We recently connected with Savannah Assi and have shared our conversation below.
Savannah, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?
I believe, in order to be successful, you have to be consumed with your work. You have to enjoy it, obviously, but even more so than just a hobby. For me, my projects possess me during that period of time. At least during the conceptualization part. I think about it all day until I am able to execute it, sometimes even in my dreams. Sewing used to just be my hobby. But then I started making things that the world thought were impressive and then people started asking me to design things for music videos and photoshoots and live performances and I started getting paid and it fueled me. I know, for some people, their hobby becoming their jobs sort of ruins it for them. But it did the opposite for me. I began choosing to stay home and sew instead of going out into the world. My inner world became more fun than my outer world. That was important. It’s also important to find a balance. And also to have follow-through. Deciding on a certain look, picking out the materials and starting a new project is exciting and all. But even more importantly, sticking to it until it’s finished and up to your standards, that’s the hard part. Like you’ve already decided what the finished project will be in your head, but then there is all this back-breaking, tedious, repetitive things you have to do to complete it, especially with sewing. Nothing beats seeing my finished designs on a person though. That makes it all worth it.
Savannah, 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 had always been obsessed with movies, mainly fantasy movies and period pieces. I am the most annoying person to watch movies with, often rewinding my favorite scenes multiple times and pausing movies to take in a beautiful costume or a highly-detailed set. After college, I started working in the film industry, doing wardrobe mostly. But the pandemic and the strikes lead me to finding other work and going to trade school for fashion design and industrial-level sewing. I got really good at it and realized the biggest high I could find in life was turning my fantasies into a reality. I could dream up these costumes and then make them into something material. I have a certain style, a kind of Victorian, saloon girl, burlesque vibe that people are really starting to understand, which feels good. But for whatever reason, with sewing, people love asking you to make something for them. I think I was really happy when people started asking me to make something for them that I said yes to every project, regardless if I was compensated fairly. But then I had the realization that I had put years of my life into learning this skill and why was I wasting time making other people’s visions come true when I had a totally separate vision for my work? Probably a lot of artists and craftsmen go through this. I realized that if i just make the things I want to make, people will dig it even more. I am doing this to express myself, not get commercial success.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
My one goal is to have designing be my full-time career. I only started really creating impressive things a little over a year ago, so I definitely am at the beginning of my journey. My first goal, was to go to trade school, which I found a lot more practical than going to an expensive fashion school like FIDM. After that, I had to get a full-time job to make ends meet and fund my projects, which sucks up so much of my time and energy. Thankfully, I am a busy-body and use all my free time to sew, even with working 40 hours a week. But making the leap to being an artist as your main source of income is terrifying and exciting and it’s all I want. Some extra money to travel the world would be nice too. I hate having a boss. I guess I just dislike working with anybody, even if we have a good connection. Work, for me, is a solitary thing. Some religions say work is a holy act, like you are closest to God or whoever when you are working. I am not religious but my work is the most important thing in my life. I really only enter a flow state when I am alone in my studio. I have a pretty small social battery, and when it’s drained I don’t want to create as much. Working in an office with other people, for other people, drains me so much. My goal is to spend my days alone, sewing, listening to music and audiobooks and taking in the world that way. Collaboration is a part of my process, but really only the casting and shooting part of it. I do eventually get the urge to go out and be social but thats just to party, not to work.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Everybody says social media is the best way to promote your work. It is, I guess. But it’s not the only way. I see so many designers making posts about their process, then blowing up on TikTok and Instagram and then making an Etsy shop and thriving. It’s a route that makes sense, but it’s not the only route. I kind of resent this culture we have where there are no secrets to how things are made, no secrets about anything really because people share everything on social media. It’s so cool to make something new and not tell anyone how you made it. I definitely tried to do some TikTok content of how I made corsets, out of paper-mâché or lather patchwork, things I thought were unique. But making the garment took way longer when I had to film every part of it. And the editing of the videos and strategic posting etc. was not something I enjoyed. You have to consume so much social media in order to be good at social media, which honestly bores me. Social media is the worst. It’s destroying our dopamine receptors, making us unsatisfied with our lives and making us feel lonely and inferior. We’ve lost the art of making something just to make something. Everybody asks me what I’m making these crazy outfits for. Does there need to be a reason? An infinitely more enjoyable way to promote my work is to dress me and my friends up in my designs and to go out in LA or to music festivals or whatever and just party in it. Everything I make is so extravagant and draws a lot of attention. Even just hitting the dive bar down the street in a giant hoop skirt and a corset, people are so curious and come up to me and ask about it. You can still make connections IRL.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Audrey Forester, Helena Honeymoon, Mason Mitchell, King Isis, Melee Turner