Fashion design students often dream about one day designing a collection, but Dali Leon is living that dream as a student. It is her second year at the Academy of Art University yet she has a collection ready to launch this summer.
Name: Dali Leon
Role: Fashion designer
CollegeFashionista: Describe a regular day designing for an athletic wear company.
Dali Leon: Every day it’s very busy because as a designer, you have to come up with proposals for the collection the team is working on. We have meetings on a consistent basis to see where everyone’s at and to ensure we’re on the same track. Also, we’ll get samples of the garments we design everyday, so we have to measure everything as well as verify that the colors and patterns are correct.
 CF: What was an unexpected element about designing a collection?
DL: The amount of times we had to return the production samples to our manufacturers so that they would correct all the things we didn’t like about the samples—it’s time-consuming. When you’re working for a company that big, you have to make sure you get the collection is in production way before it’s in stores.Â
CF: Which spring/summer 2015 collection inspired you the most?
DL: I was inspired by brands like Etro, Missioni and Peter Pilotto because of the patterns and the bright colors they used. I wanted to bring something very fun and youthful to my collection.
CF:Â Tell us about your go-to outfit for a full day of classes.
DL: I´m always on the run. Due to my job at the company, I tend to travel often over the weekends, so when I go to school I mostly like to keep a casual and comfortable look. I love black, so there’s a lot of that in my closet. I do like mixing it up with fun and colorful accessories. When I’m in San Francisco, you would often find me in a pair of white Converse, Pacsun’s high-waisted black skinny jeans and a band T-shirt, specifically The 1975.Â
Learn more: Look out for Dali’s collection this summer at Pirma. To take a look into her mind, check out her blog.
