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

Hi Taylor, thanks for joining us today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

For me, my clothing brand has never just been about creating garments. While it is certainly a way to display my art, it is even moreso a platform to speak out to the people. It is my ultimate goal to build a community space for the women. So while I am creating my art in clothing form, I am also building a safe space for the free women. In the near future, I would like to host events for networking and knowledge exchanging.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I actually started off wanting to work in law enforcement. I had studied criminal justice, interned with the district attorney and was setting myself up to go to law school after college. I graduated, started working and then quickly decided that sitting at a desk and fighting other peoples battles was not the life I was meant to live. I had always been creative. And in my mid 20s, I started going to festivals and making the outfits I would wear. To my surprise, I was getting a great response from the other festival goers. Long story short, I started a fashion design program at Made Institute which led me to a passion I never thought I would have. Upon graduating, I showed my own clothing collections in multiple fashion shows. And I have never felt more proud than when I am backstage watching my garments walk the stage. It’s such a fulfilling feeling and journey. I take so much inspiration from couture pieces, and so I began to learn as many design techniques as I could. I love to incorporate beading and embroidering into my pieces. I want to make couture inspired garments more accessible to the people. And on the other hand, I want to create a brand that provides opportunity and knowledge for women and creators across the globe. One of my biggest blessings is the voice that I was given. So my only option is to share it with the world.

HIERII is an elevated womens wear brand which consists of hand made pieces displaying couture elements throughout. This is our runway now.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Any journey that leads to success is typically a difficult one… There can be trials of financial hardship, loneliness, questions of faith, and on and on. But a few things that keep me going are my passion and love for what I do, and the need to make my people proud. There have been a handful of times where I doubt what I am doing, and wonder if it is worth it. There have been times that wonder if my work is good enough. I have doubted that people will want to wear my stuff or attend my events. But I have also come to realize that these feelings will always come. And just like they come, they must go too. If I allow those thoughts to interrupt my dream, then that’s just how my story ends. But I keep the end goal clear, so I always know what I’m chasing.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

A huge lesson I had to leave was thinking that I could do all aspects of the business by myself. Initially I thought that I could tackle most parts of everything. But I quickly learned that that was leading to my own burn out. Not to mention that great things can happen with an amazing team of people. Sometimes you just need to trust the ones you have chosen to surround yourself with, as they know their field best.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.HIERII.com
• Instagram: @hieriibrand
• Facebook: Hieriibrand