Aaliyah Jay Is Breaking Into The Fashion World And Is Making Her Own Rules
EXCLUSIVE: YouTuber Aaliyah Jay Is Breaking Into The Fashion World And Is Making Her Own Rules - Page 5
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When Aaliyah Jay speaks, over four million people listen. With a decade’s worth of videos on YouTube, the Brooklyn native is one of the top Black beauty influencers and she is now looking to break into the fashion industry.
Jay had a heartbreaking introduction into fashion ——she added apparel to her Twisted Saints collection, which started out as a swim line with original pieces. However, Jay’s dream turned into a nightmare when she found out that her China-based vendor ripped off the designs from another Black woman-ran business.
“I felt so dumb, embarrassed and just upset with myself; all the money I spent, I ripped off another designer who is young and black and I was becoming friends with,” Jay wrote on Instagram. “I don’t know how that slipped by me. That was my bad though and I had to take accountability for it!”
With her head held high, the 27-year-old beauty went back to square one and didn’t let this deter her from her ultimate goal: to be a fashion icon. With the help of a new team, Jay relaunched Twisted Saints and released three trendy pieces on Jan. 28. The collection, which goes up to 2XL, consists of a sheer patterned mesh top ($60), skin-tight leather pants ($90), and a ribbed yellow and blue bodycon dress ($120).
MADAMENOIRE caught up with Aaliyah Jay to talk about her journey to becoming a designer, what’s she learned, and what’s next to come.
Source: Joey Pucino / Joey Pucino
She Did Not Take Legal Action Against The Vendors Who Ruined Her First Twisted Saints Collection
“No, they didn’t give me my money back. I didn’t take legal action. It was really hard to take legal action because this stuff comes from China. You could barely even get in contact with them over the phone. It costs a lot of money to take legal action [and] a lot of time,” Aaliyah Jay said. “I was really naïve so I didn’t know. I knew they didn’t make it but I also didn’t realize that they were stealing from other people. I was just really naïve, you know what I’m saying,” Jay continued. “So, I don’t know, it was really heartbreaking and I really couldn’t believe it. This time around, I really like worked extra hard. I didn’t make that same mistake.”
Source: Joey Pucino / Joey Pucino
Why Twisted Saints Only Consisted Of 3 Pieces
“For one, when you’re actually designing things and making clothes, it is really, really expensive. It can cost like $40,000 to make one dress. So it’s really, really, really expensive,” Aaliyah Jay explained. “I knew a certain time that I wanted to release and I had a whole bunch of designs that I could have made. But honestly, I fell in love with these three designs.”
“If I feel like releasing one piece, I’m gonna release one piece, if that’s the piece that I love at that time. And that’s what I feel in my intuition that I want to do, I’m going to just do that,” Jay continued. “Sometimes you have technical difficulties with certain pieces and it doesn’t line up with the timeline. I’m in a space where I can’t worry about that. If there’s a piece that I absolutely love and it’s done, then it’s going. That’s what my brand is all about. It’s about doing what you want,” Jay stated. “I’m not following the rules. I’m not going to be doing the same thing that everyone’s doing, you know? Brands release things at certain times. I don’t want to follow that rule anymore.”
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The Hardest Thing About Designing A Fashion Line
“I think as a creative the hardest part for me was really being connected to the pieces. I’m very intuitive and I really go with my gut,” Aaliyah Jay said. “Sometimes I do fashion predictions and I can kind of know what’s going to be in style. And I can kind of know what’s gonna pop and what’s not. I had a couple of pieces that I [didn’t like] and then at the same time I was also unsure. When you’re creative and you have all of these ideas, you can doubt yourself,” Jay continued. “So I think the hardest part was just being confident and knowing that this is what I’m gonna do.”
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Biggest Misconception About Becoming A Fashion Designer
“I think one of my misconceptions was probably about the discrimination in the fashion world. As a Black woman, it’s super hard to get into the fashion world. There are so many black women who are doing it. And I’m like, so ecstatic about that because not only are they doing it, and showing others they’re doing it [but they are] showing me that is possible,” Aaliyah Jay said. “But at the same time, it is super hard to even get there. The fashion world is super strict, and they barely let anyone in. It’s like a gated community for real. I don’t know if that’s a thing that has anything to do with just being a Black woman or being a woman or, even my background [as a] YouTuber. A lot of people don’t believe that YouTubers can go [in] certain directions,” Jay explained. “They’re always gonna see [me] as being a YouTuber. People were kind of just like, ‘Yeah, whatever. Did you do this?’ I remember going to a couple of factories to ask them ‘can I make my product here?’ And they kind of like took me as a joke.”
