Fashion design school helped Carrie Cochran say RICKY MARTIN wore my T-shirt. Well, not her personal shirt — Carrie actually custom-designed T-shirts for the popstar to wear throughout his world tour in 2005. That was a proud moment for the thriving fashion designer.
Carrie has dreamed of a fashion design career for a long time. “I’ve always had a talent with creativity and art,” she explains. “When I was a teen, I would sew and design my own clothes and costumes. Sewing and fashion was my hobby, and I spent all my free time doing it.”
Carrie was a natural, so she steadfastly headed to a fashion design school to cultivate her craft. She attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale where she eventually graduated with honors. “The fashion design school was close to home and I easily attended while still living at home with my parents,” she recalls. “After visiting the fashion design school, a guided tour with a counselor nailed my decision down.” Excited by what the fashion design college had to offer in terms of classes, an annual fashion show that students participated in, and educational trips to New York and Paris, Carrie knew she wouldn’t regret choosing fashion design college.
“I’m very proud to have graduated with honors from a fashion design school,” she explains. “I was able to work consistently in a fashion design career since then to support myself using my skills. All my hard work really paid off when I received a phone call from tennis legend SERENA WILLIAMS, who was asking me to be a part of her fashion company, Aneres.”
It’s all a matter of who you know and how you get your name, work, and garments out there, according to Carrie. Doors to other opportunities have opened up with every one of her pieces that gets worn. “I was introduced to Ricky Martin about a year ago through a friend. He had seen my work and fell in love with it,” she says. “He wore one of my accessories to last year’s Video Music Awards on MTV.”
As a result, Carrie created an entire collection of accessories, as well as custom T-shirts for the Latin singer which he sported throughout his world tour last year.
So now that Carrie has her dream fashion design career realized, what’s next? Fashion design college yet again to get her masters perhaps? Maybe even more celebrity collaborations? The sky is the limit once an aspiring fashion designer has experience and a degree to back up his or her credentials. For Carrie, the next step may be a fashion design business.
