When I was in matric/Grade 12, I had the most amazing idea of a design which my dressmaker at the time became quite excite about. She explained how she would add extra details and fabrics, to give my ‘catsuit’ (early 90’s term for jumpsuit) the extra lift I wanted.

Boy was I excited! Needless to say, it ended up looking a bit like a clown outfit.

This further sparked my determination to be a great designer, someone who puts my clients needs first; who is honest about expectation VS achieveability, and level of skill and experience. The most heartbreaking thing is to deliver a *disaster* to a teen, who is already struggling with self esteem, peer pressure, the guilt of matric dance costs, and of course, the daunting further study, and matric exams.

Thank goodness that somehow 95% of my customers were always over the moon, with the occasional difficult, spoilt teen who wanted the ‘Ellie Saab’ couture dress at a cost of $10….heehehhe

No, I do not only design white matric dance dresses, heeheee, these were just the popular colour for the season at the time. 🙂