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

Alright, Jose thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I showed my passion in arts at a very young age. As a kid, I was always doodling in all my schoolbooks, drawing random Anime-inspired characters, and anything else that would come to mind. My parents realized my potential thus they always provided channels for me to explore my talents. Many years later, I have found myself working for multiple Fortune 500 companies and owning my own Fashion line. I definitely have to thank my parents for believing in my talent regardless of whether this could become a profitable career or not.

Jose, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Jose Sime, Founder and Creative Director at JSIME COLLECTIVE. My brand takes a minimalist and sophisticated approach to luxury streetwear. We focus on the utilization of high-quality fabrics and printing techniques to create exclusive garments. We do not mass produce; we don’t run with fashion calendars or industry trends; we have our own agenda we like to follow.

I was born and raised in Dominican Republic, then came to Miami when I was 17. I worked a few jobs while going to school and graduated from FullSail University with a BS in Graphic Design. I’ve always been passionate about art, so I was able to develop my artistic skills at a very young age. I’ve been working as a Graphic Designer for about 10 years now, and have been involved in numerous fashion projects prior to launching my eponymous label.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

As artists we have the responsibility to present a new narrative or develop an existing one further. Artists are story tellers, and as such we are meant to create new worlds that help minds escape reality and travel to a new realm. That is the most rewarding part of being an artist for me, to be able to become an usher, guiding the observer through my stories, and having them come to new realizations.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In my journey as an artist and fashion designer, I have encountered many obstacles, some of which almost made me give up my dream of starting my own clothing line. One specific story involves an oversees fashion manufacturer not abiding by the deals of our contract. My sample items were all ruined, wrong fabrics and measurements, very poorly packaged and delivered later than agreed upon. Needless to say, I wasn’t able to use any of those products, and lost a lot of money. But I think it was a lesson in patience and perseverance that I needed as a young designer. I took the time to regroup myself and continued with new processes that otherwise I would not have learned, had I not gone through such dreadful times. Now I’m a much stronger designer and have a solid process to avoid the mistakes from the past.

Image Credits
Giano Currie Gabriel Luiz U.