Fashion is a trend in the current world, and different people have taken it in their life in varying ways. To gain a clear understanding of current and future fashion needs, there is a need to conduct an interview. The interview is a way to get a clear picture of how a person who is in the fashion industry views it. For this case Weijia is considered, a girl who comes from Beijing China and has some funny traits; brave but stubborn, loves fashion and her family so much. The interview discusses what kind of person Weijia is, her likings, and plans for future and views of life. After the interview in New York City, it will be easier to understand the character traits of Weijia and know if it is the best way in fashion, or should it be avoided.
Grace： Hey Weijia!
Weijia： Hey Grace!
Grace： Do you like New York City?
Weijia： I think NYC is similar to Beijing where I come from, so there are no significant differences.
Grace： what makes you like Beijing?
Weijia： I love it as my hometown, but the only challenge there is air pollution.
Grace: So, what is the biggest difference you find between NYC and Beijing, in your opinion?
Weijia: Beijing is cleaner than NYC, and there aren’t any homeless people and mice. The only disadvantage in Beijing is that the air pollution regularly causes health complications.
Grace: Given a choice, which city would you choose for living in the future?
Weijia: I prefer staying in a safe city or rural areas because I have lived in the big city since I was born. In the towns, I find nothing exciting now and hate the congestion. I want to try different things and spend the rest of my life in a place where I will experience a different feeling.
Grace： As per your records, I have seen you wanted to study fashion design, but it is a demanding career to tackle. On the contrary, I saw you like life with minimal involvements, but why did you choose this occupation yet it is demanding?
Weijia： I developed a liking for fashion design when I was a kid. Fashion is the career of my choice, and I will always take it as my dream job. I am planning to do fashion until I am thirty; after that, I will find a comfortable place to mentor other people in the fashion industry.
Grace： so, you mean the work is very stressful, correct? What do you want to teach? In my opinion, there are differences between teaching and doing fashion design. A person can be good in fashion modeling, but may find it hard to teach others.
Weijia： For now, I am in fashion, but I like drawing; this is what I would like to teach. I will consider teaching drawing because it is not very involving and will not be stressing at an old age.
Grace： why do you love fashion design? When did you first get acquainted with it and how was the initial feeling?
Weijia: The love for fashion developed when I was seven years old. Since then, I have never stopped thinking about becoming a fashion designer. However, as days are moving on I feel it is becoming hard to create a balance between the career and family life. Working in fashion industry requires extreme effort, time, and this might affect my private life. To avoid the stress when I am a family woman, I consider teaching as my second plan when I am settled.
Grace： please clarify what is more important to you; career or family?
Weijia： At this young age, career is all that matters. My main initiative is to own a fashion enterprise where I will work in the later days.
Grace: Why do you have this kind of thinking? Were you influenced by someone, perhaps your friend or mentor on setting up your enterprise?
Weijia： No, it is an opinion. I believe working for somebody else does not bring happiness and brings much dependence on others. I prefer being independent rather than being others` puppet and losing my sense of security. I want to be a master of my life. With your business, you control all the activities that take place, and you are the decision-maker.
Grace：yeah， I totally agree with you.
Weijia: I think a woman should not depend on men for money. A Woman should have their jobs and have a stable income. With their money, they can buy whatever they want without asking favors from other people who may end up taking advantage of them. You can make life decisions, and your life is not going to have any dramatic change due to challenges like divorce.
Grace: yes, you are right. Independence is a crucial aspect for all women, but in your talks, you seem like you are afraid of breakups in relationships? May this be the reason as to why you give family life minimal attention?
Weijia: I am not afraid of break-ups. All I want is the independence to make personal decisions so that by the time I get in a relationship, I will not depend on my man. At times, a relationship may not work, and this will not affect my life since I will have an established business.
Grace: All I have noticed about you is that you are a very brave woman. What gives you that much courage in life?
Weijia：My strong character comes from the life experiences I have had since I was young. With my independence, I have managed to have a very comfortable life and appreciate all that I have achieved in the fashion industry. I believe I am already happier than at least 80 percent of the people living on earth because I am satisfied with my achievements. My greatest joy comes from the fact that I am in good health, I have a happy family, I am beautiful, fashion dreams are still valid, and I still have time to make all my dreams come true.
Grace: At times people may have dreams, but achieving them may be a challenge. If by any chance you do not meet your final expectations, will you be disappointed and regret giving much time on career goals? Can this make you move away from your dreams and think of another thing in life?
Weijia：Actually, I never think about this because all my dreams are a reality. If I do not achieve it, I think it will be cool with me. I want to live a happy life, so I cannot allow fear of failure to affect my dreams. If I fail in the dreams, I will give another try until I can meet the fashion goals.
Grace： I tend to think happiness is your top goal and not even being successful in fashion. Can this be the reason that you intend to be in the fashion industry for a short while and then venture in teaching that is less stressing compared to fashion?
Weijia： Well, yes and no. I love fashion and that why I have given it the priority and dedicated much time and this makes me feel happy now. The only issue is that I do not want to have a very busy schedule when I have a family. I want to give my kids and husband enough time and care, but it is evident that fashion work is very demanding and cannot afford sufficient time to rest and pay attention to my family. My primary target is to remain in the fashion industry in my young days until when I am thirty years old. After my 31st birthday, I will have achieved enough and set up my venture that will sustain my life and that of the family, and then I will go for a stable job like being a teacher to avoid stress and remain involved.
Grace： I feel you are very focused in your goals. If you become a famous fashion designer, will you still have the plans to become a teacher?
Weijia： Well, success may entice me to hesitate following my plan, but as I told you my dreams are valid, and I must meet them.
Grace: By that, I see you respect your goals and cannot be easily changed. So now, if I may go personal, do you classify yourself as a rational or sentimental kind of person?
Weijia： I think I am a reasonable individual because I rarely get annoyed with what people may do to me.
Grace： Maybe it is just because you are a nice person. Can you please give a case to prove your answer if you do not mind.
Weijia： Let me think I would like to turn a big problem into a small one and a little one into nothing. I agree, sometimes I can be furious, but I always strive to control it and ensure I always think before acting. Some time back when I was young, my friend hit me with a chair, and I could not resist taking revenge, so I hit her back and broke her hand.
Grace: why do you avoid getting angry?
Weijia： I don't want to be angry because I cannot control myself and as I have told you, I can say or do something that is hurting. I always avoid anger because I don't want to hurt anyone, and this helps me avoid being hurt. With this nature, it is not likely for people to bother me because we do not have any arguments that may be time-wasting and damaging in nature. During a conflict, you are not going to gain any points by being the winner or the looser. So why not just save your time and energy and be quiet.
Grace： Do you have such moments when you feel confused in life？
Weijia： Not so much because I am very decisive and self-confident.
Grace： This means, you never doubt your decisions? Do your parents always agree with you?
Weijia： I believe if we want to stay happy, we must be satisfied with what we get from our deeds. My parents always support me and wish me the very best.
Grace: When chasing your dreams, what kind of obstacle do you meet? How can you overcome them?
Weijia： I will answer that by giving you an example. Not so long ago, I had my College entrance exams. To pass the exams, I studied non-stop for months. I literally lived in the library, woke up at 6 AM and stayed awake till 11:30 PM every day. This habit left me exhausted after the period, and I had lost weight, but at the end, I made a tremendous progress that allowed me to get a chance in the College.
Grace： did you get help from friends?
Weijia： Yes, my teachers helped me a lot. Perhaps, they saw constant improvements in me and wanted to help me more.
Grace： what did that period mean to you? Did you feel happy?
Weijia： I felt euphoric because I was chasing my dream every moment of that period.
Grace： what is your final goal in the fashion industry?
Weijia： I am not sure, but I hope I can do something that can positively influence people.
Grace：which are your personal expectations that will make you feel to have achieved your goals?
Weijia： I want to work in a luxury women`s clothes brand. For the future, I hope I can have the constant clientele to work for, and then later I will move to teaching.
Grace: currently, which is your favorite cloth line or label?
Weijia: I adore Dior, especially the formal dress because I like the clothes shapes and texture they offer.
Grace： Would you like to imitate this style？
Weijia： No, I want to create my own style.
Grace： Do you have any fashion patterns in your mind that you can do in future?
Weijia： I prefer simple style. I believe in elegant fashion since fashion will pass, but style will remain.
Grace: Maybe you have a boyfriend in your life. Does he support your dream?
Weijia: Yes, I have a loving man, and he supports my dreams. He shares in my plans as well.
Grace： Is he worried that you will be very busy in the future?
Weijia： Maybe we will argue about this later, but now we are happy.
Grace: Given a chance to choose between fashion and your boyfriend, what would you choose?
Weijia： I wish I never had such a choice. They are both crucial to me. I pictured myself as a fashion designer when I was five years old, and I cherish the opportunities that I have now, and don’t want to lose them. My boyfriend I could not find a better person, since he is definitely the best.
Grace: Thank you, Weijia for your time. Hope we can talk more next time.
With the information gained from this interview, it is clear that Weijia has clear plans in life that she must achieve. It is necessary for any person willing to be successful, to set strategies and ensure they are followed to the letter to avoid any failure.
Dear Grace,
Thanks for your work on this. There are some gems here (throughout), although it’s hard to know at this stage what the overall theme is and what you perceive as the focus for this interview. I imagine that you will need to do more interviewing with you subject once you figure out what you most want to highlight. Next, please think more about the curation of the interview, meaning the various bits and pieces that you choose to include and put in an order. At times, right now, this draft reads more like a transcript (exclusively what was said) versus a condensed representation of several conversations. What is it that you most want to reveal about your subject? I would focus on showing us this in the way that you put the interview together. And what about trying to be more creative in the form that this interview takes? Where are you during this conversation? Can you describe Weijia? Also, please try to go to the Learning Center for help getting this to be more polished at the sentence-level.
I look forward to seeing your final draft.
Best,
Eliza
