Living Legacy
“Sometimes we give up on our dreams. We tuck it away for another day, then we wake and years have passed to a place where we forget to breathe. Where once we lived to chase the current of our soul. What do you do with this force that wants to be made new?
Do you just ignore it and let the door remain shut, like an attic with all the things you love boxed up. Do you exist in practicality holding the curtain as your inner storm beacons you near? Yet you hear it in the quiet moments that wake you from the conformity of normality.
But what if you wanted to live with all the colors of a field you have not planted. Can you begin to awaken a part of you that you have abandoned? Do you have the strength, courage and foolishness to go at it with a resilient eye? Could you look at a page you must turn and move mountains to lift life’s shadow into a rising sun? Let this be the year of your living legacy. ”
Collage images from my Fashion Travel Adventures in Europe where I was teaching a Creative Entrepreneurship Social Innovation Bootcamp on behalf of the Maryland Institute College of Art - Ratcliffe Center for Creative Entrepreneurship on an Erasmus Exchange the first image is me teaching at Luca School of Art in Ghent, followed by walking in the historic part of Antwerp, Belgium after a lovely meal at French restaurant in town. While in Milan, Italy I was able to meet my friends Maria and Ana who are the Master Embroiderers at Dolce & Gabbana they even surprised me with a sweet present that I can sew onto a special fashion piece. I danced in the rain while walking back to my hotel. My last meeting in Antwerp was at the MoMu fashion museum where I met with Ines at Flanders DC an organization that supports the fashion designers. I hope to build partnerships for the Fashion Innovation Hub as we develop a Global Fashion Entrepreneurship Center ecosystem map of organizations, tools and resources.
I know when starting my fashion journey I was on a mission to build a fashion company that is kind. I guess for so long the norm has been that we accept the industry as it is and follow the directives of the old world fashion houses. Yet, the fashion industry was formed by pioneer founders looking to push back and build something only they knew and could birth into the world.
I ask that you as the future leaders of industry to build something that will have a ripple positive impact on many generations to come. If we are angry about the industry and desire it to change well then we must be the captain on this industry ship and decide that we have the power to do something about it in our own unique way.
Do not feel overwhelmed to feel that you must take on the entire industry. You can start in your local community with one product and/or service that truly lights you up. Find the connection points the will bring others along this journey with you. Please above all believe in yourself. We need you to be the future that the industry can love.
You do not need to wait until you are retired to giveback and create change. You can build a living legacy through the mission of your organization. That is what the SEW BROMO mission is all about teaching Fashion Entrepreneurship Social Innovation. As we scale our Fashion Education Incubator that supports impact-driven fashion founders we can see a new wave of leaders and case studies of success.
These fashion venture stories will provide the basis and reference point for others to know that they are stronger than they know and their ideas turned into businesses have a much needed place as an economic driver of the creative cultural sector. If you would like to join this movement then check out the Fashion Entrepreneur Needle Trades Membership, we would love to welcome you into this community of change makers.