Freelance Fashion Designer Kristen Anderson
Kristen Anderson is a freelance fashion designer. When looking back at getting her first job in the fashion world, she says she had a very difficult time. “WhileI was still in college, I had applied to about 80 jobs in the NYC and Boston area, but to no avail. I eventually had an old college friend who found a job at a private label design company and she connected me to the hiring manager at the first opportunity.” She says she was so lucky to get that connection, and believes networking is key in the fashion industry. Throughout her career, she has a lot of ups and downs, but with perseverance, she has reaped a lot of rewards in all facets of her career. “I really love learning and believe that perpetual education is what makes for lifelong success, so I will never turn down an opportunity to explore a new possibility. I try to remain optimistic through the highs and lows because our mindset is everything.”
At one point in her career, she felt like quitting and moving into something more stable, and less competitive, but she is very glad I didn't. “I have experienced tremendous growth after working at rocket ship startup like Adore Me, watching it turn into something small to a mighty, globally recognized lingerie brand. I've participated and fostered the realization of a mass-market line at Target called Kona Sol -- an incredibly fun, customer-oriented, and visually stunning brand.” Most recently she left a full-time job to pursue her own passion for helping entrepreneurs realize their dream in the early stages, build their brands, and make something meaningful in the process. “It has been a wild ride, but so wonderful. Every day makes me excited to see what might happen and how it might change everything!”
Kristen thinks her love for fashion began when she was younger. She says she loved to make clothes for her Barbie Dolls, and began doing so around 8 or 9 years old. “I dug up my mom's old millennial pink sewing machine and tried to make things with it at an early age. I was really interested in the creation process and I loved turning piles of fabric into something meaningful and wearable or usable.” One of the first projects she worked on with that machine was some handbags she made with her sister. She admits it wasn’t the best quality machine, so it didn’t last very long. “When I had my first summer nanny job, I bought a machine and started sewing like a maniac! I loved making handbags for a long time too, I turned that into my very first business called omgoshkiki where I sold handbags, clothes, and jewelry on etsy.com! Getting that sewing machine made me really fall in love with the whole creative process of making a physical product from just the basic raw materials!”
Kristen has worked for many amazing brands such as Adore Me and Victoria’s Secret, and says that working with companies that were experiencing high growth has given her a lot of perspective in the industry. “It helps you understand what it takes to build a successful business and after doing it repeatedly, you come to understand the traits of people that know how to make things happen. The fast movers, the decision-makers, the ones that aren't afraid of failing a little bit, especially if it means a bigger payout in the end.” It is exciting for her to work for companies where iteration is key, and you are striving to make better and better products that resonate with your customer, your brand and who you are as a person and an individual.
She started her first c-corp business called Fearlyss Co. in 2016 and it wore her out. Her product development really struggled, and she tried to wear every single hat a founder could wear, and she ran out of steam and money. “In late 2018, Fearlyss had pivoted into KRSTN NDRSN and it was on the verge.” Kristen wasn't sure exactly what this venture was becoming and truthfully, she says she isn’t 100% on that. “I left my full-time job in July of 2019 to travel to Bali for 3 months with my husband, to rest, recuperate, and recharge. It wasn't until a month and a half after we came back home to the states from Bali where everything really started to click.” She believed her new business would fill the gaps where she struggled with Fearlyss. It would take the entrepreneur and give them someone else to entrust with their direction, brand development and product lines. She tried to do so many things, wear so many hats, and in the end, she realized that it just wasn’t feasible. "By offering my services to early-stage entrepreneurs, I can support throughout the entire journey, acting as a sounding board, a partner, a confidant, and a coach. It's actually the culmination of the things that I am best at and enjoy the most, so it has really been a game-changer for my life and my path.”
The steps Kristen took that may have helped her get to where she is in her career today were:
Deciding the path I wanted to follow, remembering that I can always change later if it doesn't suit me forever.
Learn, absorb, and embrace everything I can about that field. Self-teaching was an important part of my journey. My college didn't really have the greatest Adobe Illustrator course at the time, so I bought an extra book and pushed myself to learn faster than my peers because I knew this would be a critical skill set for my future. I worked on bettering myself with just about every free moment I had from the time I graduated to the time I landed my first job in fashion.
Endure and persevere with an unwillingness to quit, even when the chips are down, even when you're in the red, even when it's the hardest time ever to show up and do it. There was one defining moment in my life where I remember asking on Reddit "At what point do you give up on your dream job?" and the resounding answer was -- if you've ever experienced a morsel of success, you can turn that into something bigger, so keep going. That morsel is proof of concept and shows that if you don't make it work right now, you still can someday with enough grit and wherewithal.
Keep going, keep learning, keep iterating. Never quit.
The advice Kristen would give someone who may want to become a designer or get their name out there to brands would be to find a place where your brand can exist. “Make it something special. Be somebody, not just anybody. Don't be afraid of change, it's the natural progression of all good things. Iteration is imperative to long term success if you think you're perfect on the first go -- you're deeply mistaken. Always ask yourself how you can improve. Ask others to tell you. Don't be afraid of their answers. Work with people that inspire you to do something important. Use your time wisely, you can't get it back. Invest in people that are smarter than you.”
In five years, Kristen hopes to be making a difference in some way. She would love her 5-year future to include starting another apparel brand of her own once again. “However, if that's not what shakes out, I'd still love to be doing what I'm doing right now -- I get to work with some of the most interesting rising concepts, meet entrepreneurial thinkers, and create awesome products. Either way, I think I'll be winning as long as I'm still doing something that I enjoy and helps other women feel confident!”