Early Life and Political Culture of Steve Hugh - Essay Example

Early Life and Political culture of Steve Hugh The person that I admire is my friend Steve Hugh who is a fashion designer by profession. There are a number of reasons as to why he is my role model. Steve Hugh is an ambitious entrepreneur in the fashion industry and from where he has come from it is true to say that ambition is quite priceless. I have been privileged enough to see the effort that Steve has put throughout his path on following his career to where he has reached at present. What intrigues me the most about Steve is his personal qualities that have made him climb up the ladder of success within a short time from the inception of his career. Steve is a humble, caring, ambitious and honest person. These are just an iceberg of the many qualities that he possesses. The hard work he has put in his life and career give me the courage and motivation to venture into my passion and future career. In general Steve is simply a great person. Early Life Fashion designer and entrepreneur Steve Hugh was born on July 3, 1982, in a small heavily wooded mountain region in South America. He descended from a working class family that had been long established. Hugh’s ancestors are said to have been carpenters, milliners, joiners and tailors. His father, Ronald Hugh is a carpenter who owns a big workshop in the region and his mother Maria Hugh is a tailor at a local design house in the region. Steve’s mother has been quite an inspiration to his career right from when he was a child. He drew interest from the many sketches that his mother used to work with while tailoring the clients’ clothes. His father’s hard work and ambition has also helped him in achieving his goals in life. At the age of 11 after his preschool years, Steve received a talent scholarship from his school based on his ability to sketch beautiful designs. It’s from that scholarship that he managed to follow his dream based from the skills that he received from the Fashion School scholarship. From a tender age, Steve had already accomplished a lot with his talent and passion for fashion. Immediately after high school Steve proceeded to the university to pursue a degree in Fashion and design. Political culture. The theme of change is always present in the Political culture. It is often the case that the aspect of change is reflected in the dress of the people (Craik). Steve fashion designs and concept has all along been based on the American Political culture. From his plain dress designs on Puritans to the new hip-hop look that exists today, the aspect of political change as well as change in fashion have both in theory and practice been linked together. Steve based his designs based on the prevalent style that was adapted at the time he started his fashion journey and the particular groups he focused his designs on. At the beginning of his career politics was what determined what fashion was acceptable. Steve was fortunate enough to be in the fashion industry right when there were political changes in America. The dressing aspect was a major influence in the political families and as a result some young talented designers were sought out to dress the families. Steve was among the young student designers that were privileged to design dresses for the high officials in politics. Dress is regarded as more than just a mere object and material that people wear on their bodies. A dress can be a symbol or a sign that stands for a particular meaning that is not inherent in the object or the material. In general, when the physical body is dressed it reflects on the social body as well as the societal system in the surrounding (Turner). These quotes simply show the significance of clothing and fashion based on a chronicling time in history. Steve’s brilliance in his talent made him join the best Fashion School that opened a platform for him to work on the clothing of some senators during certain political events in the US. With regards to history Steve based his work on the fact that societal relationships and tension that tend to exist between various groups are reflected in their dress code. In the 1990s there were rarely designers’ dresses that were accessible to the poor based on the fact that they were regarded as valued possessions. As a result some clothes were regarded as a commodity worth a substantial value and hence could serve as a form of currency in itself (Crane, 3). Steve drew more motivation from this that and was focused on designing clothes that are all round for all classes of people. On a cultural context fashion was traditionally used to help some of the communities to realize and achieve their American dream. Fashion became a symbol of prosperity for the minority group in the country. Rise To prominence During his university years Steve was involved in a number of school fashion projects that made him work with various fashion icons that he looked up to in the Industry. At just an early age of 21 the teenage Steve had already secured major fashion endorsements and invites in his home town. In the year prior to his graduation that is in 2003 Steve was taken as an apprentice by Tommy Hilfiger, a recognized and accomplished fashion designer worldwide. His work and designs were quite impressive and thus he was dubbed the “new deal” in the industry. It took Steve only two years to build up a reputation among Paris and New York fashionable class as one of the brilliant upcoming practitioner of the fashion craft. Steve is slowly becoming a sensation in the fashion industry based on his beautiful art designs that he comes up with and the fabrics he uses. His designs are highly regarded as modest based the history and cultural context of his background in the industry. Interview with Steve Hugh The fact that Steve Hugh is a friend that I look up to it was easy for me to schedule an interview with him despite his tight and busy schedules. The aim of the interview was to develop a clear understanding of his life path, inclusive of his key moments in his life as well as career. Other questions on the interview revolved around his motivation, his drive and the important cultural values and trends that determined the choices he made. In the interview, Steve mentioned that he drew most of his fashion inspirations from his mother who is a tailor and from the various televisions shows that used to portray the beauty and fashion of the political families that were in power as he grew up. “I grew up watching fashion and my mothers work as a tailor is what has moulded me to be where I am in my career. I choose this path simply based on the fact that I had an undying passion for fashion. I was born to do this I am fashion.” Steve’s success throughout the years I have known him has been quite fascinating and I must stay that by now he knows am his number one fan. His key moment in his career was when he got the opportunity to work with Tommy Hilfiger a famous designer. “When I got a letter to join the apprentice workshop of Tommy Hilfiger I thought it was dream. I was just 21 and I admit that is what motivates me to want to do greater things in the fashion industry.” Steve stated that it’s the opportunities that he has encountered throughout his fashion journey that gives him the drive to continue to grow in the industry. Steve has always worked and dreamed of being a fashion designer that there is no mistake as to why he ended up in the fashion industry. Within the ten years he has worked on his designs with different designers he now aims at having his own brand probably in the next two years. On matters concerning his theme and style, Steve stated that he grew up during a time when fashion and politics were highly associated in the industry. This aspect has made him to stick to his modest trends of designing. In prior eras a person’s dress code was used determine who they were, which group, societal as well as the cultural level in which they belonged to (Kaiser). However, this is not the case based on the postmodern dress. Steve states that at present the traditional concept of fashion is slowly fading away as people now embrace the mix and match aspects of various styles. Steve concluded his interview by stating that the fashion industry is growing tremendously and therefore it needs people who know what they want and how to get it. References Crane, Diana. Fashion and its social Agendas.London, The University of Chicago Press,2000. Craik, Jennifer. The Face of Fashion: Cultural Studies in Fashion. New York: Routledge, 1994. Kaiser, Susan. The Social Psychology of clothing: Symbolic Appearances in context. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1990. Turner, John. Social Influence.Pacific Grove Calif.1991. Read More