We have another great treat for y’all; another of our very own, Alaina Smith! She is a lady of Knoxville; always working downtown, performing with her local sensation of a band, Marina Orchestra, or playing with her favorite gal pals. Alaina also has a great talent for art and fashion design (what can this girl NOT do, right?!). We asked her to share what fashion means to her and how her experience as a fashion designer has shaped and molded her into the woman she is today. As always, your job is to sit back, relax, and take a walk in someone else’s shoes for a few minutes.
Happy reading!
Performing, NYE 2012
I could say that fashion brings people together and that it is the most important thing people have, but that’s not how I feel. Relationships, making connections, and feeling like part of a bigger picture is more important, which is why fashion is so instrumental in our society. Personal style displays feelings about so much more than just how people like to look. Vintage clothing can identify you as a hunter and a dreamer while wearing a handmade sweater from your grandmother with striped leggings identifies you more as an inventor and a rebel. No matter the choice – you are relating, you are creating, and you are participating.
I am a fashion designer. For me, making clothing is not only a way I can cultivate my creativity and harness my energy, but a way to relate and participate in a larger way.
Alaina at her First Friday show at Reruns.
The idea that I can imagine something, create it, and find someone who appreciates it the same way I do is exhilarating. I have become some small part of their life when they purchase that item. While most people can connect with a stranger by commenting on their fantastic jacket or their killer dress, I can make that jacket and that dress. Below is a just a small peek into some of the designs I have crafted in the past.
Geometric clutch, Alaina Smith Designs
Fringe detail on an ASD original blouse.
After showing my collection in the first Knoxville Fashion Week, I realized that there are many Southerners like me that have an unquenchable thirst for fashion, and that kind of realization has really influenced me. Not everyone in Knoxville wears Northface jackets, Nike running shorts, and Tevas. Through working at Reruns and managing Rala, I’ve met a plethora of people just as excited about creating and sharing as I am.
Alaina Smith Designs on the runway at Knoxville Fashion Week, March 2012
I love fashion because it acts as a gateway to people who interest me and because it allows me to feel fully me. I hope that everyone can have a similar experience every day in their own closets and armoires.
Reruns Boutique 