We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Madeline Schiavi. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Madeline below.
Alright, Madeline thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
No one ever believes me when I say I’ve been sewing my whole life, but it really is true. My earliest memory of sewing was when I was maybe about 5 years old. For Christmas one year, my mom got me a little sewing project kit; it had a bag, a little stuffed cat, and a book cover. I remember being so excited, as I had always loved doing crafts and this was a new one to try. My mom and I sat together one night and did some of the projects in the kit together, and that was when she taught me to hand sew.
Sewing was a major part of my family’s history. My mom is from South-Georgia, and comes from a long line of seamstresses. She tells me stories of her grandmother and her mom making suits for their husbands. We have quilts and embroidery dating back a few generations in my childhood home. I remember being transfixed on those quilts when I was younger. There was one in particular I would insist on having on my bed that my great-grandmother had made. It’s white and has bold, bright embroidered flowers on it. My mom is not a seamstress herself; she jokes that it skipped a generation, but she is so glad it got picked back up by me and always says she wishes her mom and grandmother could see what I do now.
Beyond the familial aspect of sewing, I am mostly self-taught. I got a sewing machine for small house projects when I was about 10. I kind of had to figure out how to use it on my own, and definitely used YouTube a lot to figure out techniques and ideas for projects.
I’ve always loved clothes and experimenting with my style, but I reached a point where I wasn’t finding exactly what I wanted anymore. The first dress I made was a spandex dress I made in the 6th grade; all hand sewn. It was extremely rewarding to be able to make something I could actually use, and from there it blossomed into literally my entire life. I started doing costume design for school plays and musicals, and really started taking sewing and fashion design seriously.
Of course, I have learned a ton more in college as a fashion design major, but I say I really learned my craft much earlier. I think the trial and error of being self-taught is the best way to genuinely learn a skill and develop a unique style of creation. It takes a ton of time and effort to get good at something. It wouldn’t be possible for me to be as successful now if I hadn’t spent all those years learning on my own. Coming to school with prior knowledge really put me ahead, and I’m noticing that this technical expertise is really making a difference in my time in the industry. Now I can truly call myself an artisan on top of being a designer.
When it comes to the design part, there isn’t much to say… I think it’s a natural instinct. It does of course take time to develop your taste level and aesthetic, but as long as you’re genuine to yourself and your passion, it should come from inside you. My family tells me I’ve been designing my whole life, and that I’ve always just been uniquely me. I think those two things go hand in hand, and are really apparent in my work.
Madeline, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Well, I think most of how I got started is in that other question, but that is really just part!
I began designing professionally when I moved to New York. I actually moved to NYC in my third year of college, as I had done my first two years in South Korea, which I’m sure I will talk about more later. I started out doing just freelance sewing, like sample making and such, before I was brought on as an intern at a couple different companies. At these jobs I did quite a bit of sample making still, but I also started doing patternmaking and designing. My first bit of published design work was in Vogue for Yigal Azrouel Resort 2025, for which I made many pieces in the shoot and designed the primary print. Then I moved on to be an assistant designer for another brand I interned for a bit earlier, Nicole Benefield Portfolio. These experiences drove me to take my own work much more seriously and have really inspired me to launch myself into my own design career.
In terms of what kinds of things I do, I offer specialty couture designs and garments. There are obviously a million of these little designer brands, but I think what sets me apart is pure authenticity. I know my designs may not be for everyone, but the people that share my interests and understand the vision are really the people I aim to serve.
The primary goal of my work is to make things beautiful. Much of my inspiration comes from things that are often overlooked or thought to be strange, such as insects, anatomy, or mental health. I try to find beauty in everything around me and have that translate to a feeling for my customer to share. I want them to feel beautiful. I want them to feel the love I put into their piece. Though much of my work is quite dark in color and theme, there is always an elegance to it, an element of empowerment.
I am very proud that I can make things people never would have thought of but have wanted their whole lives. Sometimes it can be hard to find clothes that meet macabre interests, so I love that people can find that in my work.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I think the best example is moving to Korea. Moving away for college is always a difficult transition for anyone who chooses to do it, but moving to the other side of the world is a little bit different. It was of course my decision and I am so glad I did it, but boy was it hard at first.
I always felt pretty trapped in my hometown, which was a tiny farm town in Maryland. I don’t have a car so I couldn’t go anywhere by myself, and we don’t have public transportation there, so I was kind of literally trapped. I also found that there were absolutely no opportunities for me there creatively, or even personally. As much as I love to visit, it’s just not the place for me. So I had decided to get out early in life. I also have always been interested in other cultures and connections between them, as well as just exploring the world; I don’t really like being insular.
I knew I was going to go to school for fashion design, so I looked for programs all across the world and finally found one I liked in South Korea. That fear of the unknown was creeping up on me though. Fortunately, I got an amazing piece of advice from a friend: It’s only scary because you’ve never done it before. That was the push I needed. So a few weeks after my 18th birthday and my highschool graduation, I packed up and moved to Korea.
Once I got there though, I felt it: the pressure of the world. It’s a big place and I had never been in it alone before. I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t really speak the language. My family was far away and hard to contact because of the time difference. I was also one of the only people from my culture in my entire program. I was truly and utterly alone.
But hey, like I said this was what I wanted, and it certainly wasn’t going to help not doing anything about starting to acclimate. I am an introvert, so it was very hard for me to push myself to make new friends. I started with my roommate, who is still my best friend to this day. We became close instantly, she became my family in this new life. From there it got better. I was almost forced to make friends with people to cope with this new situation. I learned how to get around, some of the language, of course the things in my classes, and so much about other cultures.
South Korea is kind of like a second home to me now; I find myself missing it so much now that I am back in the states. I developed a family there, I made my life there, I had my first relationship there, I lived through some of the hardest points of my life so far there.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding part of being creative is the ability to create! That’s not something everyone can do, and for a lot of people it’s a luxury they don’t get to enjoy. It is certainly a risk making creation my sole purpose in life and the basis of my income, but it’s just my calling. I couldn’t see anything else making sense for me.
All of my work is like my babies. They came from me; my mind made them up and my hands made them real. That’s just crazy. It is so rewarding seeing my vision become real.
I also love being able to share my work with others. It feels so good to be able to say, “Tada here is what I’ve been working on!”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://madelineschiavi.myportfolio.com/home
- Instagram: @mads_except_its_art
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/madeline-schiavi