From Science to Style: One Designer’s Journey Back to Creativity

Written by Ruby Dong

As a stereotypical child of an Asian household, my fashion journey is far from what you would assume is typical. Growing up, hobbies were encouraged, but good grades more so. Throughout my life, I’ve always been a creative soul, doodling and making dolls out of toilet paper rolls for as long as I can remember. But I constantly put that to the side in favour of academic achievements. I love the sciences dearly, too, and thought that would be my life.

However, during the last few months of high school, I started feeling that awful sense that I may never be able to pursue creativity seriously again. My friends observed that my eyes seem to light up when I talk about art. So, I began studying fashion design. And although the journey of finding my way through the choices I’ve made are still difficult, and the ‘what ifs’ may stay with me forever, my takeaway is to remember: finding what you love is not a waste of time, and you should never regret it – for every choice you left behind, you open another opportunity.

From embracing my interests in science, I was able to grow much more steadily as a designer. My interests in different fields have bloomed into inspiration for my projects, and now I’m particularly fond of experimenting with technology such as laser cutting, digital fashion, and wearable technology in conceptual womenswear. Instead of studying the building blocks of life in a textbook, I can reinterpret and reimagine the world around me.

This interdisciplinary approach to fashion opens up so many exciting possibilities, ones that I look forward to improving on every day. Seeing my progression, my once skeptical parents have also become my greatest supporters – truly, those who love you just want to see you thrive. This is just the start of my journey, and I am proud to have the ability to create.

All images provided by Ruby Dong