DFFD FEATURED DESIGNERS
     INTO THE JUNGLE 2022

Taylor Sharper grew up as the middle child, but being a twin to a boy, and the only girl born from Shonda Sharper out of 4. Growing up with all boys she often found herself spending time alone playing dress up and makeovers with her dolls, and being under her mother, or any woman she grew up around (grandmother, aunt, & God-sisters). This is where her beginning stages of passion for Fashion and Beauty was birthed from.

 

It was the nights when her mother was going out with her girlfriends that she would capture pure life moments she would never forget. It was in the way her mother applied lipstick, how she curled her hair, how she pulled on the snakeskin leather boots, and even how she would walk with confidence after she was done, that sparked a deep passion inside of that little girl that she would never let go of.

 

As years went on, that little girl grew into a child, and a child into a teen, and she was still known as the glamorous fashionista. It didn’t come easily for her to gain such confidence though, especially in a world where plus size women weren’t really showcased or taught how to be bold in their sense of fashion. Everything was self-taught in terms of her sense in fashion at this point. This is where she discovered her passion to be a Plus Size Couture Designer; to bring something to the market no one has ever seen or could ever replicate.

 

Taylor wanted to take these steps mostly to encourage heavier women to make a statement and be bold with whatever they chose to wear. Summertime, at the age of 15, Binge watching ‘Project Runway’ gave her courage to finally bring her imaginations of fashion to paper. Every day after that, Taylor became consistently disciplined with staying up to date with Fashion Trends and making it her own. Most of her fashion sense is inspired from 70s Fashion, Cher, and Diana Ross. This later, after graduating from high school, led her to pursue a college degree in Fashion Design & Merchandise Marketing at Wade College in Dallas Texas.

 

Here is where she further learned how to become the best version of herself as a designer, as a trendsetter, and in being a Makeup Artist as well. What turned

into wanting to just get one degree in fashion turned into getting two degrees in fashion. This helped her go into depth with what she really wanted to do with her desire to be a plus size couture designer. Wade College is also where Taylor had her first experience in teaching a Fashion Illustration class. Taylor was encouraged by her former professor Ms. Chapuis, who saw her dedication to Fashion Illustration when it came to her designs.

 

Presently, Taylor is still pursuing her dream in being the first to do plus size couture fashion, strictly for plus size women of ALL SIZES. Her brand Curvy Queen Mentality (CQM) does not discriminate on body types. You can have more stomach than curves or less butt than breast and the brand will still be available to you. What Taylor loves most about Curvy Queen Mentality is that it is unique and CQM is a STATEMENT, whether it's casual or formal or runway ready. It’s built for all races of women and all corporate women (no matter the job).

 

Taylor Sharper’s newest endeavors are DFFD (Dallas FutureFashion Designers), which will be showcased Sept. 2022.