Instagram: @_karialexandra
Clothing Brand: @effervesventapparel
Photography: @photosbykarii
Art: @karisartwork
Ever wonder what it is to be a fashion student, to study at the New School? Karina Rodriguez is sophomore at Parsons in New York City, she is a Fashion Design major and has dedicated herself to this creative craft since her senior year of high school. In this interview we will touch into the realities of being an art student and the practicality of attending a design school.
Tell me about yourself, age, name, where you are from? My name is Karina Rodriguez, I am from Miami, I am 19, I am a Fashion Design major at Parsons The New School.
What drew you to the New School? I didn't know I wanted to get into fashion design until my senior year, I left my old high school and switched to a magnet school. Through the school I found my passion, I found out about Parsons through my high school and it all started from there.
How did you get into designing, where does your passion stem from? I got into design as I found a passion for sustainability, I interned with a local fashion designer in Miami by the name of Pangea Kali Virga and through her designs I began to find my passion.
What is the best part about your classes? At my old school I took a lot of normal classes. Compared to college, it depends on the person and what they want, for example, in my writing and history classes they are always connected to fashion, I love how all my classes are mainly art.
What has been your most challenging project? It depends, I have some projects that took a lot of time or it was based on a field I didn't have a lot of experience in, I made this dress out of plastic amazon bags, I had a hard time coming up with a film concept, we had to base it off of a genre, I choose the structure of a medicine commercial, my problem with the assignment was I struggled with making my creative image come to life, I am much more blocked when it comes to bringing my vision to the real world.
How collaborative are assignments? It depends on the teacher, even if It was just an assignment for yourself, you will collaborate with photographers, models, and students etc.
What level of a designer were you going into Parsons? Going into it, I was pretty prepared, my pattern making skills are not the best, I went to Parsons to be more prepared for the technical aspects of fashion. Going into it I understood the importance of photography, I knew a lot about photoshop but not Illustrator.
What does your ideal creative environment look like? I always like to create stuff in my room, sometimes it is inspiring to be in the Parsons spaces, sometimes it feels very competitive, the comfort of my room fuels my creativity, sometimes once my projects are started then I go to those Parsons rooms for the amazing resources and inspiring energy.
What is something you wish you knew before attending an art school? I’d say the whole thing of making friends it's a lot different from a normal state school, it's not like you are going to have a friend group, you have your going out friends, your collaborative friends and school friends. I never found myself in a stable permanent group of friends.
What are your thoughts on the competitiveness of the industry? When it comes to NYFW, everyone is trying their best to email brands to get into these shows, when everyone is doing the same thing it feels impossible to get your foot in the door. It is always a matter of how I can separate myself.
Tell me about your experience in making friends? One of the big things I learned was yes it would be nice to have a whole group friends, but you can't rely on the people you party with for your emotional problems, I am close with my roommate but we have boundaries, the friends you make in the beginning will not be who you end up with, remember that.
Who are some of your inspirations in the fashion industry? I love Iris Van Herpen, I admire her style of technology and creating designs as art and not as clothing, I also love the style of Elena Valez, I also like Jason London, I love the up-cycling look, I look at nature for inspiration, for example, while I was on my trip out camping, I saw a bunch of corals, seeing the corals reminded me of ocean pollution and how our environment is dying, through that inspiration I am reminded to raise awareness through my art.
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