"Wear what nobody else is wearing" is  the fashion philosophy of designer Patrick Clemens. After purchasing his first hat at the age of 12, Patrick had an overwhelming desire to pursue a career in fashion design.  His favorite designer, the great Leonardo da Vinci, is one of many artists that helps him to awaken his designs. 

Drawing inspiration from everyday life and architecture, his menswear line exemplifies his style.  His love of fabrics is one element encouraging his creativity and helping him move toward his goal of being the first-class designer. 

The biggest struggle Patrick has encountered as an independent designer is selling and marketing his products.  His word of advice to all independent designers “Don’t try to know how the business works before you start to go into that business, otherwise you don`t want to be a designer.” 

Patrick Clemens is a featured UsTrendy designer. View his store here: http://www.ustrendy.com/geppebba/.

Like so many designers, fashion was a part of Rachael Eagens' identity from an early age. She grew up in Rocky River, Ohio, a suburb near Cleveland. "Early on in my childhood, I started to do what came naturally to me: styling outfits, creating my own look books, drawing flats and illustrations, having my own photo shoots, and probably even more that I have forgotten to mention.  Fashion has always been a part of who I am. Bill Blass put it best, 'Style is primarily a matter of instinct.'"

Rachael didn't realize that she wanted to pursue a career in design until her second year of college at the University of Dayton. "I started to do some real soul searching about who I was and who I wanted to become.  I was out shopping during my Spring Break when it hit me: fashion. Why was I not going to school for fashion?"

She moved to Chicago and enrolled in the International Academy of Design and Technology.  After her first semester, she transferred to the Kent State Shannon Rogers School of Fashion, in Kent, Ohio, where she majored in fashion design and merchandising. She completed her internship at the Green Room in New York City, and graduated from Kent State in the summer of 2009.

Since graduating from college, Rachael has been working on her own label, RKE Clothing. (RKE stands for Rachael Kathleen Eagens, her full name.) She has completed her first collection, which is showcased on her UsTrendy page.

As a designer, fashion means a great deal to Rachael. "For me, it is a visual expression, a confidence builder, and the first impression the world gets of you." She believes that fashion should give a woman the confidence to "the confidence to go out and achieve anything she puts her heart and mind into!"

She designs primarily for women age 25 and up, because they are the market sector that does the most shopping, and are the most affected - often emotionally - by what they purchase. "I cannot tell you how many stories I’ve heard about women getting upset and depressed during a shopping experience. This is what drives me to want to create something better. This is why when I create clothing it is so important to me, because not only am I making something, but also I am changing a woman’s life for the better!" Her motto is, "feel good fashion for all women."

Rachael Eagens is a featured UsTrendy designer. View her blogs and portfolio at: http://www.ustrendy.com/rke/

Although 21-year-old designer Filipa Pinto was born in Oporto, Portugal, her passion for fashion did not develop until she moved to London at age 10.  While living in London, Pinto took several extra-curricular classes in fashion design where she learned to sew and work with different types of fabrics.  When Pinto moved back to Portugal six years later, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in fashion.  “After returning to Portugal, I knew I wanted to follow what inspired me, so I enrolled in a three year course at Escola de Moda do Porto.

Following her dream paid off: while enrolled at Escola de Moda do Porto, Pinto was presented with the Merit Award from the Ministry of Education – an honor given each year to the best fashion designer at Escola de Moda do Porto. “I try to design clothes that fall between the commercial and avant-garde, the sophisticated and daring, but I always keep femininity in mind.  I only design clothes with high-quality material and I believe that the fabric I use enhances the quality of my clothing.”

In 2009, Pinto began working as a fashion stylist. After working for several clothing companies, Pinto styled a photo that was featured in FHM Portugal. Today, Pinto continues to work in the fashion industry as a designer for Parfois, an international label based in Portugal.

Filipa Pinto is a featured designer at UsTrendy.com, where you can view her store: http://www.ustrendy.com/store/filipa-pinto

Marta Fernandez is an award-winning fashion designer from Spain. She designs for her own label, MF Couture, and is active in the fashion markets in the United Kingdom and Spain. She also owns a tailoring shop, named Sastreria, in London.

In her earlier years, while exploring applied arts, Marta developed an interest in color and texture, and, as a result, became involved in fashion design. She studied at the Guerrero School and the IDEP Institute of Design in Barcelona, Spain, earning degrees in Pattern Making, Commercial Fashion and Fashion Design.

She gains inspiration from her studies of historical cultures and costumes. She develops her designs by combining forms and details of the past with current fashions of today. “My work is influenced by very contrasting themes. I tend to merge these subjects in order to create original and innovative collections.” Her ultimate goal is to design wearable contemporary fashion that enhances the female form through aristocratic appearance, refinement, elegance and an aesthetic concept.

Marta believes it is very important to work within the ethical constraints of the fashion industry. She believes that to copy the concept or construction of another designer is clearly unethical; instead, she seeks to find new and better designs, and to improve existing concepts.

She has acquired extensive experience in myriad area of the fashion industry, including trend research and forecasting, product development, construction and fit, illustration and sketching. She is an expert with fabrics and trims, and is particularly skilled at pattern making.

Marta began MF Couture about five years ago, in an effort to produce her own superbly designed and crafted garments.  She can see herself in the fashion business twenty years from now, because fashion is an art form that is ever changing, alternating and combining new concepts and past ideas. “My designs reflect my personality, because they are made from the heart to reflect my feelings.”

Marta Fernandez is a featured designer at UsTrendy.com. To see her portfolio and blogs, please go to: http://www.ustrendy.com/marta-fernandez/

Joanna Chachulska Kumorek is an award-winning fashion designer from Poland, now living in London. She describes herself as “a Fashion Designer with artistic tendencies.”  She loves to ride horses in the early morning, enjoys art galleries and museums, and has an interest in psychology.

She has several degrees in fashion design. Initially, she earned a Masters Degree in Fine Art and Fashion Design from the Academy of Art and Design in Lodz, Poland. After a few years, she resumed her studies. “I have recently completed an MA in Fashion Design at Kingston University. I came to London in 2006 to study fashion after a well-established career as a fashion designer and TV stylist in Poland, where I worked on a variety of high profile shows for companies such as Endemol. I have shown my designs at fashion shows in Leipzig and Düsseldorf, and at the Young Designers International Fashion Show at the Kent Institute of Art, I was also given the Smirnoff Award for Fashion Design, Polish edition.”

Joanna's mother taught her to recognize the value of high quality fashion design and construction. Her mother had an appreciation for fashion design and an excellent eye for detail. “She was a very practical and creative person in so many ways; one of her hobbies was making dresses for me and my two sisters. She also had a strong belief that one good piece of clothing was worth more than a suitcase of poorly made items. She introduced me to art and fashion and the importance of conversation.”

Some of her favorite designers include Martin Margiela, Hussein Chalayan, Bill Gill, and Madeleine Vionnet. “For me, fashion design is a way to communicate, interact and express myself. I think that language as a means to communicate with people is not able to explore all the meanings, moments and information of a multicultural society. My inspiration for my design is based upon the observation of social interaction, social events and life situations.”

Joanna's most recent work is a capsule collection called “Garment as Toy”. The collection was designed to explore the interactivity of dress and fashion. “It reviews the codes and modalities applied to the rituals of dress with a cheeky playful element. The main goal of the collection is to allow the wearer to express their personality by giving them a garment to play with to achieve a number of different appearances. I am also using colour coding to navigate the wearer through the different features, for instance a dot to dot system linking similar symbols. The concept explores the richness of a garment and its ability to communicate as a part of a ‘visual language’ which is universally understood and adds value to this communication process.”

Joanna advises new designers to be introspective. “Be yourself, be honest and question yourself. Associate with people who have standards as high as you do, and who have a positive outlook. But the most important thing for every designer is to find their own style and have fun!”

Joanna Chachulska Kumorek is a featured designer at UsTrendy.com; view her portfolio and blogs at:  http://www.ustrendy.com/joanna-chachulska-kumorek/.