Today we’d like to introduce you to Avnah Long.
Avnah, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started my fashion journey as a crochet designer. I began creating garments and swimwear out of yarn which was the initial launch of AVNAH Collection. I owned a salon and worked as a Licensed Master Cosmetologist in Little 5 points and East Atlanta. I would drape mannequins with garments and place them in the window. That is actually when things began to take a turn for me as the designs were selling on my slow days and financially I was starting to make more than being a Cosmetologist. Eventually, I spoke with my clients about the new direction I desired to take in fashion and they supported my new venture which lead me to close the salon after seven years of operation. After I closed the salon, I realized that the fashion community didn’t look at crochet the same as major brands and I would have to learn how to sew in order to be taken seriously as a designer. I quickly bought a sewing machine and began teaching myself how to sew and use the machine. I began creating designs with my own unique aesthetics and the collection began to gain a lot of notice and I have been on this journey now for sixteen years. I have recently launched an addition to the clothing line called AVNAH Organics. AVNAH Organics is a Luxury Organics Collection for Home, Bed, Bath, and Beauty. This will be an addition to our site and our customers will be able to shop for fashion and all thing home and beauty.
Has it been a smooth road?
Although this is an industry of glitz and glam, it has not always been an easy road. Some of the struggles were finding good resources and learning everything on my own. It was hard to find out a lot of answers to many questions that I had regarding the fashion industry. I think there is this misconception that if you give someone too much information that they will surpass you but there is room for everyone at the top. So, it has been a long road to get to where I am today and I still have so much further to go and so much more I want to do as a designer and brand.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the AVNAH Collection story. Tell us more about it.
My company is AVNAH Collection. It is an exclusive fashion line that has an array of designs from Women’s wear, Accessories, Resort, Eyewear and so much more, the collection has a lot of elements in each design that makes it couture and I pride myself in going the extra mile for my costumers and clients. I try to create a lane of my own as a designer because I do not want to be like any other designer out here. Doing that has allowed me to connect with some amazing people in the industry that respect what I have to offer as a designer and they understand the type of designer I am. I am proud that as a company, AVNAH Collection represents exclusiveness, couture, and a unique aesthetic. That is what sets our company apart from others.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
In the next 5-10 years, I see the fashion industry being more open to not only the creative process of design but to those people that wear those designs and brands as well. There has been a lot of controversy with the creative teams of larger brands when designing for the masses. We have to be careful as designers and creatives to not offend cultures and races while releasing collections to the world. We should use that platform to create unity instead of division. Fashion and design is such a beautiful way to release positive change and I think many are beginning to understand that. Within the next 5-10 years, I would hope to see a major change where this is concerned.
Pricing:
- Prices of designs range according to details of each garment. $115 and up
Contact Info:
- Website: www.avnah.com
- Phone: 818-308-4792
- Email: info@avnah.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/avnahcollection
- Facebook: facebook.com/avnahcollection
- Twitter: twitter.com/avnah
Image Credit:
Laretta Houston, James Anthony, Briann Ziff, Robert Long
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