Dollars and Sense Bianca Stewart Fashion Designer
By: Brian Hudgins | Categories: Alumni Interest
Finding stylish, comfortable clothes has always been something of a tall order for Bianca Stewart, a former Tech student-athlete who stands at 6 feet without heels and towers over the average-to-petite women for whom most ready-to-wear clothes are designed.
Though her height has always been a boon for her as a track-and-field star—Bianca Stewart has been a standout in the high jump since age 9—she’s faced nothing but hurdles to find wardrobe options for her soaring stature. So Stewart turned this lifelong fashion struggle into an opportunity, launching a career as a niche designer for tall women (and men) soon after she got out of Tech. Her new line for the lengthy, called Jesse Queen, has garnered attention and praise worldwide, and she even got to show off her clothes at New York Fashion Week this past spring. She recently shared her story with the Alumni Magazine.
Considering your shopping experiences growing up taller than most everyone else, did you start to think to yourself: I want to help other women who face the same issue? Yes, definitely. I was a lot thinner in my teenage years so finding clothing was near impossible. A pair of pants, size zero with a 36-inch inseam was unheard of. It wasn’t until I started doing research that I realized that there are so many tall women who aren’t comfortable with themselves and don’t like being tall because of the constant inconveniences that come from it. However, I’ve always felt like being tall defined me. It made me who I am, I could never imagine not loving my height.
How did you go through those basic steps of turning an interest in fashion into a career path? Jesse Queen is actually my second line. My first was a collaboration on a unisex line, titled Unbothered, that I co-designed with recording artist Teyana Taylor after I graduated from Tech in 2014. After I was injured during the indoor season of my junior year and could no longer compete, I started designing in my spare time. She also had ideas already in the works, so collaborating worked out perfectly. Because unisex clothing is such a limiting genre, it made me start to think, what if I made my own clothes? Then I thought, wait, no, what if I created clothing for tall women, period?
How difficult was it to carve out a niche in the fashion industry? Once I decided to take this step in designing my personal line I knew that I wanted to specifically cater to tall fashion. The best part is I identify directly with the struggle of finding clothing. I hope that with social media democratizing retail, smaller startups such as myself can take up where so many established retailers have failed. I would love to trigger a shift in the industry where in the next five years companies won’t be able to afford to avoid producing for our specific market.
Was it hard to get noticed initially as a designer? There are thousands of designers on the internet today and they all have something different to offer. The best way to be recognized is to be unique and to stand out, so what helped me the most was catering to an underserved market. Within the first few months, I had a small following which mainly consisted of friends and family or other tall women whom I met along the way and kept informed about the progress of Jesse Queen. One day, I took the initiative to contact Claire Sulmers, editor-in-chief of one of the most influential style sites in the world, Fashion Bomb Daily, to advertise my line on her platform. Within hours, my ad gained more traffic than anything else ever promoted on the site. I found myself with an exponential increase in followers and sales, so I purchased another ad within a few weeks with an even greater reception. Claire then contacted me about participating in the launch of “Claire Cares,” an editorial initiative she created to provide emerging designers with a larger platform to showcase their work. With her consistent efforts in social media to promote Jesse Queen, as well as the uniqueness of my designs, I have continued to build high visibility and a global reputation for satisfying this void in the fashion industry.
After you get noticed, are there a lot of secondary challenges during production? Being noticed may have actually been one of my biggest challenges. I wasn’t aware of how unprepared I was in producing mass orders until I was faced with the reality of receiving more orders than I was able to handle. I went from less than 10 orders in a month’s time, to having to produce more than 50 orders in two weeks.
How did your interaction with people at Tech and your classes help prepare you to handle some of those challenges? Our marketing and business administration programs taught me all the practical skills that I needed for a prosperous business career. The biggest problem that most independent designers have is that they weren’t taught the basics of running a business in school. As a fashion designer, there is no feeling comparable to creating, but it requires so much more to market yourself and manage day-to-day operations. At Tech, I learned what it takes to prevail in the most difficult aspect of starting up a fashion business: consistency of sales and strong demand forecasts.
How does your journey so far play into your upcoming plans for Jesse Queen and other lines? I strive for my collection to provide wardrobe essentials for whatever the occasion calls for. From business suits to sweat suits, this collection is based on flattering fits that I hope will transcend trends. I want it to boast beautiful and simple yet atypical design elements that are cross-generational. I’m exploring the concept of feminine identity—vulnerable, yet strong. You can expect floaty fabrics contrasted with daring design and detail. And while I have been mainly focusing on women’s wear, I plan to launch my men’s line for men 6-foot-3 and taller, within the next few months!
