Student Spotlight: Mina Waks
For the month of May, we shine the 'Student Spotlight' on Mina Waks for being such an amazing student!
How long have you been a design student and what got you interested in fashion as a career?
I studied for one year for a general design degree in Australia in 2004, but that was not for fashion. However, I have always been interested in fashion and design in general, fashion/website/graphics, etc. I have a costume design business that started organically as I made my own dance costumes that people wanted to buy. I recently traveled to my family's house in France, where I have my grandmother's old Bernina sewing machine, and I was inspired to sit down and sew some clothing for my daughter, which I was then inspired to create a 'mama and me' line.
Where do you see yourself five years from now with all the skills and knowledge you’ve gained in our school?
I see myself with 'mama and me' line of clothing and bikinis up and running.
What/ who has inspired you throughout this journey?
My mother, grandmother, and daughter are my inspiration. My mother was a bespoke wedding dress designer, my grandmother helped teach me to sew, and my daughter is a diva and my muse.
How do you manage to juggle your abroad career, schoolwork, and being a mother of two on top of it all?
My international life is nothing new. We lived in Hong Kong; I then started school in France and finished school in Australia. My professional dance career began in Australia and then moved to Cuba, where I have been for the past 13 years. So Miami will be the next "base." Juggling my dance career, costume business, school, and my two children is a challenge (to put it lightly), but life is about the experiences we make, and everything I'm doing is only adding to that. So I look at the exciting life I'm creating for my kids, and then it's all worth it!
