Danielle Frank ripped into the Hollywood fashion scene after graduating from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2006. She did 15 months at FIDM in downtown Los Angeles, where she graduated at the top of her class. She has studied abroad in Italy, and is getting ready to launch her own line.
The woman who launched The Betty, a hot new night for women at West Hollywood’s FUBAR, arrives for her interview in a purple hoodie, jeans and Doc Martens. She’s got steps shaved into one side of her hair, and the other cropping her cheekbone and she’s dripping in fashionable threads. With her green-tea latte on the table, she sits down to talk to SheWired.
SheWired: Did you always know that you wanted to get into Fashion?
Dani Frank: Yes. My mom sent me this thing from when I was eight. Remember in school, they used to force you to draw those timelines where you were going to be in your life? Well, mine said "I will be a fashion designer," and "I will own my own business." It's weird, though, because my life has panned out to exactly what I said when I was a kid. Seriously identical.
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What was your inspiration to get into Fashion?
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I always knew it was what I wanted to do, but what pushed me to actually take the first step was when I was working in an art gallery in Chicago. I remember they called us "Gallerina's,” pretty girls that would sit at the front desk and try to entice patrons into buying the artwork. I realized one day that I didn't want to sit around and wait for someone to die in the art world before I could move up. I might as well make the fashion leap now; it was only going to get harder as I got older. I mean, the fashion world is so competitive, most people filter right into the world right after college, and I had already wasted so much time, I just went for it.
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Why Los Angeles and not New York?
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Well, FIDM was only a fifteen-month program, and FIT was another four years, and they wanted us to study abroad, which I had already done. I didn't want to be 28 and have had just started working. The fashion world is all about your connections, and how long you've been doing it. Fashion is such a young industry, and I wanted to get started as soon as possible.
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Describe your philosophy about the art of fashion.
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I think that being able to shape what a person puts on their body is so much more powerful than something that someone looks at in their home. Not to take away from that at all, but the clothes someone puts on tells so much about that person's personality to the world. To have a little piece of that is such an amazing thing. The creativity that has to go into clothes these days is insane. I mean, everything has been thought of, everything has been done. In the 30's, raising a hemline was considered risky. Now, it's like, what hasn't Lady Gaga worn?
What designer can't you live without?
Alexander McQueen.
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Do you want to stick mainly to clothes? Or are you looking to branch into accessories or fragrance?
Clothing is way too expensive. I'm not a trust fund baby, and until some sort of angel investor comes down to fund my line, I have to start with little things, and a jewelry line is something tangible that I can do with the budget I'm currently living on.
You're openly gay. How does it feel to be a lesbian in such a gay-male driven industry?
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They love me; I'm a total Fag-Hag. (laughs)
In your eyes, what makes a good line?
It has to be cohesive, innovative; it has to be something that has never been done before, touching on the creativity thing again. Also, it has to speak to its target audience -- I mean; you're not going to sell a bunch of wrap dresses to a bunch of dykes. (laughs)
{C}{C} In regard to fashion, do you find modern sexuality to be genderless? I.e. women can be dressed in men's fashion and men can come out much more feminine.
Yes, in fact I really think that's still a hot trend. Not necessarily cross-dressing, but ambiguous, you know, woman wearing button ups, bow ties, blazers and men wearing tighter pants and low cut v-neck shirts. I think that has sex appeal, whether you're gay or straight.
Was your personal style ever the subject of discussion by others? If so, did those comments influence your choice to go into fashion?
Yes, I was awarded best dressed since the 5th grade. I won all those awards in all the yearbooks. Other kids got good grades, I always won that. It was like my thing.
What goes through your mind when you are coming up with a piece?
I don't necessarily set up and envision a garment. Sometimes I do. Like, BOOM! I want to make that. I can be inspired by fabrics, or sometimes I'll see something on a runway, and I want to do some sort of spin off on that, but usually I will start by draping the fabric on a dress form, seeing the way it falls, and how it looks.
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What do you want to accomplish professionally in the next five years of your life as a designer?
I want to have my own clothing line. I know that’s a very daunting end result, which is why I started doing other things to broaden my name, my fan base—not that I have a fan base (she laughs). For example, if someone sees me in these gloves and they're like, "I love those, where did you get them?” it's a good way to get my name out there. I do this event in West Hollywood at a bar, it's my night, but I'm doing it for networking, and because everything in the art/fashion world overlaps. It's not because "Oh, I just like Jack and Diet." It really is all connected. That way when I launch my line, all of those people will immediately make the connection from my clothing to me personally.
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Where can we see your work?
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On my body (laughs). No, just kidding. I have a website for my necklace line called Lockit Up. I have some clothing on there as well. www.lockit-up.com
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Tell me about what other things you're doing in the community?
Yeah, I have "The Betty." It’s my night, where fashion meets Jack Daniels. Every Wednesday night at FUBAR, in West Hollywood. Then, I also have a new company called Identity Crisis. I and co-owner Tori Willis started a boutique styling agency. We do shoots and events. It's almost personal styling, or shopping. We don't have a website yet, but as soon as one is up there will be a link up on lockit-up.com.
If you want to contact Dani regarding events, fashion or employment of any kind, she can be reached at lockitupla@gmail.com
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