Fourteen years ago, a grandmother in Brooklyn wanted to pass on the art of sewing to her granddaughters. One would turn those lessons into a budding career. Tatiana Hatcher, 27, is now the owner of Hatchers, a Brooklyn-based clothing line catering to women.
“My grandmother used to make me and my sisters practice sewing straight lines on brown paper bags,” said Hatcher. “She taught us how to sew with a needle and thread.”
The line was originally going to be a business venture among Hatcher and her two sisters, but for various reasons, it didn’t work. Hatcher decided to keep the name Hatchers but go it alone. She knew she wanted to design a line that represented the everyday woman at any age.
“You can wear it to work, and then you can wear it out,” said Hatcher. “It’s classy with an edge.”
In December 2013, her plan to turn her passion into profit began to take shape. That month, after seeing a post on Facebook about a fashion show casting, she took some of her pieces to the audition with the hopes of having her designs walked down the runway. At the casting, a model told her about another show, “My Last Night in Paris,” by a different promoter that would be going on around the same time. Doing two shows back to back would be challenging, but it would give Hatcher the exposure she needed. However, there was an unexpected development. The woman who Hatcher initially went to meet cancelled her show.
“I basically got casted through a casting,” said Hatcher
Hatcher was then able to put all her time and effort into making her debut at the “My Last Night in Paris” show, and it was a success.
Since that show, she’s been busy sewing clothes, which range from everyday wear to prom dresses, for clients. Sometimes women come to her with ideas, and then she brings them to life. But sometimes they give her creative freedom—that’s always a bit trickier.
“I know myself and I know what I like, but I have to also consider what they like and what they don’t like,” said Hatcher of the difficulty with having creative freedom to design a look for clients. “I have to go through their [pictures] on Instagram.”
Hatcher explained that the process of designing starts with a feeling. Whatever her mood is at a particular moment will be reflected in her clothes.
“If I’m feeling super-excited, my clothes are going to be colorful and girly,” she said.
For her new line, “For Love,” coming out in January 2016, she has been tapping into the different emotions that come with love.
“I see red, and love is passion, so I see lace,” said Hatcher. “If it’s a deep love, then I’ll give a dress a plunging V neck.”
Like any designer, Hatcher has her strengths and weaknesses while creating. When she gets discouraged during the design process, she remembers to just breathe and keep pushing through. Many of the lessons that were passed down from her grandmother, who was self-taught, helped to give her a solid foundation of skills, but fashion and trends continue to change. Those changes come with the need to learn new techniques. At the moment she’s perfecting how she makes collars. She uses YouTube tutorials when she needs some guidance.
This year she took on the most challenging project of her career—her sister’s wedding dress. From the extensive bead work to the four-foot detachable train, the execution took many sleepless nights to get the look that her sister had been envisioning for her special day.
“That was really a highlight for me,” said Hatcher. “I’ve never done anything, I feel, of that caliber. It was an eye-opener, too, because if I could do this, then I could do so much more.”
For inquires, please contact Hatcher at Thatcher4588@gmail.com.