We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Joanna Diimes. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Joanna below.

Joanna , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you have any advice regarding quality control and maintaining quality as your brand grows?

while on my journey I’ve learned, quality is everything to maintain a good loyal customer base. With there being many outlets for the public to have a better understanding on what takes place to create a garment, maintaining quality is our best asset. I’ve had experiences in the beginning of starting Constructed for Women where customers would give me feedback on what they may or may not have liked about a product they received and every time I’ve made sure to always listen to it because the overall goal is to grow and get better with time. The last thing I would like is for a customer to think of CFW as a fast fashion brand when really we’re striving to provide good quality garments for the everyday persons closet. With that being said, I take extra time in researching and developing well thought out pieces instead of pushing items that won’t benefit the customer in the long run. Advice I would give for someone who is concerned with quality is too take your time, test what you can and then decide.

Joanna , 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?

I am Joanna, I am a self-taught womenswear designer and seamstress. Honestly, for some reason i’ve always been drawn to the fashion industry, I knew I wanted to be a part of the fashion world since middle school, I had no clue on how I was going to get into the industry, I just knew I would. I started off by applying to any retail stores I can think of and any internships I seen available in hopes someone would give me a chance because I was getting so many no’s at first. I finally connected with my now closest friend Oscar Utierre, who pretty much became my mentor during this time. He was the designer for a womenswear company and I got hired on as his assistant designer, I started when the company was just a start up which later became a huge fast fashion brand. I was with the company for about 4- 5 years and here I learned how to properly cut fabric, make patterns, sew, handle production, I was a buyer for a moment, outreach, graphic design, manage a photoshoot, style, and even web design. All the knowledge I learned just by working there, I would then apply it to Constructed For Women. I would sew my own samples and have friends help me with setting up a photoshoot or take my own photos. From, 2016-2019 ,that was my routine for 2 1/2 years, I’d wake up at 5AM- sew/work on orders ( I didn’t have much funding for production so I would sew my own production and save what I made from sales) – go to work- come back and work on orders some more. On my lunch breaks I’d walk to the fashion district that was around the corner, get the supplies/fabric I needed then go back to regular work. This created a great amount of discipline for myself and I think that’s why I can still maintain it now. I started Constructed For Women to not only have my own creative outlet but to also provide a brand that will attract every type of woman, thats 100% woman ran business. Our statement is that our “CFWorld” is a safe place where you can be you without judgment and of course be dressed well while doing that. I’m very proud of the diversity CFW exudes so far throughout the brand. Although we are still a small business with a small team, the goal as we grow, is to still execute that whether it be in our photoshoots, creative team, customers clients etc.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect is making people feel good about themselves!! I’ll receive messages on how a customer received compliments throughout the night because they wore Constructed For Women or styled their outfit with Constructed For Women and they felt extra confident or something, thats so cool, thats so rewarding. It sounds so small but I feel sometimes those are little messages from God showing me that I’m doing something positive in the world. It’s one thing to design clothes just for fun but its another when knowing you literally change someones mood for that day or night all because they’re wearing something you created.

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

In the beginning, I would try to rush to release collections and make it very fast fashion. With social media being saturated with different types of brands and now you see some brands growing way faster than others, I had to unlearn comparison and feeling as though I have to rush and execute as quickly as possible to stay relevant. I don’t have to rush or make cheap clothing to execute what I want, I can be more intentional with my time, what it means to wear Constructed For Women and execute quality that’ll last longer without having to price items to the extreme.

Contact Info:

• Website: ConstructedForWomen.com
• Instagram: @constructedforwomen
• Twitter: @CFWomn
• Tiktok: @CFWomn

Image Credits
photographer: NORA BLITZ. Aritst: SZA, BIA, Models: Edrys Duran, Naomi Arrietta, Marcella Alvarado Freeman, Jamilah Madina,