Rachel Antonoff

Born: Teaneck, NJ — 1981 / Living: New York City, NY

Interview by Speciwomen — April 2017

Speciwomen: Tell us about yourself. 

Rachel Antonoff: I design clothing. 

S: Have you always known what you wanted to pursue?

RA: Not at all! Growing up, I wanted to be a writer and a singer on Broadway. 

S: How has art shaped your life?

RA: In every way I can think of. It's impossible to separate art from every formative memory I have.  

S: How do you reconcile art as a purely creative outlet with the need to make a living?

RA: I'll let you know when I figure it out, ha! It's honestly really hard! Finding that balance between art and commerce is an ongoing issue. It's difficult to figure out what the compromises are and when they become too much. It's something I am still learning and navigating. 

S: How do you get over a creative block? 

RA: I try to work through them. I remember when I used to write essays, there might be 20 horrible pages leading up to one great one. Or even one great paragraph. I think that's a big part of it, being willing to churn out the 20/40/200 terrible pages to get to the good one. 

S: Do you work better under pressure?

RA: Absolutely, yes. I was always a waiting-till-the-night-before person in school and unfortunately, I still am. 

S: What brings you inspiration?

RA: My sources of inspiration are so unreliable and random. I find it anywhere; a movie, people, the floor at the mall. I try to always keep my eyes peeled. 

S: What's the best advice you've ever received, and what advice do you wish someone gave you when you were starting out?

RA: The best advice I ever received actually was the advice I was given when I was starting out. After another (of many) lengthy processing sessions he said "just shut up and do it". It wasn't as unkind as it may sound here, it was really helpful.