Park channeling creativity through fashion, makeup
Coppell High School senior Jamie Park toys with makeup and fashion to express her emotions and portray new aesthetics. Having founded her own crochet business, Jamie Couture, Park hopes to continue to explore fashion and design in college. Photo courtesy of Jamie Park.
April 11, 2023
In her newly immigrated parents boutique, a young Jamie Park’s eyes widen with delight as she looked up at racks upon racks of clothes. Eagerly trying on dress after dress, she grows increasingly fond of the expanses of style and design found within fashion.
Park’s love for fashion was inspired by her grandfather, who was a dress designer. Park’s pursuit of makeup, on the other hand, was motivated by YouTube videos by people such as Jeffree Star and James Charles in the eighth grade.
“Growing up, I watched a lot of makeup videos, like Monster High makeup tutorials, and then I eventually started doing my own,” said Park, a Coppell High School senior. “I taught myself through tutorials and getting inspiration from Pinterest.”
Park took interest in makeup and style as a mere hobby when she had first started. However, it manifested itself into one of her greatest passions. She further pursued fashion design by crocheting and knitting her own clothes, and starting her own crochet clothing line, Jamie Couture.
“I would still consider myself a beginner, but I’ve gotten much better since I first started,” Park said. “Fashion started as just an interest for me, but now I’m taking more action by making my own clothes and starting my own line.”
Park launched Jamie Couture on Etsy in August and sells a variety of crocheted clothes and accessories such as tops, bags and hats. She channels her fervor for fashion into her designs and spotlights her unique aesthetic into her clothes.
The vibrant colors and patterns of the clothes and accessories on her store are reflective of Park’s exuberant personality. As she starts crocheting, she finds a pattern and rhythm. In this ebb and flow, she portrays her creativity to its fullest potential, culminating into handmade, original pieces.
In accordance with her bold pieces, Park’s individuality doesn’t go unnoticed by the people around her. Whether it’s her vibrant and ever changing hair color or her handmade clothing, she catches the eye of the many people she meets. CHS IB English III teacher Stephanie Spaete took notice of her ardent creativity through her disposition in class.
“She always blew me away with her clothing, and how she crochets and knits her own sweaters,” Spaete said “I was always so impressed with what she wore and her vision.”
Park thinks someone’s style speaks miles for their personality, and she likes to express hers through her everyday outfits. She frequently experiments with different styles, determined to find the perfect one, one that conveys her character.
“I realized that my style determines how people perceive me, so I decided to branch out and experiment with all of the different aesthetics until I found the one that represented my personality the most,” Park said.
She uses makeup as a creative outlet and a way to express herself as well. After learning to do her makeup, Park further broadened her skill set by learning and practicing special effects (SFX) makeup. Using her face as a canvas, she uses special-effects makeup as an art form to express her identity as a tool to depict what words cannot.
“Special effects makeup is certainly more expressive for me while normal makeup is more traditionally pretty,” Park said. “I’m not great with words, so I use makeup to sort of tell a story.”
While many keep to a certain makeup look or routine, Park is often switching between colors and products.
“I like to use eyeshadow with different colors I associate with different moods,” Park said. “For example, I use darker tones for a more gloomy vibe, and green for happiness.”
Through Park’s journey with makeup, she cites the support of the people around her. Specifically, her close friend, senior Sofia German, was the one to push Park to truly pursue it as a profession.
“I do my friends’ makeup pretty regularly, and when I did my friend Sofia’s makeup, she told me, ‘you should do this as a profession,’ Park said.
German thinks Park has the skill set necessary to dive into the fashion world. She is optimistic in Park’s potential and supports her every step of the way.
“Jamie being a fashion designer always made sense to me,” German said. “She was struggling with figuring out what she wanted to be when she grew up, and when I suggested she pursue this career, she took steps towards this path and realized that it was truly what she wanted to do.”
Park’s ambitions guide her outside of high school as well. She plans to major in fashion design and one day hopes to own a small fashion business to share her designs with others.
“I would love to do costuming and makeup for a movie set, or start my own small business,” Park said. “I think I have a unique aesthetic that I hope I can share with other people.”
Follow Anvita @anvita_bondada and @CHSCampusNews on Twitter.
