Today we’d like to introduce you to Dorian Webster.
Hi Dorian, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have always been interested in fashion and clothes, but I grew my love for it in middle school, specifically in 7th grade. In 7th grade, I attended Stivers School for the Arts in Dayton, Ohio. I was there in a school that fostered a multicultural lifestyle with fine arts such as dance, choir, theatre, visual arts, and orchestra. Being in these unique corridors every day for 8 hours and experiencing a lifestyle of a broader complex way of thought fed my hunger for fashion because every day it was a fashion show walking in those hallways. Being there blessed me with the absolute honor of finding my group who felt the same as I did, and from 7th grade, my core friend group challenged ourselves to really press the envelope in fashion, and quickly, we became known in the school and enlarged the city by the time we hit high school. By the time the first year came around, we had cemented our passion throughout Stivers. By then, we had been going to the H&M’s, Thrift Stores, and supreme’s of the world and finding nothing that wasn’t fast fashion and feeding the hunger we and I had, so I had had a dream that I would start my clothing line and from that I started searching for a name for the brand. For most of this time, the house I grew up in was on Grand Avenue, and we had moved out of that house, but it held such a significance to me that it seemed more than fitting to name the Grand Avenue brand. I didn’t start the brand until 2016, and 2021 was when I physically began making clothes, and it’s just been a snowball since then.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Nothing in life is ever easy, and this has been nothing different. This road has been challenging, filled with many thoughts of imposter syndrome, thoughts of “this can’t work because I have no background in fashion design,” and “Will people like my clothes?” In college, I was a track athlete. I double majored in Business Administration and Sociology, not fashion design. My knowledge of working a sewing machine and sewing clothes together was very remedial. All I knew was how to stitch a tear and thread a sewing machine, and that was it, but YouTube is a powerful tool. This road is still challenging, but my friends and family constantly give me faith and support, and even the customers keep pushing through. Pursuing your dream or what you love is never easy, and the road will always be challenging, but you’ve got to stay consistent and push through.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a fashion designer and own and operate Grand Avenue clothing brand. Grand Ave specializes in one-of-one pieces but combines modern high fashion and streetwear. I’m known for my very different one-of-a-kind pieces. I am most proud of my perception of fashion and what that looks like. My road to this point sets me apart because it has given me a different vision of fashion and how to pursue it deeply.
Do you have any big plans?
My plans for the future are to start outsourcing my clothes, stocking my designs, and creating pieces that I can replicate quickly and have on hand regularly. The significant change is that I will press the envelope even more than I already have on what fashion looks like.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Grandavenue1042
Image Credits
Models: @kyistoofly @robertcaldwell11 Photographer: @3rd.shot @jacktaylor1771
