Kristina Ang ’18, hasn’t always had a passion for fashion. In fact, in her first few years at Bronx Science, she felt like an outlier, being such an arts-minded person in a sea of STEM brains. With courage, she embraced fashion and took her first small steps toward a career in couture.

Her journey began in middle school, when she decided on a whim to submit her designs to a famous designer named Carmen Marc Valvo. To her surprise, she was sent back a gift, consisting of a shirt, design sketches, and photos from previous runway shows. This gift was the spark to Ang’s flame.

A few years later, she had the opportunity to meet the president of Macy’s, who was just as interested with her as she was with him. She chose to work with this company specifically because “of their willingness to take someone as young as me under their wing. It’s hard for someone my age to really find legitimate experience in the fashion industry.”

Being so young and already having connections with a multi-billion dollar company is no small feat, but Ang conquered it with style. She shadowed individuals in the industry and learned many new things, such as trend forecasting and color theory, but most important was that she realized this is what she wanted to do for the rest of her life.

“Fight for what [you] want in life. There is no room for procrastination. If you want your dreams to become reality, you have to take the initiative upon yourself.”

Over the summer, Ang interned at a company called Alice & Trixie, where she worked with designers in producing final garments that would be sold to the public. She enjoyed it very much because she had the chance to meet with so many talented and like- minded people.

Her current position is a Fashion Ambassador for Nordstrom, which gives her the ability to influence Nordstrom’s customers, gain access to behind the scenes information, and meet with exclusive designers.

Looking to the future, Ang wants to continue to pursue a career in the fashion industry, and hopes to become an assistant designer at a fashion company. Her sights are set on creating her own company, which would allow her to express her ideas to the world.

In fact, she has already begun work on her own fashion line, titled Jumeaux, “which is French for Twins because it is inspired by the style of both me and my twin sister.” Her sister’s influence on her work is one of the many reasons why this project is so important to her.

She continuously stresses a single point: “…fight for what [you] want in life. There is no room for procrastination. If you want your dreams to become reality, you have to take the initiative upon yourself.”