Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandria Richardson.
Hi Alexandria, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My love for Costume Design and making custom clothing started early on as a little girl. I always found joy in styling my Bratz dolls, playing dress up, and cutting up and hand sewing scarfs to make dresses for my bears. I never saw it as an actual career option because no one around me talked it about it or did it as a career.
In the fall of 2013, I went to the University of San Francisco where I was set to study Business Administration. Shortly into the semester, I began a battle with Steven’s Johnson Syndrome, which led me to medically withdraw from the university. After recovering at home for the rest of the year, I saw it as a second chance to go to a school where I could study what I really had an interest in. I found the perfect degree program called Textile and Apparel Management at the University of Missouri-Columbia. I emphasized in Apparel Product Development with a Business Administration minor embedded into the program. I was excited to find a program that had all my interests grouped into one.
During the last semester of my senior year in the spring of 2017 is when I started Alternative Tailor. I went to a university that frequently had special events where students needed to dress up. I found a need for my services and the confidence to offer freelance alterations and custom wear creation. During my college experience, I also participated in my first fashion show as a showcasing designer and volunteered at Kansas City Fashion Week.
A year post graduation was the first time I had a costume design production assistant position. It was for the show Chicago Fire/Med/PD. I also had my first alteration job at a bridal shop. Those two positions is what encouraged me to go after more substantial positions in the design and costume world. I had a full circle moment volunteering at Chicago Fashion Week in 2018 to being a showcasing designer showing a 26-piece collection in 2021.
I have moved deeper into the costume design world, serving as a designer for various short film, theatrical, and dance productions. Some of my favorites have been for Art on the Mart Chicago, Ballet Chicago, and the DuSable Museum. Although I am very proud of my portfolio thus far, I am excited to keep moving up in the Costume Design world and work on big-budget film productions.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Moving up in the costume design world has come with a few challenges. As a Black woman from the southside of Chicago, everything around me up until college has been predominately black. However, even while at my university, I was able to find peers who were from similar backgrounds. That is not the case in most productions I work on. I am usually one of the only Black people/POC on the production. It can feel lonely sometimes and like I’m going above and beyond to prove that I belong. Thankfully, my work speaks for itself.
I am currently battling my ethics when it comes to working on certain productions. If I don’t see value in the story or if it does not evoke some sort of change, then I’m less likely to be passionate about the work. I want my work to matter and to tell the stories of my ancestors.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am grateful for the fact that I get to have a dual career. Aside from my costume design endeavors, I have a career in education. I started with Chicago Public Schools in 2018 as an administrative assistant. After a couple of years, I became a counseling assistant. During my fourth year, I became a day-to-day substitute teacher because I wanted the flexibility for my children.
During the 2022-2023 school year, I became a cadre substitute teacher, where I taught Art 1 and Art Appreciation for a full year. That is when I fell in love with being an educator. Now I am in my second year as a full-time teacher, and I am excited to be an actual full-time teacher now instead of a substitute. I work for a charter school here in Chicago as an English Language Arts teacher, following after my mother’s footsteps.
I am very excited to continue my work in education. I know it can be tough during today’s climate, but my dedication to supporting and advocating for my students is what keeps me passionate. I look forward to furthering my education in a graduate program in education in the near future.
I am proud of the overall healthy work-life balance that I have. It is unique within itself that I am a mother of two who has a dual career. It is important to me to be multifaceted and to be great at many things. I try not to keep myself boxed in. Despite the challenges that come my way, I always try to stay true to myself and participate in all things that make me happy and fulfilled.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I am confident that my career in education is going to keep flourishing. There is always going to be a need for educating students. Hopefully, I have moved onto the post-secondary level by this time.
I am not quite sure where I will be in the costume design world. My hope would be to be working on a big-budget film production. With all these strikes going on, it’s hard to tell where the industry will be. I am hopeful that the writers and actors get everything they deserve and more.
Thankfully, most of my work is in live production. I also hope to costume design for a Broadway show or a mainstream concert tour.
Contact Info:
- Website: alternativetailor.com
- Instagram: tailored_alexandria
- Facebook: Alexandria Nicole
