Meet Michal Andrea | Custom Clothing Designer, Patternmaker & Seamstress

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

Hi Michal, why did you pursue a creative career?
I believe working with your hands is one of the most gratifying and impactful ways to express oneself. From a very young age, my mother has called me her project child. In both of my childhood homes, I had a room in the basement filled with every type of arts and crafts supplies as well as science projects and costumes. I would spend a majority of my free time down there by myself (or with my sister or friends) painting, sculpting, putting on plays and experimenting.

Through many positions and transitions in my life though, nothing has brought me more joy than creating and bringing ideas to life with my hands. There is something so meditative and grounding about having an idea, problem solving the details and then using materials to build that thing, whether it’s a dress, a veil, or a new invention. Unfortunately (or perhaps very fortunately), I’ve never been one who finds joy in sitting at a desk working on one type of task all day, let alone for my entire career, so really, a creative career was my only option!

That being said, I seem to have a somewhat balanced right and left brain, and working as a custom clothing and accessories designer provides me an outlet to use both equally. I get to be very creative with my designs, but then I have to figure out how to actually make the thing that I’ve sketched. There have definitely been times where I’ve though, “oh, I love this design!…but how the heck am I actually going to make it?” And sometimes it’s too late if the client has also already fallen in love with the idea. Lol! That’s when I have to put my critical thinking skills to work and think through the challenges and the order of each and every step of making the piece at hand. After that comes the patternmaking. Patternmaking is a lot of math, but luckily my brain has always worked well seeing how 2D shapes fit together to become 3D and vice versa, and it’s often one my favorite parts of the dressmaking process. Then sewing takes both methodological and creative problem solving.

I feel incredibly fortunate that I discovered a career in which I can bring beautiful things into this world but one that consistently challenges me with every new project.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am the sole owner/operator of Michal Andrea LLC, operating as Michal Andrea Custom Designs. I am a custom clothing designer, patternmaker, and seamstress, specializing in wedding dresses, suits, and veils. I officially started Michal Andrea Custom Designs in September of 2021 and prior to that, worked as the women’s suit and dress designer/patternmaker for Denver Dressmakers and Tailors, a small but far-reaching bespoke clothing company for over 8 years.

I started Michal Andrea Custom Designs in order to fulfill a dream of owning my own business and to build a company that opens opportunity to nourish my love for working with unique individuals and supporting underrepresented people in their fashion goals. Growing up I was taught to celebrate my individuality and to never dampen my unique spirit just to fit in. Since childhood, fashion has been a valuable outlet for expressing myself and to share this lesson with others.

What I love most about what I do is getting to know each of my clients on an individual level and discovering the design that will make them feel most like themselves. No two people are identical, whether it’s personality, gender identity or body type, and finding the right piece of clothing that celebrates one’s selfhood can be difficult for many. Off-the-rack clothing and wedding attire often only speaks to a small portion of the population. Michal Andrea Custom Designs provides an opportunity for those who don’t feel represented on clothing store or bridal salon racks to bring a garment to life that they could only dream of before now.

My clients have ranged from local Coloradans to Indian princesses, plus sized to petite, wheelchair bound to body builders, nonbinary to polygendered to cisgendered, all of whom I’ve worked closely with to help find their ideal way to express and empower themselves through personalized clothing and wedding attire. Each project is totally different and an exciting new challenge for me when it comes to design, patternmaking, and construction, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

My process starts with meeting with the client one-on-one (who am I kidding, it’s usually with a loving entourage of family and friends!) to get to know their personality and personal aesthetic, what they’ve envisioned for their wedding day (or everyday) look, and their wants and needs for what would make a perfect outfit in their eyes. When requested and sometimes when needed, I provide feedback on silhouettes and style details that I think would best compliment their figure and/or personal style goals. From there, I come up with an initial design sketch and however many more sketches that are needed until it’s just right. The sketch then becomes our starting point but often evolves over time as we get into choosing fabrics and prototyping.

One of the best parts of my job is seeing the joy and confidence on my client’s faces when they put on the garment they helped design and bring together into a piece that genuinely reflects who they are.

The transition of going off on my own was fairly easy in terms of the skills it required for dressmaking, working with individual clients, and business acumen, although I do struggle with the day-to-day marketing of my work. I’ve always felt a bit of imposter syndrome when it comes to my career. I know this is very common among my generation, yet it does tend to hold me back when it comes to promoting my work, especially on social media. There’s something about putting an ad out there saying “Look how great my work is! You should definitely pick me to make your custom wedding dress!” that gives me a bit of the ick factor. Although, I know the strategy of “if you build it, they will come” doesn’t really work in this media driven world, so it’s definitely something I am constantly working to improve upon.

One of the last main things I would like the world to know is that custom wedding attire is not always more expensive than off-the-rack garments. I’ve heard many people express that they “could never be able to afford a custom dress or suit”, but when I tell them more about my pricing, they’re often shocked to find out that it’s very competitive with retail wedding shops. So, if you’re someone who has a unique vision for a garment but have always thought it’s not possible to go custom with your budget, definitely reach out because that may not be true!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have a lot of favorite restaurants and bars in Denver, so it’s really hard to choose! I like to bring my out-of-town guests to the PS Lounge on Colfax, as I’m originally from Wisconsin, and it makes me happy with its old supper club like vibes. Lincoln’s Roadhouse is also one of my favorite spots for drinks and lots of dancing!

I’m a big comedy nerd, so I tend to always bring my guests to a comedy show at Comedy Works or Underground Comedy in Denver.

For restaurants, I like to bring people to Lucina for a slightly more elevated night out. Perdida or Kaos Pizza are great for more medium casual vibes, but nothing is ever wrong with going to the Kentucky Inn for a Packer game, beer and burgers.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Denver Dressmakers is a huge part of my story. Jess and Lianna took a chance on me 12 years ago and taught me everything I know about dressmaking and pattern design. They were also very supportive in me going off on my own, and still regularly hire me for freelance patterning work to this day.

Website: https://www.michalandrea.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michalandreadesigns

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michalafischer

Image Credits
Photo 3: Rue Luna Photography
Photo 4: Monique Carrasco
Photo 5: Andrew Thomas @ 842Photo
Photo 6: Mary Fehr @ Oh Honey Photo Co.
Photo 7: Sarah Porter Photography
Photos 8 & 9: Gaelle Glass Photography