From Artist To Social Entrepreneur: Becoming A Global Good Fund Fellow

In January 2013, I was recovering from a year of extreme highs and lows. The highs included: securing the first investor for my fashion brand, designing and executing a sample collection out of India with extensive hand-beading, being named “Fashion’s Next” or “One to Watch” by ESSENCE, Marie Claire and Uptown Magazines and celebrities like Elle Varner and Solange Knowles wearing my collection on the red carpet and in their music videos. The lows included: getting laid off from my day job in the exclusive hospitality sector, and being turned down for two consecutive seasons by the major department stores who viewed my collection. I didn’t realize building a fashion brand would be so hard.