Meet Eray Zhang | Fashion Designer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eray Zhang and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eray, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
work fast? I guess? If this can be called a habit, because I am an impatient person and a procrastinator at the same time, I like to start to deal with a thing or get started with a task immediately and finish it as soon as possible, although this is also included with the reason that I do things fast. But this habit allows me to get more done in the same amount of time as someone else.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The thing I’m most proud of is my illustration. Compared to my first hand-drawn works, I like creating with Procreate better. This all started during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. All my school classes were moved online then, and I was scared of getting sick so I didn’t dare to go out. so I spent every day at home, bored out of my mind. I bought an iPad to pass the time by drawing, and I got hooked on it. The pandemic also gave me enough time and chances to learn how to work with procreate by myself, I became good at using it in a very short time. I enjoy the time when I’m drawing. Even, to a large extent, my original intention and love for the fashion design major came from my love for drawing.

I’m still working under a fashion brand for now, I feel like I’m too young to start building my own brand, I need to learn more to make sure I can be ready for that challenge, and I don’t have the direction yet. but who knows? Maybe one day in the future, I’m gonna create my own brand, then that must be a super interesting and exciting life experience!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The must-go place must be the beach, instead of Santa Monica, I like Manhatten Beach and Long Beach better, not that much of commercial elements, and more beautiful. I used to live in Marina Del Rey, which is quiet and beautiful as well, I always go to the beach for an after-dinner walk. After watching the sunset at the beach, I’m gonna bring my friend to an oceanside restaurant, and have dinner while listening to the sound of waves, which always makes me feel peaceful.

Brunch is almost a “must”, community goods and Manuela are my favorites! so we can have a walk around the art district or shop around West Hollywood, which is my normal weekend vibe. If the weather is nice, then why not go hiking? LA has a lot of beautiful hiking spots that I would love to hike with my friend.

If we decide to travel further, I would drive to Yosemite or Palm Springs, I don’t know why, but these two places were always my top choice whenever I wanted to go for a short weekend road trip.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The person I want to shout for must be my parents. Okay, I know this sounds like a bit of soil, but my growth and the establishment of my worldview and values can not be separated from my parents to educate and preach.

Since kindergarten, my parents were busy with their work, so I was sent to a boarding school. Leaving home early and participating in the boarding life made me very independent from a very young age. When I grew up, they began to subtly let me know that if I wanted to buy the things I liked, I should make money through my efforts, instead of asking my parents for money. They also stopped giving me all pocket money after I turned 18, except for living expenses during my study abroad. This led me to establish the concept of making money and working very early, and from the age of 17, I made my first money in life by modeling in my spare time, and it was quite a lot of money.
After graduation, I successfully found a satisfactory job corresponding to what I have learned, until now. Although I gave up my postgraduate offer because I chose a job at that time, I don’t regret my choice.

Since I was a kid, my parent would always bring me to travel abroad, they said I needed to know how big the world is, and meet more people, so I could have a better understanding of the world and build up my goal by then, instead of staying at home all the time. Through the experience of traveling all around the world, I got more inspiration and used it in my future own design. And how beautiful California is made me decide to move to LA for my college life.

Website: https://erayzhang0415.wixsite.com/my-site-1

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Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eray-zhang20000415/

Other: https://www.coroflot.com/ErayZhang/stream