Alumni Aurèlia Homs relaunches her brand Seeds Collection during confinement

Albert Einstein said that "in the midst of difficulty, lies opportunity". The eminent scientist argued that, despite adversities, it is possible to reinvent yourself to achieve positive results. A clear example of this is found in Aurèlia Homs, an alumni of our Bachelor's Degree in Fashion Design, who at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis lost her job and, far from giving up, decided to take advantage of confinement to give her brand Seeds Collection a boost. You want to know more? Don't miss the interview she has given us:

- Let's start by talking about your student days with us. How was your experience studying Fashion Design? What would you highlight about the School?

I remember it as a very beautiful stage. For five years I took the opportunity to research and create in the world of fashion and art, in addition to getting to know myself and other people with whom I felt very identified. Of course, it was also a time of much learning. I always say that the subjects that have helped me the most when carrying out my project are pattern making and clothing (very useful for creating the brand's prototypes) and also computer science, because it is essential to know how to use tools such as Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. I think design itself is personal and therefore more difficult to learn.

- You graduated last year, what have you done since then?

I decided to divide the fourth course of the degree into two years so that I could focus on the final project and also on my own brand, which had just been born. Thanks to that I was able to combine both works. At the beginning of the last course, they called me from the company where I had done my internship, a Turkish supplier to Zara, and I started working with them. I was there for a year and a half, during which time I had to put the brand aside a bit. But in recent months, with everything that has happened, I have been able to focus on it 100% again.

Aurèlia has been working on her own firm for some years

- Following the COVID-19 crisis, you lost your job and decided to take advantage of confinement to relaunch your brand Seeds Collection. How did it go?

It has been three months of a lot of research and adaptation, to see what I could do from home and what not, what materials/raw materials I could buy online, what products I could make or sew and which I could not, how I could take the photographs of clothes to make them look professional, etc. but little by little I have been managing everything. The good thing is that, being an online sales brand, the only way to reach the final consumer is through the Internet (and that is easy to get from home). I also did it because I needed something to fill the time, and the truth is that it has helped me a lot.

- Tell us about Seeds Collection (how it was born, what would you highlight about it, etc.).

I started with my own brand three years ago because I saw that there were many new firms that were emerging and making a name for themselves through Instagram, and I thought that I also wanted to take advantage of the opportunity with a product created by me. The problem is that, being a relatively easy business method, there is a lot of competition. Anyone can sell whatever they want, which forces you to be very consistent and not give up to earn the consumer's trust. I think what differentiates me the most from other online brands is that I offer a product of my own design and preparation. I am very clear that I want the Internet to be the only sales channel and, from here, I would like to grow the brand online and be able to live from it.

Seeds Collection is focused on online sales, you can see its Instagram here

- Your case shows that, even in difficult times, it is possible to find new opportunities. What would you advise people who have been affected professionally by the pandemic?

Whenever there is a change in society, in the economy, in the industry, etc. a gap is opened for something new. I think this situation has favored online businesses and I have the feeling that, little by little, people are losing their fear of buying and selling online. Let's see what happens when the physical stores reopen. A positive aspect is that now more time is spent looking at mobile phones and social networks and, therefore, content reaches potential consumers faster. In the case of fashion, the negative part is that, since they cannot leave the house normally, people do not know when they can wear the clothes they buy. I hope that, as the larger social gatherings are allowed, the need to buy clothes grows. Even so, I cannot complain because sales during these months of confinement have been higher than before the crisis.