Fashion Designer Megan Smith Is Designing The Life She’s Always Dreamed Of

Since departing from her Amazon show, Megan decided to take a break and pursue her clothing line full-time. As of today her designs have been featured in major publications and worn by celebrities such as Issa Rae, Becky G, and Dominique Fishback and her absolute favorite of them all, Kelly Rowland.

It wasn't easy getting onto the likes of the most iconic celebrities of our generation but Megan is the epitome of doing what it takes to design one's own life. “Making money is part of owning a brand but that's at the bottom for me. What really makes me happy is when I see people in my clothes and they love it while looking good. I’m grateful to be able to do that and have that reach.”

What’s your advice for women who want to take that leap of faith but are hesitant to pursue their dream of starting a fashion business?

Megan Smith: The biggest thing is to just start. It doesn't [matter] where or how you start, the amount of money you have, or even the number of resources you have. Even if you’re designing one thing per week, or one piece every few months, just start. The problem is so many of us think about the bigger picture and when thinking of it as a whole it's overwhelming. Breaking it down into steps, one thing after another is how you build momentum. You have to realize it's a process; it doesn’t happen overnight but you have to start somewhere. Don’t wait to start. Just start with bits and pieces, you don’t have to do everything at once.

"So many of us think about the bigger picture and when thinking of it as a whole it's overwhelming. Breaking it down into steps, one thing after another is how you build momentum. You have to realize it's a process; it doesn’t happen overnight but you have to start somewhere. Don’t wait to start."

What are your thoughts when it comes to doubting one's own ability of if they can succeed in what it is they set out to do?

Once you start and build that momentum, you’ll slowly gain the resources you need, they’ll come to you. That’s what it means to walk in your purpose. Once you start, blessings will come.

It takes money to start a quality clothing brand. What have been the strategies you’ve found helpful when funding your business? 

As a young designer, I didn’t make much money so there was a lot of sacrificing. Starting out, I built relationships with fabric stores that had close-out fabrics which are fabrics on sale from companies going out of business or canceled orders. So I would get fabrics super cheap and the return from my sales gave me the boost I needed. I’d use all that money and put it right back into the line. All of my disposable income went into my clothing line.

Starting out, I kept my day job and today I still design for other people. I don’t encourage anyone to just quit their day job on a whim. If you can do both until you’re at a place with a steady income to support your lifestyle and the brand, then I would suggest that. Instagram makes things look glamorous like, “I quit my job!” That's not reality.

Designers have to be resourceful when executing the vision. What are a few things you had to take on personally that were a challenge? 

I already knew how to make patterns but I sucked it up when I started making my own lines. I taught myself how to sew my first samples, I would do it all. If you don’t know how to do that there [are] so many people here that will help you. My first seamstress and pattern maker, I found on Craigslist. I taught myself how to do a lot rather than outsourcing which saved a lot of money as well.

For more of Megan, follow her on Instagram.