Fashion Designer (Rachel Kroll)

The Dream Vocation Podcast with Tony Bellagamba

In this episode we speak with Rachel Kroll, a fashion designer out of New York City. This episode is special to me because one of my daughters loves fashion and says she wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up. So, what better gift could I give her than to interview someone living the Dream Vocation she aspires to? Plus, I’m sure there are a lot of other people out there interested in hearing about the world of fashion, so it’s a win-win for everyone.

Rachel’s story is one of following your passion and not falling back on the quote unquote more traditional, reasonable career path. Like a lot of young girls, Rachel was interested in fashion from a young age. But unlike most of her counterparts, Rachel took action and pursued her passion from the get-go. She started by learning how to sew from her mother and aunt. From there, she took fashion classes in high school and even took classes at the Art Institute of Chicago on the weekends. I don’t know what you were doing on the weekends in high school, but I certainly wasn’t going to more school.

Anyways, upon graduating from High School Rachel wanted to attend an art school. But, her parents required her to go to a more traditional university in case her interest in fashion fell off. So, Rachel enrolled in the fashion program at Kent State. Even then, her father encouraged her to go into Finance, which was a safer, more stable career. But once again, Rachel chose her passion and pursued passion with all of her energy.

Rachel kept pursuing her dreams and eventually landed a role as a design assistant at a leading fashion brand, working specifically on footwear. Fast forward to today and Rachel is a full-fledged fashion designer, developing some of the trendiest and most popular women’s footwear that you likely see when you walk out your door. She even tells us about the design process, which is incredibly interesting. To take an idea and turn it into an actual product that people wear is a fascinating journey.

Listen in as Rachel tells us her story and inspires us to follow our passions.