Seeing your own creations float down a runway is a feeling that can't really be described. It's as if time stops for a moment and the whole world sparkles a little extra.
As a ten-year-old, I sat in my girl's room with the sewing machine humming on the desk, surrounded by scraps of fabric, ribbons and little dreams that had not yet taken shape. My school papers were constantly transformed into sketches of beautiful dresses, and the hours disappeared as I sat engrossed in my Top Model books and sketched out new creations with childlike enthusiasm and great imagination. It was there, in that small room, that the dream was born, a dream of one day seeing my own designed dresses light up a real runway.
2024: The Four Elements
The theme for Spring Inspiration 2024 was the four elements, earth, air, fire and water. A theme that both challenged and inspired, just as fashion should. Interpreting these powerful elements through fabric, color and shape was a creative journey that took time, patience and lots of passion.
During the show, I was assigned eight amazing models. Seeing how each model transformed into my design, how their movements reinforced the concept, and how the audience was captivated by the whole gave me goosebumps. The hours I spent sewing, cutting, re-sewing, tweaking, and creating felt worth it the second the first model stepped out onto the runway.
2025: Ying and Yang
The theme of ying and yang hit me right in the heart. For me, fashion design is about the balance between contrasts, material elegance meeting function, creativity meeting structure, dream meeting reality. It is in that balance that the magic occurs.
This year I got to work with eight models, each with their own energy that brought the collection to life. The dresses were more complex to sew than ever before, and the process was both exciting and incredibly fun. I loved creating clear contrasts in both color and silhouette but always with a common thread that held everything together.
A dream come true
Sitting at the front of the stage and watching my own creations take over the runway under the bright lights is a feeling that is still hard to put into words. It is a mixture of pride, gratitude, nervousness and pure happiness. I got goosebumps every time, and above all an enormous feeling of being exactly where I am supposed to be.
Spring Inspiration 2024 and 2025 will forever be two milestones in By-Stina's journey. They have given me experience, confidence and above all, even more desire to continue creating.
This is just the beginning. The dream lives on, and I can't wait for the next time my designs hit the runway.
Warmest regards,
Stina – founder of By-Stina
