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

Kyla, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We love asking folks what they would do differently if they were starting today – how they would speed up the process, etc. We’d love to hear how you would set everything up if you were to start from step 1 today

If I were able to start over, I would do a few things differently. The main thing, would be to believe in myself and trust my creative abilities. There have been so many ideas that I passed up on because I thought they weren’t good enough only to see them done by others later down the line. If I had just trusted my talents from the start, I would have had the consistency I needed to be far past where I am now.

Aside from trusting my creativity, I would have chosen to go to college for fashion design instead of taking the “safer” route towards a business degree. I think going to fashion school could have fast-tracked me into the fashion world. My skills would have grown quicker, I’d have more knowledge, and would have met many people to help me along my journey as a designer/artist.

Although, these are things I wish could have happened, I somehow am content with the path I did take. While it is much more challenging, I have learned a lot through this self-taught journey of becoming a fashion designer.

Kyla, 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?

I am Kyla Robinson, a self-taught fashion designer and creator of the brand Rebel Luv Clothing. I have always been a creative and unique individual. Growing up, I was interested in many creative tasks, jumping around to finally land on sewing clothing. I have tried nail art designing, cake decorating, painting, beading/string crafts, etc. It wasn’t until my senior year in high school, that I finally found the one creative expression that resonated with me, fashion design. I asked and received a sewing machine for Christmas that year and it was the beginning of Rebel Luv Clothing.

Rebel Luv Clothing is a brand for young adults with an eclectic, groovy style. Rebel Luv is defined as the act of always choosing to be oneself, which is an act of self-love. To me, a rebel is someone who chooses to live freely and boldly as their true selves and spreads love to others in anyway they can. With my brand, I seek to provide clothing that speaks out, stands out, and uplifts people. My brand is predominantly womenswear, but this year I have been branching out into unisex clothing to cultivate more inclusivity.

I have been building this brand since 2016, and I am proud of the authenticity I have expressed through it. Building this brand has shown me many things about who I am. I want supporters of Rebel Luv to join me in that authenticity by seeking their own self acceptance. I create Rebel Luv’s products to be very colorful and unusual so that it can push potential wearers to stand out and shine their light. I create products that feel happy and free so that the customers and whoever witnesses them wearing it, also feels happy and free.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Well, I started sewing in 2015 and jumped right into making custom clothing the next year. Now, maybe I should have sharpened my skills better or learned more before taking on clients, but I guess sometimes the best way to learn is to put yourself out there. I was also an eager beginner, ready to try many new things. I began to take prom clients, to make young ladies’ prom gowns. Prom season was my most teaching time along my journey.

There were many successes but there were also some failures. I have probably ruined prom for a few young ladies, because I took on more than I should or my skill level didn’t fully meet up to what they wanted. It’s hard to fail and let someone else down. In those times, people put me down and talked about me as well. I felt I was not as good at sewing as I thought I was. I could have quit because the journey got tough and a few people were angry and bad mouthing me, but instead I kept going past those failures. I had to remind myself that I was not an expert and never claimed to be. I had to comfort myself and keep the motivation towards getting better. Each year of prom season(2016-2019), I got better and better. Prom season taught me that I will not be able to please everyone and to not give up because I failed.

Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?

I sell on my own site through Shopify. I like Shopify because it is user friendly and not expensive to maintain. I started on Etsy when I was just making random items, but I wanted the ability to have a more customizable website once I formed Rebel Luv. Although Shopify is easy to use and customizable, I will say it’s more work to drive traffic to my business. At least on sites like Etsy, someone can simply search a keyword and my business products would show up. With my own site, I have to work harder to get my business seen.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rebelluvclothing.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebel_luv/

Image Credits
Image Credits: IG: @irresolu, www.emmarice.net