Chained by Laura Duff
We teamed up with UNiDAYS to host a design contest for college students to kick their fashion dreams into high gear. We picked a few of our fave design submissions and brought them to life on our site, and caught up with our grand prize winner, Laura Duff to share her story as a young artist.
When did you first start designing?
I haven’t been designing for a very long time, I started September 3, 2018. It hasn’t even been a year yet! I would start with just making portraits of my friends and then I started making creating my own little doodles and designs in my sketchbook and then eventually using my sister’s old iPad to create the designs graphically.
What/who inspires you the most?
I am inspired a lot by pop culture, especially music! Sometimes I’ll be listening to a song and then I’ll hear a lyric that really resonates with me or inspires me and then I’ll sketch it down, and then create a graphic design out of it. The end product always looks so different than the original inspiration, but I think that it is really cool, starting from something and ending up at a completely different location.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I see myself living a dream life. My 3 main passions are filmmaking, designing, and fashion. I really want to be in the film industry; I have always been interested in film due to the many aspects of art that it combines, like music, acting, writing, cinematography, fashion, and so on. At the same time, I also want to create my own clothing company that is eco-friendly and sustainable while also being affordable. It’s a hefty goal, but I want to accomplish both of these things in 5 years, but I have the will so there’s a way.
What is your definition of a Nasty Gal?
My definition of a Nasty Gal is someone who is completely unafraid of the world. I feel like sometimes we can get caught up in our comfort zone and forget to challenge ourselves or, are scared to. But, to me, a Nasty Gal isn’t afraid of pushing themselves; they are empowered by taking chances and furthermore empower others to follow their hearts. Nasty Gals are straight up bosses who set their minds on a goal, stay focused and do the work, and then dominate the world; Nasty Gals don’t let anything stop them.
What advice would you give to young creatives like you?
My piece of advice would be to not wait for the right opportunity or others opinions. Sometimes when we want to do something new, we are scared, which is completely understandable, but the excuse we tell ourselves is that the “timing isn’t right”. I have learned that the timing will never be “right” but you have to do what you want anyway. Yet, once we go after what we want, the opinions of others can be scary, but you have to block out everyone else because they don’t run your life, you do. If you keep going after what you want and trusting your gut, then you are on your way to success. One more thing, if there is a will there is a way. If you really want something in this life, whether it be a job, a position, a lifestyle, etc.,l if you have enough will, you will find a way.
