Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Anya Melkozernova. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Anya, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

One of the most meaningful projects was when I had the opportunity to design and make a red carpet dress for the Oscars. Whiplash the movie was nominated for the 2014 Oscars and I had the pleasure of dressing producer Jasmine McGlade for the event. At first, I was overcome with anxiety and fear and I really had to push myself to get over that hurdle to get started. My good friend Natalie Vie sponsored the project and bought all of the materials. I got Jasmines measurements, drafted the pattern and made the dress here in Phoenix. The weekend of the Oscars we traveled to director Damien Chazelles home in Venice, California to face the moment of truth. It was absolutely nerve wrecking but it fit her like a glove and she looked absolutely radiant. Jasmine received many compliments and was captured in the Getty images archives. Whiplash ended up winning over a dozen Oscars that night and Jasmine was constantly featured on television in my dress. I am an immigrant from Russia and I have been in the US since I was ten years old. We left all of our extended family behind when we came so I have always really missed my grandparents who were getting up in age at that point. My grandparents got to see my dress on TV all the way around the world in Russia and that just meant the world to me. Although they are both gone now, I will always treasure the moment I got to live my dream with them that night.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Anya Melkozernova and I am Russian American designer and artist living and working in Phoenix , Arizona. I knew I wanted to be designer very young watching my mom make her own clothing as a way to save money as well as to express herself. I learned to sew from my mom and grandmother and began making Barbie clothes. In highschool I started making my own funky clothes as well as designing and making costumes for the dance company. This is when I first started earning money under my moniker Looks Good Anya Fashion. I attended Arizona State University and completed my bachelor’s degree in Fiber Arts, textile design. Through out my time there I worked in the theatre costume shop for years practicing and polishing my craft. I began my company Looks Good Anya, making custom clothing after graduating while supplementing my income working for different designers around town. I learned a lot about sewing a designing by working at a high fashion atelier, a baby clothes company as well as a body building bathing suit company. One of my bosses opened a door for me to start working freelance in the film industry as a seamstress. It has been exciting journey working with a tight knit group of amazing people and making connections. I also started working at ASU teaching a Textile Lab course for the last few years. This flexible schedule allows a lot of space for me to do my own projects and create custom orders. I have an Etsy shop online and people refer my services by word of mouth. I enjoy co creating with clients and bringing their ideas to life. I offer my skills to people when they need something very specific made that they cannot find anywhere else. I have worked with many brides creating the wedding gown of their dreams, working closely together through the design process. I have a small sewing studio in my home filled with lots of fabrics, trims and sewing supplies where I do my work. I value quality and timelessness in clothing and this drives my pursuit of creating original pieces that will last and remain valuable through out generations. One of my favorite things to do is creating an editorial for publishing with a team of people. Creating cohesive fabulous attire that tells a story and being featured in a magazine is one of the best feelings. I am most proud of a recent editorial published in a French magazine called Malvie with Photographer Jim Hesterman and model Bailey Olivas. In the future I see myself designing and working full time with clients in a space of my own, slowly but surely I am putting in my time and enjoying the journey along the way.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the myth that genius work comes from a tortured artist as well as artists only create when inspiration strikes. There are countless examples of tortured artist geniuses through our history but in order to survive, thrive and be healthy I had to reframe this myth in my mind. There have been times in my life were I swear sewing and designing saved my life. When I was younger I was really self destructive and struggled with my mental health. Being an artist and a creative this destructive tendency fit together very well informing an identity. As I began to address some of my mental health issues in therapy and getting some distance from the lifestyle I used to live I started to notice that I really only made art rarely when inspiration hit and not consistently. I also saw many artists who where consistently making work and were not self destructive, so I started asking myself how can I be more productive? How can I make my own schedule and make myself work when I don’t feel that inspiration all of the time? I started to devote chunks of time daily to my craft and to create deadlines like in school in the form of exhibitions, photoshoots or publications. When I have something to work towards I am much more likely to meet that goal. When there is not enough structure and too much freedom it can get suffocating and nothing gets done. Even on days when I have no ideas, getting in the studio always leads to something, whether I love it or not is not the point. The point is constant practice and progress which will eventually lead to a body or work that I can feel proud of to share with the world.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve had to pivot a lot in life, it really is about adapting isn’t it unless ofcourse you are a millionaire. Making a dream come true is a lot of work and perseverance, to be honest sometimes I have seriously felt like giving up. But there is something inside of me that just needs to make things with my hands and to express myself in a non verbal way. It takes a lot of money to run a fashion company and growing up working class I knew I had to rely on myself to continue designing. Through out the years I put a lot of my income into my studio for machines,mannequins, fabrics,trims and all the tools one might need. I am really fortunate to have very supportive parents who put me through art school. Patience is probably the priceless resource that I can never have enough of. As I became an adult slowly but surely I took on more responsibility to survive and I had to make some choices to support myself that are not my ideal. But I am extremely lucky and grateful that all of the paths I have taken have remained within the fashion industry. Now I work freelance in the film industry on commercials and that can lead to many exciting opportunities and projects. Starting out my career in academia teaching at the ASU fashion school also presents many exciting possibilities. I believe that all the paths I have taken will one day meet into one main road that I meant to be on and all of the pivots will make sense. I believe creative people always have this inherent dissatisfaction that drives them to push forward and get better at their craft. Even though I don’t necessarily feel like my work life now is ideal, I do feel like my life and path is my own and eventually with hard work and perseverance I will get to designing full time. Delusional or not, I will still be making clothes which ultimately makes me feel alive.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.looksgoodanya.wixsite.com/looksgoodanya
• Instagram: looksgoodanya_design_studio
• Facebook: LGA
• Linkedin: Anya Melkozernova
• Other: www.Looksgoodanya.Etsy.Com

Image Credits

White dress double image- model Bailey Olivas, Jim Hesterman Photographer
Long black fringe dress- model Bailey Olivas, photographer Jim Hesterman
Pink and black dress-model Bailey Olivas, Jim Hesterman
Pink dress- model Rielle Oase, photographer Ken Medilo
Brown light up Mushroom dress model Serina Rosee photographer Benton Wagner
Oscars dress- Getty images, Damien Chazelle and Jasmine McGlade
Wedding dress- model Jerica Vie, Photographer Elizabeth Wells
Self portrait by self