We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bria Renee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Bria , thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I started off learning how to sew by watching YouTube videos and reading books. As I got older, I went to a couple sewing camps and also had some great mentors who taught me what it means to be a fashion designer. I don’t think I would have wanted to speed up the process because I feel that my journey was meant to happen exactly as it did. However, what I do wish is that when I ended up going to college to pursue my degree, that I would have asked my professors more about pattern making so I could have mastered that faster. I think pattern making, draping and sketching are the most essential because those three methods are the main ways to explore ideas that you have stuck in your head. If you can master at least drawing paired with pattern making or draping, then you have a solid system of producing ideas in a more efficient way. I think the main obstacle that stood in my way of learning more was fear. I was scared to make mistakes, so it took me longer to take the leap into making the designs and taking on the projects that I truly dreamed of working on.

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

My name is Bria Renee, and I am a NJ based fashion designer. My brand Riar Designs (pronounced as ‘rare’) is an evening wear brand focused on womenswear. The goal is to create designs that can be a part of your most memorable moments in life whether that’s birthdays, weddings, prom, holiday events, or any important moment in your life where you deserve to shine.

Riar is a slow fashion brand which runs on a made to order system, but we also accept limited custom orders throughout the year. I would love for Riar to be a space where the women I design for feel their most beautiful authentic self. I became a designer because I want to connect with the people I make these beautiful garments for. I love storytelling and I believe the designs I create will be a part of the most beautiful stories through the clients I have.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think the most simple but powerful thing you can do is share your fellow creatives work on social media and through word of mouth. As a creative, getting our work in front of new eyes, or a new audience is the best thing so that our work can continue to venture through all kinds of people and attract the right audience were looking for. I think it’s interesting to see the kinds of people who connect with your work, and it can be a conversation starter when they become more interested in what you do and who you are as a person.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My mission is to connect with my clients by building mutual trust in knowing what I design for them will always accentuate the individual beauty of the individual wearer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.instagram.com/riardesigns/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/briaaa.renee/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BriaRenee/featured

Image Credits

Images 2-4 Photographer – Omotayo Adeyeri IG: @tayoflicks
Images 5-7 Photographer – Eric Kamusau IG: @erickamusau