Alexis Lenae wasn’t going to let fear stop her this time.
The 2004 Pittsburgh CAPA graduate always had a love for fashion.
Even when she bought a sewing machine and her friend, Jordan Welch, asked Lenae to make a jacket for her, and the design was so hot that it was shared over 2,000 times on social media, Lenae was still hesitant.
Hesitant because sometimes, fear overtakes one’s mind, and it causes a person to not take that extra step, or back away from something they really want to do.
Lenae, 33, told the New Pittsburgh Courier that she used to operate in fear.
“I used to have a lot of good ideas, but I often allowed fear to keep me from doing it,” she said.
So, little by little, she faced fear head-on.
She received almost 100 orders for her to make custom jackets—from people as far away as Germany—after Welch posted the jacket Lenae made for her online. Lenae got to work, making the jackets that people requested.
In 2018, Lenae faced another fear—having a retail space to sell her fashions. Lenae got to work and set up shop inside the Gallery on Penn in East Liberty, where she’s been for more than a year.
In 2019, Lenae faced another fear—hosting her own fashion show. Lenae got to work again.
“This year I was very intentional about doing things and doing them afraid,” she said.
And on Oct. 13, she finally hosted her own fashion show, called “Poiema” (Greek for God’s Workmanship), at the Gallery on Penn.
“It was amazing, honestly, when everybody left at the end of the show, me and my team just sat around talking about what was next, it definitely lit a fire as far as what I want to do in 2020,” Lenae said. “Now we’re in the process of developing events for next year and just developing the brand so that it can be the best that it can.”
Lenae’s fashion brand is called “IMIHI,” which stands for “I’m Made In His Image.” Now almost five years into fashion design, Lenae says fear is no longer in her vocabulary, as she continues to design wedding gowns, prom attire, and everyday wear pieces.
“My acronym for fear is ‘false evidence appearing real,’ Lenae told the Courier. “It’s not a real thing. We’re fearing the unknown. Most times when I’m afraid of something, it’s because I don’t know what the outcome is going to be, but you literally have to do it anyway. That’s the only way to conquer fear.”
by Rob Taylor Jr., Courier Staff Writer
ALEXIS LENAE, second from right, has been in the field of fashion design since 2015. (Feature photo)
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