I’m going to be honest. I am a little bit terrified of a sewing machine because I’m scared that I might sew my fingers together. This is not the case for this Fashionisto. He learned how to sew when he was 12, and since then he has been sketching, sewing and dreaming of new pieces of clothing that he can make.
Name: Zachary Mebane
Role: Student designer
CollegeFashionista: Where do you draw your inspiration from when you’re creating pieces of clothing?Â
Zachary Mebane: Well, I draw a lot of inspiration off of art, a lot from nature and some of my favorite designers, like Miu Miu, Prada, Givenchy and Saint Laurent. I like more dark, heavy stuff. I don’t really go for the flowy, floral Oscar de la Renta type of stuff.
CF: What’s your favorite vintage find to date?
ZM: I actually have two. It’s a green Army surplus jacket, but it’s actually my great uncle’s and he wore it when he farmed, and I like it because I feel like it’s in style now with the whole camo revival. Also, I have a pair of vintage boots that my great-great grandfather made; they’re about 70 years old.
CF: At what age did you make your first piece of clothing and what did you make?
ZM: I made something very simple when I was about 12, but I actually really delved into it about a year ago. So I was 19. I made a retro-style bandeau top.
CF: Who is your all-time favorite designer?
ZM: For men, I would have to say Thierry Mugler, and for women, I would say Prada.
CF: When you get dressed in the morning, what do you think about?
ZM: What I’m doing, mostly. If I’m going to campus, it’s mostly casual, stylish and I’ve recently started wearing a lot of black and cleaner lines. Some of the stuff I wear, I would say it’s a little apocalyptic. If I’m going out, I’ll dress nicer, but my style will mostly stay the same no matter what I’m doing.
Learn More: This Fashionisto is a junior, majoring in biology at the University of Tennessee, but he uses fashion as a creative outlet.
