Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ciara Chyanne Morgan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Ciara Chyanne, really appreciate you joining us to talk about a really relevant, albeit unfortunate topic – layoffs and getting fired. Can you talk to us about your experience and how you overcame being let go?
I view layoffs as a blessing. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I have been laid off twice in my career as a fashion designer and product developer and it has catapulted my creativity in ways I never imagined. If it wasn’t for my 1st layoff in 2020 I would have never rebranded my fashion label into Ciara Chyanne. And If I had never been laid off the second time I would have not been able to take the opportunity to showcase my work at New York Fashion week. When you get laid off from a job you have a lot of free time to think, plan, and strategize. It can be tough at times not having a security blanket but it allows you more time to pour into yourself and your goals.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am Ciara Chyanne Morgan, founder, designer, and creative director of contemporary ready-to-wear brand Ciara Chyanne. I was born and raised in Watts, Los Angeles where I discovered my love for art and fashion at the young age of 6. I have a passion for developing and producing fashion products. What’s special about being a fashion designer is the ability to dream up an idea and bring it to fruition. Not only that, but I enjoy seeing women wear my designs and feel confident in the look they styled. It empowers me to continue creating and sharing my vision with the world by telling authentic stories people can relate to. I will soon be expanding Ciara Chyanne in 2024 into retail stores and also be adding new product lines which I am very excited about. Ciara Chyanne started as a concept and is now evolving into a lifestyle brand. I design for the confident, intelligent, risk taking fashion forward women of the world. Those are the women who wake up every morning and make the world go round!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Looking back over my robust jobs post college graduation, I realized I developed a few skills that have helped me along my journey of building my business. I credit my alma mater first because if I did not attend the illustrious Tuskegee University to study business I would have never obtained knowledge on selling and marketing products. My first job out of college was a product stylist, working at companies such as Nordstrom Rack and Amazon really helped me develop my eye for detail specifically around product imagery. I then went back into wardrobe styling assisting celebrity stylist with actors and NBA clients but shortly after realized I had more joy designing instead. In 2017 I designed my first women’s collection and stepped out on faith. I took a flight to New York to meet an apparel manufacturer and ever since then I knew my calling of becoming a fashion designer was confirmed. I also gained product development and production skills while working corporate for other fashion brands. I always give young aspiring fashion designers this simple advice… learn business and get the experience you need on other people’s dime. It will well equip you for the fashion industry when you walk into a room and people see you know what you are talking about.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
It is very important to know 90% of the jobs it takes to run your business. You dont need to know all jobs but you need to understand most. The reason is, if you don’t know the requirements and task of a particular job then how will you know what to look for when you hire a team? I know a lot of functions when it comes to operating a fashion label but I will tell you I am not that strong in most. It took a lot of reading, researching, and execution. This is why it is important to eventually delegate task to people who understand your vision and will help you execute it. When starting out your business you 9/10 won’t have the capital to have a legit team so as the founder you will have to do most task but as your business grows you will have that opportunity to bring others on board. When you begin to scale your business you can no longer spread yourself thin and need to focus on your strengths which will help the business remain profitable.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ciarachyanne.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ciarachyanne_
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/shopciarachyanne
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ciarachyanne_
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/ciarachyanne_
- Other: pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ciarachyanne_
Image Credits
Naomi Ezra, BREANA OTEY, Kelly Smetakova, Bath-Sheba McMahon, TISHA BRENEE’
