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From Classroom to Catwalk: Jenny Li ’09 is Chasing Her Designer Dreams!
My career path began while I was still at AWS. I was passionate about art and design my whole life, and the diverse art program offered to me at AWS let me explore this passion. I looked forward to art class every week, and especially loved ceramics and the glass art courses. There, I realized that I preferred to work in 3D, making objects rather than only drawing or painting.
My junior year at AWS, I decided to enroll in a pre-college program at the Academy of Art University, where I took classes in fashion design, interior architecture, and toy design. It opened my eyes to the options available to me in college after graduating high school. It was so inspiring to see that it was possible to pursue my passion for art and design as a degree, and then, a career!
After graduating AWS in 2009, I went on to complete a BFA in Apparel Design at the Rhode Island School of Design. During my time there, I interned for Proenza Schouler and following my college graduation, was offered a position in their Accessories Design Department working on handbags, jewelry, and small leather goods. I stayed at that company and grew within the team for nearly 7 years before quitting in 2019. I went on to freelance for the next two years for various designers, including AREA, Loeffler Randall, and Alexis Bittar.
In mid-2021, I took a full-time job offer as the Senior Designer of Accessories, Embellishments, and Trims at AREA, where I am currently. One career highlight was travelling to Florence, Italy a few times a year to work with the leathergoods and hardware/jewelry factories when I was at Proenza Schouler. Once, I even went to Murano, Venice to work with master glassblowing artisans to launch blown glass bracelets and earrings for the Spring 2018 runway collection. Another career highlight is making the artwork for Simone Biles' 2021 Met Gala red carpet dress- it was a fully embellished crystal gown with a 7 foot train in swirling feather patterns.
My junior year at AWS, I decided to enroll in a pre-college program at the Academy of Art University, where I took classes in fashion design, interior architecture, and toy design. It opened my eyes to the options available to me in college after graduating high school. It was so inspiring to see that it was possible to pursue my passion for art and design as a degree, and then, a career!
After graduating AWS in 2009, I went on to complete a BFA in Apparel Design at the Rhode Island School of Design. During my time there, I interned for Proenza Schouler and following my college graduation, was offered a position in their Accessories Design Department working on handbags, jewelry, and small leather goods. I stayed at that company and grew within the team for nearly 7 years before quitting in 2019. I went on to freelance for the next two years for various designers, including AREA, Loeffler Randall, and Alexis Bittar.
In mid-2021, I took a full-time job offer as the Senior Designer of Accessories, Embellishments, and Trims at AREA, where I am currently. One career highlight was travelling to Florence, Italy a few times a year to work with the leathergoods and hardware/jewelry factories when I was at Proenza Schouler. Once, I even went to Murano, Venice to work with master glassblowing artisans to launch blown glass bracelets and earrings for the Spring 2018 runway collection. Another career highlight is making the artwork for Simone Biles' 2021 Met Gala red carpet dress- it was a fully embellished crystal gown with a 7 foot train in swirling feather patterns.
I have a few key pieces of advice to offer advice to future AWS alums that want to go into a Fashion or Accessories design career. First of all, there are a few different types of companies that are available to you after graduation, with pros and cons to each. If you want to work in high fashion; think runway shows, couture collections, higher price points, the teams tend to be smaller, meaning you will have more autonomy, the work will undoubtedly be more exciting and creative, but the work calendar is much more rigorous and the hours are longer, especially around an important photoshoot or runway show.
If you want to have a better work/life balance, I would look into working at a more commercial company, such as Coach, J Crew, Ralph Lauren, etc, as the teams are bigger and therefore each person is able to do one specific job and then go home at the end of the work day. However, in my experience, the bigger the company, the less exciting the day-to-day work is.
Either way, the most important advice I can give is: prepare to work hard, make sure you are organized, punctual, and have excellent problem solving skills- all things that were taught to me during my time at AWS and honed throughout my career.
If you want to have a better work/life balance, I would look into working at a more commercial company, such as Coach, J Crew, Ralph Lauren, etc, as the teams are bigger and therefore each person is able to do one specific job and then go home at the end of the work day. However, in my experience, the bigger the company, the less exciting the day-to-day work is.
Either way, the most important advice I can give is: prepare to work hard, make sure you are organized, punctual, and have excellent problem solving skills- all things that were taught to me during my time at AWS and honed throughout my career.
