Madebykristie is a ready-to-wear brand with pieces to make women feel confident, beautiful, sexy and empowered and we’re speaking with its owner, creative director, and fashion designer, Christiana.
Hi Christiana, How are you doing today?
I’m doing well, thank you.
For people who do not know you, how would you describe yourself and what does a typical day in your life look like?
Empathetic, passionate, and intense. A day in my life will typically be waking up, reading my bible and praying, doing my morning routine, and heading straight to work. It’s a whole lot of work on most days.
How did you get into the design space? When, why, and how did you start your brand? Take us through the process.
Growing up I was not a slim child. I was a slightly chubby baby and that made finding cute clothes in my size a chore. One day, I think I was in jss3 or so, I was watching PHAT girls, the movie with Monique as the lead role that was basically about fat girls not finding cute outfits and Monique went ahead to open a boutique for fat girls to shop cute outfits in and that was my light bulb moment!
I was learning how to sew when I was in uni. I’ll come home during summer breaks and learn how to sew from my mum’s tailor. After uni, I went to a fashion school and started Madebykristie almost immediately after fashion school. Madebykristie is a ready-to-wear and bespoke fashion brand. The objective of Madebykristie is to make women love their bodies so much because of how well an outfit fits that they are able to feel comfortable and confident in their skin to take on the world.
This is why every single outfit is tailored with the customer’s measurements because I understand that every woman’s body is different and tailoring it with their measurements will make the pieces fit them better.
What are the highlights of your career so far? And have those highlights pushed you to do more?
My highlight is when customers get their pieces and they literally send voice notes and reviews about how much they love my pieces. Clients come over for fittings and you see the spark in their eyes because they absolutely love what they are wearing. That’s all that keeps me going, to be honest. Having people be so happy about the quality and fit of a purchase that they feel so good.
What does your creative process look like?
There’s no specific creative process, to be honest. Sometimes I could be sleeping and a design idea will come to me, I’ll wake up write it down and go back to bed lol. I’m always on my notes app to write every single thing that comes to me.
How has technology influenced your work? What do you think is the next revolutionary thing for female designers like yourself?
Technology is one of the main reasons the fashion industry is thriving. It has put my business in places I’ve never even heard of, talk more of been to. Instagram and TikTok are super amazing in making your brand visible and without them, I don’t know where I’ll be.
What opportunities and projects are you creating or looking forward to creating, especially for the next generation of women? Any collaborations?
I have some very exciting projects coming up and I’m collaborating with some talented creatives. I am very much open to collaboration as long as our goals align. You’ll have to wait and see.
How do you like to rewind and practice self-care?
This is my favorite thing to do because you can’t pour from an empty cup. I try to make every day a self-care day. My morning and night routines consist of things that I do for myself to make me feel my best. If I feel my best I do my work exceptionally. I love a good skincare routine, unwinding with a bottle of wine and just being at peace with how things are going, and watching my favorite shows.
