As an ambitious creative entrepreneur, there’s nothing more inspiring than hearing the backstory of someone who has been in your shoes and gone on to make a name for themselves – literally.
Originally from Serbia, Roksanda Ilincic is a London-based fashion designer and the founder of the highly sought-after fashion label, ROKSANDA. Her designs have been noticed and worn by some of the world’s most famous women, including Michelle Obama, the Duchess of Cambridge and Kiera Knightly.
For one of our Founder Files, our founder, Carolyn Dailey, interviewed Roksanda about her entrepreneurial journey – how she made it in the fashion industry, her proudest accomplishments, and much more. Here’s a snippet of what Roksanda had to say:
“I came here [London], I did my masters, and then I freelanced for different companies to actually earn some money to start my own label. Once I did that; once I accumulated a certain amount of money, I very slowly started with a very tiny collection – it only had thirteen pieces.”
“I feel my first breakthrough moment was probably when I showed an official schedule at London Fashion Week in 2005. And I think that was the moment when the buyers, the journalists – people who really make a difference – came to see my show and sensed that there was something interesting in it.”
“Investment allowed me to fulfil my dreams to make the store as beautiful as it is now and also to expand my business really drastically, starting with employing two new staff; people that before, I didn’t have the opportunity to employ. Also to extend my ranges which are now much bigger than before.”
“I would always say that they [aspiring creative entrepreneurs] should follow their own instincts; their own guts – not listen to too many advisers in the beginning because I think something that is really driving us, our intuition, is probably our best teacher.”
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