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MACEY RAE GRAHAM

why fashion design?

My name is Macey Rae. I am currently a student at Belmont University pursuing a degree in fashion design. When I’m not in classes, I work as a fine jewelry stylist at Consider the Wldflwrs because who doesn’t want to play with diamonds all day? I want to create sustainable, well-constructed clothing that lasts. Yes, I have a five year goal, but I also hope that alternative opportunities present themselves so that I can experience and learn every asset of the arts. I feel settled, like I’ve found my passion, but it hasn’t always been that way… 

I started my college career as a music major at the University of Mobile. I was involved in all the school productions—talent shows, piano ensemble,  and choir. I went on to change my major to English, then fine arts, and even questioned if I should do criminal justice. I clearly was having an identity crisis, and I knew it was time for a change. I started reselling vintage clothes out of my dorm room with my friend Amber; It’s Honey Clothing, we called it. What we didn’t take into account is the fact that we lived in southern Alabama, in 2017 when Depop was not a thing.  I moved to Nashville spring of 2018, started working as a server at a burger restaurant, and I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.

 When I heard that O’More College of Design had moved onto Belmont’s campus, I quite literally jumped out of my seat. It’s almost as if my childhood memories flashed before my eyes. How could I forget the scrapbook fashion magazines, the homemade Halloween costumes, and the endless attempts to convince my mom to let me wear stilettos to church. This was the moment of clarity I had been waiting for. It was time to go back to school and fulfill my childhood dreams. Three months later, I got accepted to Belmont while I was at a Halloween party in a costume I had made; how fitting!