Anne Marie Allen

I attribute my success to being able to share what I have - the love of design and costume - with my students. I think of it like a great chef who cooks a meal and then sees people enjoy it. When I have a class, I make sure that we're all collaborating, and that's my greatest achievement - to share this craft, this design, this love, and to teach people to do what you love and love what you do. I'm proud that even after things have passed, I still have great communications with my former students. I celebrate their events and I'm so happy to see them succeed. It's very hard to be an artist and survive and to be successful, but it can be done if you work hard and lead by example. That's what keeps you fresh and going, and keeps the love going. I also believe success comes from surrounding yourself with the right influences and being careful about who influences you, because that's a big responsibility. My mentors at FIDM - Mary Stevens, Barbara Bundy, and Tony Hoberg - did a tremendous accomplishment in creating the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and they influenced my foundation. I've also been inspired by taking classes with people who influence me, like David Lynch, whose online class was life-altering. He was a craftsman who loved to go out in his studio and build things, and he was ferocious about getting things done. I believe in doing the best you can with the tools you have, which is something I carry around in my life.

The best career advice I ever received came from a woman who was an inspiration to me - she was a home artist, not really serious, but very talented. She would say to me, 'Anne Marie, do the best you can with the tools you have.' I carry that a lot around in my life. That's really it - do the best I can, and that's the best. I also learned so much from David Lynch's online class, which was life-altering. People would ask him what he does in the morning, and he was a craftsman who loved to go out in his studio and build things. When he made a movie, he helped build the sets with the actors and actresses. He was ferocious about getting things done. That taught me about the importance of being hands-on and fully committed to your craft.

If you want to do costume design, I would say get with a little theater group at first, because at the beginning you just want to get working with people that are in the same mind as you. I would even say, 'I'll do your costumes for free,' or ask if they have a budget. Some companies have a little budget and they do support young, aspiring designers or costume designers. If you want to get into fashion design, go and see if you could work with a great designer as an assistant. Get any job - there's so many jobs, even a salesperson job in a nice department store that inspires you. I think you should always look to do the best and look at the best company. If you want to sell a car, go sell a Rolls Royce. Be around people who are successful. I would also suggest to all young people who want to get into whatever field to get a digital portfolio together. Have courage and take chances. If you fail, get up again - that's just another step towards your success. If you love something, it's contagious. You just have to go out there and have courage.

It's very hard to be an artist and survive and to be successful, but it can be done if you work hard. Right now, with the situation we're in, I see an opportunity to create something wonderful to erase all this terror and fear in the universe. That's why I'm creating these angel characters - they're not deeply spiritual, just the essence and idea of an angel, which is pure. When you think about the word angel, it evokes a good feeling. It's about bringing out everybody's angel, because everybody has it inside - you just have to bring it out. I believe in creating value and giving back to the community, making sure I'm creating the most value I can with my work, my art, my love for this field. The challenge is protecting your intellectual work and not getting overexposed by talking it all out before the time is right. But when the time is right and things come into fruition, that's when you can share.

The most important values to me are collaboration and sharing the love of what I do. When I have a class, I make sure that we're all collaborating, working together as co-creators. I believe in doing what you love and loving what you do - that's something I'm proud of sharing with my students. I value staying connected to people who inspire growth and creativity, and I love taking classes with people who influence me. I think it's important to be careful about your choices and who your friends are, because they influence you. That's a big responsibility - to make sure that children and young people are being influenced by the right environment to bring out what they're best at. I also value creating work that brings positive energy into the world. Right now, I'm creating angel characters because I want to create something wonderful to erase the terror and fear in the universe. The idea of an angel is pure - it evokes a good feeling and reminds us that everybody has an angel inside that needs to be brought out. I believe in creating value and giving back to the community, making sure I'm creating the most value I can with my work, my art, and my love for this field. I also believe in doing the best you can with the tools you have, having courage, taking chances, and if you fail, getting up again because that's just another step towards success.