About Me

My name is Anna Rozier. I received my BFA for Fashion Design and Merchandising last year, currently in the process of getting my masters in Entertainment Business, married, and a freelance fashion designer and singer.

Art, fashion, music and history lover. Entrepreneur. Fashion designer. I have been through a lot in getting my company off the ground. 17 Fashion Shows- some of which I did on my own, from planning to promotion to making the clothing, and even modeling on the runway  (which I am over at this point). I do still model at photoshoots however, which is something I just can’t seem to give up. My shows have been in an array of venues, from clubs -which I have vowed to never do again- to city halls to malls to convention centers. Fashion shows are an issue that I get very touchy about. My experience has shown me the pros and cons, how they should be run, and what usually results when certain people are in charge. That’s another issue entirely. Now I examine the event very closely before just jumping on board with any old show.

When I started making clothing, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. The thought that I could actually be a designer seemed very far fetched after attempting my first garment when I was 18. But- with encouragement from my husband- I kept going. Being hard headed, I insisted on learning my way. I used cheap fabrics for practice, which usually had stretch in them since I was unsure of how to make a garment fit. In fact most of the fabric I used for about the first 2 years of teaching myself how to sew was some kind of stretchy knit. I wasn’t watching tutorials or reading books. I came across these ‘mannequins’ at WalMart that were actually just giant jewelry holders that were made to decorate a room. My husband insisted(thank God), and I bought 2 of them and began using them to make my garments. Not knowing a thing about patterns, I just started draping fabric on the mannequins, pinning it, then sewing where I pinned. The clothing actually started looking decent, although my sewing techniques were still no where near up to par. Even though I wasn’t very confident in the technicality of my garments, I was excited about the idea of doing a fashion show. My husband, being a producer and hip hop artist, knew that collaborating on shows would be a great way to get us both out there at the same time while providing awesome entertainment. I was lucky enough to collaborate closely with two great friends who were choreographers and both had experience in modeling troupes in the past. We ran a modeling troupe together and put on some awesome shows incorporating my husband and his camp’s music and performances. But it wasn’t reaching the level we knew it could. Maybe it was the town we were in (which was not appreciative of fashion or modeling whatsoever), or the promotional issues, or maybe something else. After 3 years of learning to sew, spending time and money on shows and not really getting anywhere besides having great learning experiences, I decided it was time to do something I never pictured myself doing, and something my husband had been suggesting for 3 years- going to college.

Within 2 weeks of making that decision, my husband and I quit our jobs and were off to Orlando to get an education. (He too wanted to get back into school for Entertainment Business.) Boy is college something waaayy different than the scary picture I painted in my head. Why I argued with my husband so long about why I never wanted to go is beyond me. He must have been so frustrated haha. -Which reminds me that stubbornness is not a good trait in business. I have since learned to be open minded and admit that their are many things in the world I don’t have all the knowledge on. I don’t want to seem like I’m bashing my school… but it will seem that way, so whatever. I went to IADT. I chose it because of the double degree. Fashion Design AND Fashion Merchandising. All the other schools had you choose either or. It was the reason I didn’t go to AI in Ft. Lauderdale…. wish I had now… but I also think that things happen for a reason, so here I am. With the way the school is presented to prospective students, there is really no way I could’ve foreseen the underlying problems with the school anyhow. The main problem is likely the problem with most colleges; it is run like a corporation rather than an educational facility. The main priority of the school is to make money. Which is completely understandable, however, the main focus should be educating tomorrows leaders, and in doing the best to provide for that purpose, money should come with no problem. I won’t get into all the issues at the school, but mainly they stem from that. No true passion or care for whether the students succeed or not. They are training students to fill a job, not how to start their own business. They baby the students almost like high school does. There are some great teachers. The students add to the problem. They get what they want, and that is the easy way. I have even spoken to students in other programs (Game Design) who have told me that what they are required to do in 2 and a half months, comparable schools are doing in a week. Hence the school operating like a corporation, accepting anyone who will sign a loan contract, not filtering those who are truly passionate and have goals. So they cater to the students in order to keep them around, stacking up how much they owe the school for overpriced books, overpriced tuition, and housing (which I did’t have thank God). If you go to college, try not to get on a housing program if you can avoid it. Suck it up and pay your rent on your own. Now I said I didn’t want to get into all that and there I did it anyway… ahh .. well I’ll stop there about my undergrad college complaints. Don’t get me wrong, I have learned a ton. But that is because I am applying myself, researching further than the assignments require, and working on my own business at the same time, applying the techniques to my actual life.

Since being in Orlando, I continued doing fashion shows. This time bigger and with more clout. The venues got fancier as I started to reach out and make connections with others in the local fashion industry. I also started painting tee shirts. I had a lot of ideas about cool things I wanted to put on tees. And being into art, I thought it would be unique to paint them, and it would allow me to get really creative. I went a different route with learning to paint tees than I did with learning how to sew. I listened to those with experience. Tutorials, books, and such gave me the guidance I needed to quickly try different techniques and find the best one that worked for me. It definitely wasn’t an overnight process, but in being open minded and willing to make errors and start over.. and over.. and over, I learned, and learned, and learned. Knowing what doesn’t work is just as important as knowing what does. And with sewing and painting, I don’t regret any time I spent on making mistakes.

I met a lot of photographers through networking in Orlando (and I mean GOOD photographers) who are willing to collaborate for portfolio work, allowing me to get free edited pictures of my clothing- which at this point has escalated greatly since I opened my mind to YouTube, advice from teachers and sewing books- and allowing them to get great shots to expand their portfolio. This is when I began to brand myself. Pictures are worth a thousand words, its true… and with a great shoot setting, clothing, models and photographers, they can say even more. At first, I was doing the modeling all myself- and loving it. I knew how I wanted my clothing to look, to be worn, plus I didn’t know a lot of models just yet in Orlando, so I went for it; again having no idea at first what I was doing. After doing a few more shows in Orlando, I got to know models who were willing to model in shoots in exchange for great photos for their portfolios.

From the photos and shows, I started to build a small client base and was getting requests for clothing. This gave me an opportunity to fit customers that are not of model body types, which I was unnecessarily scared of in the past. Things have been growing from there. I expanded to making mens clothing in 2009. Now I am full circle when it comes to making all the things I thought I never could.

I love fashion, and that was the bottom line for me. Making up for the void I see in the industry. It didn’t matter if I wasn’t making money at first, and still sometimes don’t make a profit now. My true desire is being fulfilled when I see someone wearing a dress, tee shirt or whatever that they bought from me and loving it, and expressing what they truly feel through the art that I designed for them.

During my senior year at IADT, I had a daughter who unfortunately passed away shortly after birth. I decided to name my women’s clothing line after her as the meaning of her name is a direct reflection of the brand. Areli Sinclair, literally meaning brave, renowned, lioness of God, is based on the idea of giving women strength to wear when facing life’s obstacles, no matter how big or small. Whether it’s a big job interview, a special first date, or that important presentation, Areli Sinclair makes you feel like everyone in the room can see your confidence and personality before you even say a word. She has been such a motivation for me. I wrote much more about Areli and the whole story on my other blog: Life as A.Roze.

My latest venture has been joining my husband in a music group we call L.O.T. which stands for Lover's of Truth. The collaboration has been a long time coming, but sometimes the obvious takes a while to make itself apparent to those inside the situation. We only have a few songs so far, but have already been on the local radio and are enjoying where the creativity is taking us. Check out our music -Here-

I also recently went back to school, enrolling in Full Sail University's masters program for Entertainment Business. My hope is to gain a well rounded business insight in order to accelerate and mold mine and my husband's ideas for the collaboration of fashion and music.

I am obviously still growing and face things every day that I haven’t faced before. My ultimate goals seem far off, but I am closer now than I ever was before. I have so much to say about life, art, politics, random knowledge and experiences I’ve been through, and I’m so glad I found fashion as a voice and means of connecting with people, besides the fact that I simply love the art form, the psychology, the history and the all possibilities that go along with fashion.

I’m sure there’s a lot I left out, but I could write a book on the things that have happened up to this point.

I can’t wait to share what happens next. On to bigger and better.

Please feel free to write me with questions or topics you’d like to see discussed on the blog!

~A. Rozier