FIDM Footwear Design Grad Jonnathan Guerrero Wins Donald J Pliner Design Challenge and Gets Hired by Charles David
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Jonnathan Guerrero won the Donald J Pliner FIDM Design Challenge earlier this year. He just graduated from FIDM's Footwear Design Program and is already working as a designer for Charles David of California!
Name: Jonnathan Guerrero
FIDM Grad Year: 2010
Campus: Los Angeles
Major: Footwear Design
Where are you working now? I am a Footwear Designer at Charles David of California. I design for both the Charles David and Charles by Charles David lines. I also consult on the Charles David Mens Collection.
How did you find out about the position? Through a contact I made during my internship at BCBG Max Azria.
What inspires you? The emotion fashion brings out in me! Clothing and especially footwear can transform the way you feel. When I design shoes I picture and imagine the mood it will create when a woman wears them.
Who is your style icon? Coco Chanel! Everything about her styling is somehow always conceptually forward yet timeless.
What’s your favorite item in your wardrobe? A Donna Karan suit I've had for over 15 years!
What’s your dream fashion purchase? Don't know yet.
What fashion websites/blogs do you love to visit? WhoWhatWear and guilty pleasure.... cocoperez.com
Do you have your own blog or website you’d like us to list? It's a work in progress: www.JonnathanGuerrero.com
Have you received any awards or press you’d like to mention? I won 1st and 2nd place on the Donald J Pliner design contest this year. I also placed as one of the top five finalists on the Brown Design Shoe Contest. And I was fortunate enough to receive the Vivian Infantino Footwear Design Scholarship for the 2009-2010 academic year! That was pretty major.
Tell us a little about your experience with the Donald J. Pliner Footwear Contest. I was very excited to hear his comments on my designs. Getting positive feedback and reaction from my instructors at fashion school was very flattering and made me feel good about the choice I made of taking the footwear design program, but when I heard that Donald J Pliner was very impressed and liked all of the designs I submitted, it gave me further confidence that I was on the right road and off to a great start.
Can you please talk a little about your winning designs and the inspiration behind them? I entered a collection of 9 designs. My inspiration came from "Peace and Love". I focused each designed on a person I know. Each design is named "Love" in different languages.
Jonnathan Guerrero's award-winning designs
How do you feel FIDM prepared you for what you’re doing now? It didn't feel like it at the moment, but FIDM really gave me the necessary tools to get my foot in the door.
Any advice for current FIDM Students? Commit to what you're doing, give it a 100%—that's all you need if you're committed. Presentation is key. Look at your finished product and judge it as if someone was giving the presentation to you. No matter what the major is, INTERN! As soon as you are allowed to by FIDM, please take my advice and intern in the field you want to get into—it helps and it's a gateway to the real working world.
What is your biggest goal right now? I am a sponge right now. It's my first job as a Footwear Designer, so I am learning as much as I can and enjoying the process.
Read more about the Donald J Pliner Footwear Design Challenge in FIDM Magazine.
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