BlakMass Clothing is an independent clothing design company located in Toronto, Canada. Rawzkan, the founder and designer of the company, began creating fashions at an early age. “I was never satisfied with what my dolls were wearing and would strategically create new outfits for them using just fabric, scissors and tape (since I was too young to sew). Eventually that grew into a passion for design and creating good quality, wearable pieces that everyone, no matter what their style, could enjoy.”

Rawzkan embarked on her design career after working in the business world. “I woke up one morning before going to my redundant management job and realized that I needed to do my own thing. Within that week I had set up meetings with suppliers and had started working on my prototypes and designs, and began sourcing out fabric.”

Necessity fuels Rawzkan’s design inspiration. “My designs are usually the result of an idea that pops into my head that I would like for myself, but then I cannot find it anywhere so I draw it out and if it turns out well, I recreate it as clothing.”

She found that the greatest obstacles she encountered as a new designer were obtaining funding and finding the “patience it takes to break into the market. You need to invest a lot of money, and it can be a big risk.” Her advice to aspiring designers is to “just keep at it; if it is something you love to do, just keep doing it. Even if you fail the first couple of years, you learn from it and persevere to something even better.”

Rawzkan believes that every woman should have a well-fitted black blazer in her closet. “It’s good for work and can be casual with a t-shirt or nice tank under it.” Her fashion addiction is belts. “Most girls like shoes but I really like belts. You can never have too many...” She prefers to shop at tradeshows, because she likes to support the smaller companies.

Rawzkan’s goal is to remain true to her designs, rather than follow current trends. She endeavors to create “timeless designs that will still look good in 5 years.” She describes her clothing line as casual streetwear. “Comfortable clothes that are pretty versatile in terms of where you wear them.” Her items are original handmade limited editions. Blakmass Clothing is a featured designer at UsTrendy, where you can learn more about Rawzkan and view her portfolio.