Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanisha Benton.
Tanisha, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My story started when I was a little girl, about age nine. I remember watching my grandmother create magic in her small sewing room in the basement. She would turn flat, beautiful fabric into three dimensional, wearable items. Watching her later inspired me to make my own clothing.
Growing up in a time when kids valued a ‘brand’ or ‘trend’ over someone’s own unique taste or style was difficult as a young child. I remember wearing a garment to school and being picked on because it wasn’t cool enough. That particular moment coupled with watching my grandmother create magic ignited a never-ending fire to create clothing that I believe are unique and to put a message out into the world that “It is okay to be you, you do not need a brand, logo or trend to feel validated.”
I can now laugh about this but from there, I would cut up my mom’s spare sheets I found in the attic and visit my local thrift store for fabric bundle deals to hand sew garments I thought were interesting. The only problem was, the garment looked great from the outside. That put a damper on my vision but I knew in order to show or sale an item it had to be constructed the right way.
Later, my mother encouraged me to continue to follow my dreams and study fashion design at my dream college. I was now in a pool of like fish and had to figure out what my uniqueness was. I struggled with finding my way and my own particular design philosophies or uniqueness. Having access to many resources in school, I went to the books. I researched architecture. I figured ‘buildings’, they are something we need every day but are often under designed or valued by trends and status quo. That’s when I stumbled across ‘Zaha Hadid’. She was a puissant British leader in her field who had struggles but continued to break the status quo. Zaha would design buildings that would abide by the rules of construction but was a completely different style for architecture. She inspired me to be different in my own design.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No. After leaving school, I did not want to intern, I decided to try another route to get hands-on experience. I am now a freelance tailor, costume designer, and stylist for the film industry here in Atlanta. This industry alone can be quite competitive. I continue to apply self-discipline that I built up in school to myself. Every day, I further my knowledge on my skills by reading, engaging and opening up to hands-on experiences. Now, I’m planning to launch my own line but first I want to study what is out there to better ground myself with all that I have learned in this new pool of fish.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
As I previously stated, I am a freelance tailor, costume designer, and stylist. I specialize in men and women’s suiting and ready to wear. I am most proud of having the opportunity to tailor for Paula Abdul and costume design my first full-length movie “Deadly Dispatch” for TV One. What sets me apart from others is I am not afraid to fail nor be unique in my own way out loud, which equates to an individual willing to break, test or change the status quo.
What’s the most important piece of advice you could give to a young woman just starting her career?
I would tell her to know what YOU want. Stay humble and seek advice. Keep moving forward and always educate yourself by reading.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10468250/
- Email: tanishabentonfashion@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tanisha.benton/
Image Credit:
Model- Daniqua Brown, Photographer- Purpledreammarsz
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