitive and as long as you have confidence in your product, it can go far,” Rodriguez said.

As an introduction to her guest appearance, Rodriguez showed the students a video about the truths behind factory labor in the fashion industry and a video on the exclusive golf athletic attire within the sub-brand Grand Slam.  Rodriguez also shared advice about getting into the prestigious and demanding fashion industry by emphasizing that although there will be many hardships, it is important to have persistence and determination. She also introduced the aspiring designers to the different departments in the world of fashion.

“The presentation gave a great insight on the certain jobs within the world of fashion and what each of the jobs require,” junior Antonella Butler said.

Rodriguez covered all the basics about starting your own business or joining an already popular corporation in the fashion industry and informed the students of the different collections and sub-brands in Perry Ellis. Rodriguez even brought samples of the newest creations for the Spring 2017 women’s tennis active wear Grand Slam collection for student’s to see the end result of all the planning that goes into making a successful product.

The presentation did an excellent job in letting students understand the general aspects of pursuing a career in the fashion industry and what they will most likely be working with if they choose to do so. If you are interested in perusing this career field then please see Ms. Monzon and her fashion students for further information about the presentation.