We were lucky to catch up with Lorraine Barker recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lorraine, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
My parents have always emphasized the importance of education and professional stability with how they raised me. However, knowing I wanted to be a fashion designer from an early age was a curveball thrown at them on raising me towards a traditional field of work.
I think many parents of creatives may worry about their children being successful and stable in their adulthood, and constantly may remind their children “don’t quit your day job”. When it came to mine and my parents’ diverse ideas of career aspirations, they knew they could not sway my will or stop me from doing what I wanted. I was a born designer. I sketched models and outfits as early as kindergarten, and often made my mother late to taking me to school while I decided which outfits to wear in the mornings. Being a creative was destined for me.
What my parents did right in raising me is that they did not tamper my hopes and dreams towards being a designer, but they encouraged me, and provided their wisdom and insight to blend with my own creative ideals. Yes, I have always wanted to be a fashion designer. But yes, that meant I still had to go to college and get a Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion. Yes, I wanted to invest money in creating new projects, but yes, I had to budget this around my other expenses as well.
My parents encouraged me towards my dreams, and taught me to be wise about being a creative in our Capitalist environment. Having a child tell their parent they want to be a designer when they grow up may seem quite daunting, as the creative field is quite competitive and harsh, but my parents helped me grow towards this dream, and knew I could achieve it with their help and guidance in this world. And for that I am thankful.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I like to consider myself a jack of all trades when it comes to the fashion industry. I am a fashion designer, costume designer, stylist, artist, and alternative model. I have relations to the theatre and performance arts, as well as the local Phoenix music and art scene. What brings me joy is giving back to my community by using my talents and skills, whether it be altering or fixing garments for friends, working wardrobe and sewing costumes for local theaters, or styling local musicians for what to wear onstage and in music videos.
My background lies in the theatre. While I have always wanted to be a fashion designer, there was not much outlet for that when I was in high school. There was, however, the theatre. Acting in multiple productions as a child led to further work in my career field later on. I was a costuming intern at Peoria’s Theater Works my senior year of high school, where I did backstage work and helped design shows. I then went on to costume design a couple productions at Glendale Community College while working on my Associate’s Degree. From there, I started to get more involved in the local metal scene, and sold merchandise for bands and interned with show promoters in my final years of college. All of this led to my first clothing collection, RAINE, which I released for my undergraduate capstone project at Arizona State University. This clothing collection really helped skyrocket my name as a local designer within the Phoenix creative community. This collection was a masculine/unisex collection made of athletic textiles and streetwear designs, meant for musicians to wear on and offstage. I let musicians across the city wear my pieces onstage at their shows, which was so amazing to see.
To add, I am now older and covered in tattoos, so acting in the theatre is now out of the cards for me. Instead, I model and produce different themes for my photoshoots as my new outlet for performance art. And for fun, I also love to sketch portraits and frequently take commissions from friends.
As you can tell, I truly am a jack of all trades in the fashion realm. And I’m just getting started. I have now released two clothing collections and am now working on an “edit” of these two collections to release as well. I love to network and meet all kinds of creatives around the world, and have learned so much with my craft from those I have met so far. I am so appreciative of everyone who has supported me on my journey to truly be what I wanted to be when I grew up. I still have so far to go, and that excites me.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Seeing my work come to life and being recognized for it are honestly the most rewarding aspects of what I do. Every artist needs a little validation, and seeing your vision come to life in its final form, and to be reminded by your peers how great your vision truly is, means so, so much and shows you that you’re really meant to do this.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Before I answer this, I have to just yell “PIVOT!” in honor of Ross Geller. Ahem, anyway, I feel like life is full of many pivots. One of my biggest wake-up calls is graduating college and not finding a job in my career field right away. I am now 3 years out of graduating with a fashion degree and I am still working an office job unrelated to fashion, just to pay the bills. I do make money on the side with my collections and have recently started working part time at a local theatre. Being a creative is all about trusting the process, and learning that when the timing is right, it will happen. Pivoting your timeline over and over just to get by is okay.
Contact Info:
- Website: lorrainebarker.com
- Instagram: @xplaguebabex
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lorraine.barker.372
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorrainebarker/
Image Credits
Aubrey Holland, Alexander Thomas, Sabrina Rushing, Thomas Gerloff