The Mirage of Becoming a Fashion Designer

We all have dreams! And from this point on, we all have roads we need to take in order to fulfill these dreams. The story of Doina Pirau is one of love and passion for fashion and her life trajectory proves it. Let's read her story in our beautiful interview. You can find her designs in our shop branch, Stylezza Shop. 

Dear Doina, readers want to know more about you, please let us know your story in a few words ... 

The beginning of this year marked the thirteenth year since I made my first professional design and last November we celebrated ten years since I officially debuted in fashion through a collection of clothing, leather goods and footwear presented at the Fashion Week in Cluj. It was a period of reflection on the beginnings, which, in my case, started right from the inception of my life, fact of which I could see, of course, after the happenings of later key events. 

The road to fashion has been favoured for me since birth, because my grandparents, when they found out that their daughter-in-law, my mother, was pregnant, they chose my name and gave me into inheritance a sewing machine. They didn't even thought that I could have been a boy ...
Then, as a child, when I was going shopping, I used to sketch items that I would like to find and with those designs in mind I was discovering that the market wasn't offering such things. Later, around  eight - ten years old, in primary school, I enrolled myself in a couple of extra curriculum courses at school: acting followed by clothing design. I have vivid memories of my father who gave me supportive approvals of both directions, and having had his blessing on what later became my profession is very important, i'm carrying it as a constant fuel, as it is a law of life dear to my soul. Next on, at sixteen I've asked for an informational meeting with an industry professional from the international fashion that had the openness to share with me some insides and talked to me about the challenges that may occur in this domain. Two years later I made the first sketch of a luxury bag which was born with the help of a highly skilled leather goods craftsman, from whom I was about to learn the art of leather goods making. Even then, I was not thinking to study fashion, because fashion always seemed to me a field in which I could work successfully and easily, and so I considered a faculty in fashion wasn't necessary. I grew up thinking that in adulthood I would choose to study law, or architecture, even medicine at times. Well, I was nearing the end of the last year of college, and the reasoning until then began to disappear, while my heart made herself listened.  

I went to be auditioned by a great actress from my country, Stela Popescu, audition after which, in case of a favorable answer, the exam preparations for the Faculty of Cinematographic Art would have started. I got a very positive answer, and so, I went to observe the acting class.  Once there, I realized that the exercises practiced didn't fit me very well and that I will want to spend the next few years in a different manner. Thus, when I was leaving the rehearsal room I knew that I will study Fashion, though my interest in Cinema remained alive. 
This was followed by a research regarding the universities that had this specialization and my patriotic feeling made me say Romania must be able to do   good in fashion, so I chose the best rated university from my country, which happened to be in my hometown. They were accepting only 17 students that year, I had 2 weeks time to prepare before the exam, in a self-taught way, the competition was very high, with talented pupils that had artistic backgrounds coming from all over the country and beyond, and so, receiving a place among the 17 was the confirmation that my road to fashion was favored from above. Few words about me and my life before the last 10 years of fashion.

What does your own designs mean to you?

I love to see people who are delighted, joyful, optimistic, and through my creations I bring my contribution to this state, of those who wear them. When a client calls me happy to say she was the most beautiful at an event, wearing the creations I made for her it means that my mission has been accomplished. We feel good when we are well represented, and clothing is an essential pillar that gives us the possibility to put ourselves in the right perspective. This increases self-esteem and thus we become more relaxed, creative and productive, our lives improve."

How would you position yourself in relation to the other designers?

The other designers... this is a very wide field. Regarding the designers from my generation, I can't think of a name that achieved global recognition, and to position myself in relation with the magnificent designers from previous generations wouldn't be correct to do so. What is universally valid is that every designer has its own audience for which he creates. If I were to define a fashion brand, I'd look at its customers. I'd say that the values of its customers define the values of the brand most faithfully. In our case, we have mainly a highly educated public, with an orderly life, a disciplined mature lifestyle; for which time is the most important resource. Our products merge beauty with practicality, bring satisfaction at the aesthetic level offering authenticity woven with good taste and exclusivity, are high quality, which makes them long lasting and I return to aesthetics, as our design is timeless. These are some of the reasons for which our customers invest in the pieces that we offer.

How do you see this market in the future, including that of bags? Do you believe in new different trends or in a cyclical behavior?

In these times we have a rather malleable fashion, we can very well adopt a wide diversity of styles without looking out of it, and this trend will continue to manifest. Speaking about high fashion, it is important that our clothing to be appropriate for our body, the proportions to be correct, we take in consideration the quality and we aim for the products to be sustainable. Individuality is a characteristic of today's world, from several reasons, including the so diverse value systems. The number of micro-trends are on the rise, and those who share the same ways of managing their life will wear similar styles, which has happened until now, but not at the same level. In the past, in the 20th century, we had strong, well-defined trends, we can clearly identify the fashion of each decade, today we can no longer talk about this and I'd say neither we'll be able to do so from now on. By overcoming "uniforms", referring to the strong trends from the past adopted in a community, today, clothing, more than ever, helps us to identify at first sight the occupation or the values of the other, can communicate many aspects about those around us, and this is one of the positives points. We have global micro-trends, and the place where we live is no longer a point of influence of our clothing aesthetics. These micro-trends are instantly adopted anywhere on the globe, due to our "TV from  the pocket" where the protagonists, stars, can be any of the billions of earthlings, so the minute of fame is within anyone's reach, and the appetite for bespoke clothing leads to a development of local workshops in order meet the need for uniqueness. The openness for  innovative materials increases, which will also be accepted in terms of bags. "What Paris has not seen", and the constant comes down to one word: relevance.

What are your projections related to your life as a designer?

I have always seen future in white and pink and I hope my eyes will be clear to keep seeing it that way.  For me, success means to lead a life without compromise, a life filled with authenticity and, if this is intertwined with bringing joy to others through my creations, then it would mean a bright future as a designer. I think it's a beautiful projection and, with God's blessing, it may be fulfilled.