It's that time of year again! Fashion Week! It’s been 3 years since Declarative’s last runway show, which is crazy because those presentations were a big part of our early years. Fashion Week launched the brand, debuted our first four collections, and although we probably won’t participate again, I couldn't be more grateful that it’s how we started.

Why? Because it's not too hard to work on a project (or business, career shift, etc) in secret. It’s also not too stressful when there's unlimited time to make everything perfect. But, here’s the kicker though. If you’re a beginner like I was when I started Declarative, your first chapter will to be a diamond in the rough regardless of how much time you spend on it. In fact, you could probably nitpick it forever in the quest for perfection (at least, I know I could.) This is why I’m grateful for Fashion Week.

When I started Declarative (called RESPONSIVE TEXTILES at the time), I was very green. I’d never created a collection or even seen a runway show before. I had one knitting class under my belt, a lot of passion and that was legit all of my “experience.” I was a perfectionist who still had a lot to learn about making clothes, and because of fashion week, my first collection had a deadline before I even started working on it. Thank goodness sister!

The contract was signed and paid for. Ten women were going to walk down the runway on my behalf and now I needed to dress them. I had a set amount of time to get it done, and that’s what I did. For 5 months, I lived and breathed that first collection. I worked as hard as I could to make it as great as possible, and then I shared it. On October 2nd 2014, RESPONSIVE TEXTILES and SS15 launched. Was it my best work ever? No. Was it the best I could do at the time? 100% yes. Visually beautiful, hardly functional (hello side boob) and a very different aesthetic than my work now, but it was my starting point and honestly, that’s what I needed. An official, out in public, starting point.

Over the next two years, I proceeded to do 4 more shows, completely immersing myself in creating those collections. Although very expensive (literally all of my $$$), these fashion week commitments made me put in hundreds of hours of knitting. They motivated me work through many ideas and produce a lot of work in a short amount of time. I had no choice, but to hit the ground running. I didn’t have time to procrastinate or endlessly nitpick, and through this process, I became a good knitter. I learned how to make clothes, cultivated my aesthetic, eventually figured out who I was as a designer and discovered what I wanted Declarative to be.

Ironically, what I learned about myself and Declarative from these runway shows is why I no longer do them. I realized I preferred selling directly to customers rather than to boutiques, whose buyers make up the Fashion Week audience. I also wanted to focus on making timeless staples that women could wear everyday, rather than the statement pieces that are more geared towards a runway show. Basically, none of the things I wanted Declarative to be fit in with the benefits of showing at Fashion Week and the cost to took to participate.

All of these realizations fell into place right after my last show, which was at NY Fashion Week. This was a major goal and after two years of pouring my soul into my knitting, I had made it happen. I’d reached the top of the mountain only to realize that I’d climbed the wrong mountain. For a while afterwards, I was upset with myself over the money I “wasted” on these shows. However, now I look at the situation with kinder eyes. The truth is that when I started, I didn’t know any better. I didn’t know what kind of designer I was yet or what I wanted my brand to become. And who knows? If I hadn’t been motivated by those runway deadlines, there’s no telling how long it would’ve taken me to figure those things out. Although I don’t see Declarative putting on a runway show again, I couldn’t be more grateful that they were a part of the journey because they got me here. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: time is never wasted.

xKristine

Photography: Lina Chernikova
Beauty #bts at Declarative’s last LAFW show in March 2016