What would you say is one of the biggest lessons that you've come across as a business owner?

Keep it simple. There's so much going on, I could be freaking out right now if I wanted to. It's never going to feel 100 percent, and your weeks are going to fluctuate so you cannot ride your emotions off of how your business is moving. You've got to keep calm, and check in with yourself.

What was one of your biggest learning experiences?

Overall, I've learned to work really hard for what you want and to also be clear about what you want. I’ve learned that from the hair stylists that I’ve assisted under. I’ve learned it from my aunt in her salon, too. She would always say, “If this is what you want to do, do it really well, and be the best at it.”

I have also learned not to look left or right, or worry about what other people are doing. I can't compare myself to anyone else other than me, because I'm the only one that’s doing what I do. Since I started looking at things like that, it has been amazing for me mentally, physically, and career-wise. Working in fashion can be very, “Oh my God, this person’s doing this!” I don’t do that at all.

Do you have a biggest learning experience?

This past year has been one big learning experience. I think learning how to manage a team in general is a learning experience, and I’m also working on not taking things too personally, I guess. Very sensitive.

What do you think prepared you the most for where you are today? A person? An event? A learning experience?

I think that one thing can't take credit.

For sure.

It's a multitude of everything. Every experience, every person that you meet. You know, it's that whole butterfly effect. If you didn’t sit next to that person on the bus who told you something, or if you didn’t meet that one person, your whole life could be completely different.

That being said, you have to take into account that every bad thing that happens to you is just as influential as any good thing, and it's really about understanding that and being able to manipulate it positively. Overall, I'm very aware that my whole journey up until now is because of every single experience or person that I've lived through or encountered.

Do you remember any learning experiences or specific jobs that you had before this that unexpectedly prepared you for working here?

I was a receptionist at a hair salon, and it taught me how important it is to always show face. Your one-on-one interactions with clients are really important. When I was a receptionist, even if I was stressed and I was scheduling all of these different hair appointments, and someone walked in, I had to completely drop everything and just make sure I was happy to see them and greet them. It can definitely be exhausting, but in a lot of ways, my job now can be like that too.

What was your biggest learning experience?

I guess it was when we were printing the first issue of DUST; I realized that what I learned in school wasn’t enough.

What’s your biggest learning experience?

If you want to get paid, ask to get paid.

After an internship, it’s about saying let’s do this. As an intern, you become incredibly valuable to your employer; they cannot function without you. So at the end of it, they can either look for someone else and have to train that someone else, or not if you've proved yourself as invaluable. It’s always worth a shot to ask.

Also, there are endless lessons when it comes to interviewing people. I'm too nice a lot of the time; I'll say “Okay, I won't ask them about what said they didn’t want to comment on.” But you have to go back and tell them, “Well then I'm going to say that your client declined to comment” and then they'll say “Oh wait, we'll give you a quote!” You have to push back; you can be aggressive when it comes to PR people, you have to ask for what you want and what you need regarding an interview.

That must be a really fine line because you want to maintain a good relationship with them but at the same time, you need to get what you need to write that article.

Yes, and that's something that they don't teach you in college. Interacting with managers, PR people- that whole world has been something that I've had to figure out. I had a big learning experience when I wrote an article about someone, and they said that it had to come down. I hate confrontation and people not liking me, and I had to grow thick skin. You learn that the people that you interview are not your friends, you're doing your job and the PR people are doing their job. It feels like a fun human interaction where you're hanging out or spending the day with someone, and you get to know them, but at the end of the day, you’re there to ask the hard questions. I also learned from David Carr, always be upfront with people. Never flip the switch on someone and be nice and then go write something mean.

Does it make people more closed off if you’re so upfront while interviewing them?

No, because they know it’s an interview. It’s really helped me because I kept feeling icky about the things that I would write. Once I heard that quote from David Carr, I realized this is the way to avoid that. I mean, I've never gone up to someone and said, "Hi, I'm writing like, a takedown of you." It's more just being honest. I now try to start interviews saying “So my goal for this interview is to get to know you, introduce you to our readers, etc.” just setting up the scene for what the arc of the story is. They’ll know what you need, and they will do that for you.

Then sometimes I’ll say “People say this about you, do you agree or disagree?” That gives them a chance to defend themselves, and it makes you feel less icky in the process. It’s about having an honest, open conversation that they've agreed to, and they know what they're doing. It makes the whole thing feel more professional.

What’s your biggest learning experience?

That's tricky. I think that having to take on a managerial role has been challenging because you're not only in charge or yourself but you also have to run the show.

What was one of your biggest learning experiences?

Free the nipple. It was one of the craziest misinterpretations because I got all this hate because I was accused of imposing my ideology upon Frida Kahlo, who was not herself a feminist. It just became so layered. I was like, “Look at the context,” I’m not imposing my ideology. I wasn’t spearheading her as the leader of the movement. Grace Coddington is not a Clog or a Cod Fish for that matter either.

Did you learn anything from that experience though?

First of all, don't get into arguments online. Then second of all, don't get offended, not everyone is always going to like what you do. You can't make everyone laugh and online things can be de-contextualized. People come for the joke and then obviously the joke sometimes has to be moderated because we live in a very PC day and age in which things can be grossly misinterpreted.

What’s your biggest learning experience in your entire career?

Moving from Georgia to New York was the best thing I could do because I was so clueless. I didn't know what was going on, and you're just really thrown right in here. People who come to New York must have a specific type of personality. You just don't care, you’re independent, and you go for it.

Is there one experience in particular that made you grow?

Kind of. When I first started as an intern, it was a very small office. I had been interning there for 6 months when the team in New York said, "We need to hire Alex.” And Thierry believed in me, so I came on as a production coordinator. Then about one month before the SS15 shows, my 2 colleagues in New York left. One of them managed budgets and the other managed clients.

So… I had one month before Fashion Week to figure out how to manage and create the budgets while also managing and learning all of the clients, the venues, and the entire process on my own—obviously with a great daily support and help from Paris, but it was scary nonetheless. I put my head down, worked really, really, really hard, and that's where I think I really stood out. Things got easier from there, but I’m still learning every single day.

It’s the scariest positions that make you grow. And they also give you a chance to stand out. I hadn't met many of the clients yet, and having to do huge budgets was daunting, but such a fun challenge and I'm so happy I got through it.

What was your biggest learning experience?

Ha, you sound like it’s over! I’m still constantly learning as I go and have a lot more to learn. But the more companies and organizations you work with the more you see that everyone works differently and that behind the scenes, things are often more shambolic than they appear. Smoke and mirrors!

What prepared you for where you are today?

My biggest life lesson was my first year here in Paris, which was extremely difficult. It was a sad time, but it made me grow up more in 1 year than I would have in 10. When I came to Paris, I told my parents that I had friends and it was fine, but I actually didn't know anybody. I didn't know where I was going to stay. I didn't know the language. I had to change apartments 7 times that year.

It was a really difficult time money-wise, as well. I didn't make money from the jobs that I was getting yet. I was surviving on a month to month basis. It was really tough, but at the same time, it made me really strong. And also I was only 19 years old, so everyone was telling me that I was too young for Paris, that maybe I should go to London, New York, or LA again, because they’re all more open to young people. But I was very good at saying no to that. Then I got my first big job with Dior.

When I was in LA, there was a contest where you could win a trip to Milano, meet an agent and start working there. I didn't speak English well, and so I didn't win. But when I was in Paris, they followed my work and my progress, and then they said that I am the winner of the year, It was amazing experience, and I believed that everything can be possible! When I was in Milano, I received a call from Dior in Paris, asking if I could do the makeup for a video with Emily Weiss. It was amazing.

Then my friend recommended me to Max Mara and I did makeup for Maria Giulia Maramotti for her portrait, and she really liked me, so I was booked for shooting with her for 6 different Vogue’s. After a year, my mailbox started to get very busy. I built a strong portfolio, I got an agent, and then every month I started to take bigger and bigger steps. I'm happy I didn't give up and always followed my dreams!

What have you learned?

I've learned so much from working with Carine [Roitfeld], from working with Ben, from working with the team. It's a really small team, so everyone's kind of like a family. I've learned to not take things so seriously and be great at my job and do exactly what I have to do but also have fun while doing it because if you don't have fun, there's not really a point. Fashion is fun and there has to be some kind of energy and liveliness and enjoyable presence while you're doing it or there's no purpose. I've learned what I can't control and to just roll with the punches. To do as much as I can with what is in my power, but also let things take its course and be able to step back and breath. And say "You know it's just fashion and at the end of the day we're still going to shoot something and it's still going to be great."