The Origin Story (Part I)
I never wanted to become a photographer. I just wanted to help my dad.
I said to myself, it doesn’t make sense for my father to work this hard and never go anywhere. My dad has been creating tailor-made garments for over 30 years. He was able to study abroad in Paris, France, because my grandmother, an entrepreneur in Haiti who owned a restaurant, supported him. He was supposed to return to Haiti to make garments for the government through their connections, but by the time he graduated, things in Haiti had changed. He had to pivot, moving to New York instead.
[Image note: My dad in the late ’90s, wearing one of his own custom suits.]
Looking at my father’s passion and craftsmanship in creating custom garments, I was real with myself: I knew I could never replicate 30 years of tailoring skill overnight, even though I tried. But I thought if I could master the business side of things, we could become a team and build the brand.
So, I bought an expensive camera, a Canon 77D, to showcase his custom suits. But once I got that camera in the mail, I knew it was way more complicated than I thought. Knowing nothing about photography or branding, I spent an entire summer locked in on “YouTube University,” teaching myself camera settings, lighting, and marketing. Driven to understand how high-end custom tailoring actually operated as a business, I went out into the world of fashion, attended events, and secured an internship in Manhattan at a luxury tailoring brand, Alexander Nash, which happened to be located across the street from the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). Working hand in hand with the owner truly opened my eyes to a completely different side of the industry.
As I write this origin story, I now see that, in trying to put the spotlight on my dad and build the business side for him, God was developing me, and I didn’t even see it happening.
[ Read Part II: How a Simple Camera Unlocked My Life’s Work ]
(Part II dropping soon on elijahderisme.com. Stay tuned!)