Life & Work with Sydney Dean of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Dean.

Hi Sydney, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My start in fashion came from the women in my immediate environment seeing me. Them taking the time to teach me, invest in me, and believe in me has hoisted me up to where I currently am today. My very first run in with the world of fashion was when I was about nine years old, and found my grandmothers sewing kit. I asked her what it was and she stopped what she was doing and taught me how to thread a needle then and there. That night, I sewed a pair of cargo pants for my Barbie doll. What’s gotten me to where I am today has been a repeated pattern of the women in my life putting a battery in my back and giving me the courage and resources to reach higher. And to them I am eternally grateful.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been an easy road. If anything it’s been extremely gruesome. The biggest struggle for me while chasing my dreams has been the act of becoming. Not knowing where I’m heading and having to learn how to move forward regardless of the uncertainty. Learning about myself, learning about the nature of people, and the nature of the environment I’ve been planted in. Learning how to stand up straight in rooms where others would prefer for me to be small. Learning when to put the pedal to the metal and when to rest. Learning how to ask for help and when to pull myself up by the bootstraps. And just allowing myself to unfold into the woman Sydney Dean is supposed to be. It’s hard because I don’t know a lot of things, but I sure am willing to learn.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a sustainable clothing designer! I’m currently in Michigan working on an insane line of functional menswear! Fleshing out my brand identity and business plan and preparing to hit the ground running with some garments that will indeed change the game.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was and still am a nerd. I was in advanced courses elementary through high school and competed and won the science fair every year. I was in band in middle school- I played the alto saxophone and ran track alongside that. I was in anime club and was later a cheerleader in high school. I used to make comics and skits with my younger brother and force my family to participate. I hung out with my grandparents a lot and helped them garden and grow food. I was always outside barefoot too. I honestly was a hot mess of a preteen—I always had a Betsey Johnson purse with a cheap perfume on deck because- puberty. But overall, I was a well rounded and multifaceted diva at the end of the day.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/6ydneyy?igsi=bnNnZTA0ZjZnbTZ0&utm_source=qr
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydney-dean-34a8b1233
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@6ydneyy?_r=1&_t=ZT-99TFWvYpJr4