Today we’d like to introduce you to Alice Ramirez.
Hi Alice, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was raised in the San Fernando Valley with a dream of moving to LA and start my own business. I received my bachelor’s degree in fashion design but it took me quite a while to get into the industry. At the moment, I was juggling a regular full-time job with my parents at a cell phone store while trying to find an industry job. After months of searching, I landed my first job at a children’s wear company. After about three months around March 2020, covid hit and I was unfortunately let go from my job. I was very disappointed and afraid that I wouldn’t make it back into the industry because of how bad covid had gotten. Since I was jobless and had all this time on my hands, I started to design some new styles and realized I could potentially sell them online. It took me months to try to actually launch my Etsy shop but with time and patience, I finally did February 2021. I currently sell lingerie and other clothing inspired by gothic themes. The gothic subculture and fashion have always been a big inspiration for me growing up and to this day. Eventually, I’d like to not only sell lingerie but also sell gothic clothing for business professionals or just casual everyday clothing.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
The biggest struggle was funding my first collection because I wasn’t working. The end of 2020, I found a wholesale design assistant job and that helped me finally fund the rest of the collection and help fund other things like shipping supplies business cards and packaging for the clothing. Once I opened my shop, I was heavily supported by friends, but it started to slow down after about 2-3 months which was also a difficult time. This led me to design some new styles to keep people engaged and excited with new items.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am currently a Denim bottoms Jr. Associate designer. I work in the design room closely helping the denim designer & associate with the fashion line that we present to buyers every quarter of the year. Many think that denim is very basic and straightforward (that’s exactly what I thought when I first started) but in actuality, it’s far much more creative than that. I’ve learned that what makes a denim pant isn’t just the body/style of the pant but also the type of fabric, wash process it has, what type of hardware we can add to it along with colors, embroidery and hem details. These are are details that I have learned working here. There are many elements which go into a denim pants, that process is beautiful and I’ve learned to love it. I did not own any denim when I first started my job but not I have many denim pants (more than I can count)! This process has taught me quite a bit and I have been able to apply these skills to my online Etsy shop.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
The biggest risk I took was taking a chance on opening my Etsy shop, not knowing if anyone would buy from me. It was a risk that I took and a fear I overcame, which is why I took so long to open it. I had a big fear of losing all the money I had invested to open my shop not knowing if I’d break even.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.lunaxclothing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luna.x.clothing/
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LunaXClothing
Image Credits:
Photographer-Virgil Miller Models-De la Rosa Queen, Darian Giselle, Necro Crystal
