Today we’d like to introduce you to Bria Evans.
Bria, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started designing at the age of ten after seeing a beautiful wedding gown my aunt designed! She gifted me a fashion design kit that Christmas and the rest was history. I continued to pursue the arts all through middle and high school and started my fashion design career at The Art Institute of Dallas. I graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design and launched my company a year later. I continued to participate in different fashion events to get exposure when I had the opportunity to show in Fashion x Houston in 2018. Showing a capsule collection with them opened the door for me to go to New York Fashion Week last September with Oxford Fashion Studio. It has been the highlight of my career so far.
I recently re-launched my brand and made garments available for purchase and it has been one of the best decisions I could have made. Taking a leap of faith especially in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and leaving behind my 9-5 to go into full-time entrepreneurship was definitely not what I had in mind for 2020, but God had other plans. Since June, I’ve been able to sell my items to customers through my e-commerce store and will have a new mini-collection launching in October!
Has it been a smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. I come from a small city where there is very limited resources for people who want to have a career in the arts and an even smaller amount of resources for those pursuing careers in fashion. When I got to college, I felt so behind, but thankfully they treated everyone on a level playing ground! I was able to pick up skills so quickly and so that’s how I knew that it was truly my gift. I excelled in school so when it came time for graduation. I knew that I would end up with a good job somewhere, living my best designer life.
Instead, I ended up back home with my parents, managing my mom’s restaurant. It would be three years before I really got my first “big break” in the fashion industry. I’m so thankful for all of the lessons in business that I was able to learn from my mom because they are definitely getting put to use now.
We’d love to hear more about 31|25-THE LABEL.
31|25-THE LABEL is a Contemporary Brand for the simple, stated woman. Our customer enjoys classic silhouettes with a twist. Currently, I am a one-woman show doing designing, patternmaking, sewing, packaging, and marketing. I would like to bring fashion jobs to the Dallas, Houston, and Beaumont area by starting my own in-house manufacturing company for the label. Right now, so much of our clothing is made overseas and not with very good working conditions for the employees or pay. So I would like to go in the opposite direction of what most companies are choosing to do. I am most proud of the strides that have been made since June up until this point and there is so much more on the horizon.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Even though the fast fashion industry is predicted to grow by 6-7% in the next two to three years, there are a lot of independently owned and sustainable brands that are trying to reclaim the industry and that makes me happy. A lot of designers are more aware of the harmful effects that our current industry processes have on the environment and want to change it. I am happy to be a part of those designers.
Even COVID-19 has sparked a change amongst bigger fashion houses to not produce as many collections a year with as many pieces, so I’m looking forward to seeing how that will change the narrative in the industry as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.3125thelabel.com
- Email: bria@3125thelabel.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/3125.thelabel
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/3125.thelabel
Image Credit:
Lacie Grant Photography, Oxford Fashion Studio
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
