Meet Megan | Student Fashion Designer | Deaf Awareness
Megan and I were classmates in multiple fashion classes at during the pandemic. Learning over Zoom was initially daunting, but Megan engaged the class with her highly curated visuals and poised dialogue in each session. Megan's creativity radiated like a beacon, illuminating the Zoom atmosphere with her unique perspectives and inspirations because she flexed her creative muscles and easefully shared her passions with the class. It was easy to see that Megan’s lens on the world was ever-evolving and eclectic. Public speaking is an already consuming act, but speaking to a screen full of people you don’t know or who didn’t even bother putting their screens on, can be disenchanting. Megan consistently persevered and showed up. She always volunteered to speak, and when she showed her work, you could feel the meaning and level of dedication in every element and detail. Megan’s voice and style were ever-present in our classes together. I quickly began to look forward to her presentations and was awe-struck to learn about her early battle with hepatoblastoma.
Megan graciously agreed to speak candidly about her upcoming Megalicious fashion brand, jack-of-all-trades mindset, and her incredible true origin story in our interview and Instagram stories takeover. Be sure to head to @victoriawaang stories on Tuesday, October 3, 2023, for a Day in Megan’s Life featuring a Megalicious giveaway!
“Hello! My name is MEGAN.”
Tell us about yourself and your latest endeavors!
Megan: “My latest endeavors are: practicing my sewing skills ( just made a zebra dress!), continuing my fashion education, learning ballet, taking care of my health, and practicing different forms of self care habits.”
What are you most grateful for, right now?
Megan: “I am most grateful for my parents, they have helped me so much with everything, and are super supportive of my fashion career. I love my sisters, they always motivate me to strive for the best. I’m so grateful for my boyfriend, Chris, always encouraging me outside of my comfort zone. I’m always grateful for my health, food, water, and life in general, the ups and downs make it worthwhile.”
You recently opened up about your liver transplant on social media. Can you tell us more about your story?
Megan: “Yes! To backtrack a little bit, I was born with hepatoblastoma, a form of liver cancer. A year after I was born, my mom noticed that I wasn’t acting like how my older sister was when she was a baby. I had abnormalities to my appearance, swollen stomach, pink nails, yellow eyes. After meeting with a doctor, he booked us to UCLA where I got treatments, 7 rounds of chemotherapy leaving me 70% deaf in both ears. On August 29, 2002, I had my liver transplant.”
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How has going deaf and growing through your liver transplant shaped your perspective on life?
Megan: “Growing up deaf and having gone through a life-threatening illness has made me appreciate life so much more. Growing up, I was confused and lost, not being able to hear clear words when listening to music or the television. I was made fun of a lot by people not understanding my disability. It was especially hard in middle school and high school not knowing why I was the outsider and just wanting to fit in. Now being in college, I am so grateful to have gone through all the traumas because it made me a much better person, I had to learn a lot of lessons the hard way. I am very much a ‘go with the flow’ type person. I love making every moment a fun time, it has made me look at life through ‘rose-colored’ lens. Not taking life too seriously and enjoying everything it has to offer.”
Do you have any advice on how to best interact with deaf people?
Megan: “To best interact with deaf people can vary from each person since deafness is a spectrum. For me being profoundly deaf, the best way to interact is to look directly at them (turning around or sideways makes it difficult to understand), pronounce words more clearly and slower, aim for places that are quiet (loud noises makes it difficult to understand speech), being extremely patient, and learning to repeat your sentences more calmly and effectively.”
How can we support deaf awareness?
Megan: “We can support deafness by including them in the conversation, learning basic ASL (American Sign Language), using open body language and supporting them in what they need.”
What types of hearing devices are important to know about?
Megan: “Important hearing devices to know would be the Cochlear Implant (C.I) and hearing aids. Hearing aids help increase the level of sounds but, is it not a “cure all” device. While they help us hear, different words and noises can be mumbled. For example, if I’m at the mall, there’s music playing, lots of people talking, if you were to get my attention from talking behind me or besides me, I would not be able to hear the words or the sounds, even if there’s not much background noises it’s still difficult to register if someone is talking to me. If I were to talk outside and there happens to be a bird chirping, I might not hear it at first, unless someone points it out.”
Due to your chronic illness, you spend a substantial amount of your time at home. How do you make your space feel like you? Do you have any cherished items/objects of affection that you can’t live without?
Megan: “It has been a long time coming to make my room my space and it still is! For me, I needed to have a blank canvas, so white walls, my desk, and a vanity. Throughout the years my taste has changed which makes decorating my space even more fun. I love moving stuff around, reorganizing things, and buying different home decors. That’s the beauty of having your own space, your room can change as your mood does and having to go through the years of growing up. To make your space truly yours just buy whatever you like, go on Pinterest, look at the world and get different ideas. Some of my most cherished items will be my journals, coloring books and color pencils, my makeup collection, definitely my closet, and my black marble suitcases I got for my 21st birthday. However, my objects of affections are all over the place, first and foremost, my disco ball has completely changed my space and puts me in a great mood. I have a floating shelf filled with my Eiffel Tower Martini glasses, a gorgeous painting of my liver with my favorite flowers and butterflies surrounding it. I love my weird little collections of legos, bratz dolls, Kacey Musgraves cowboy hat, many fashion and reading books. Lastly, my bed with my cherry printed bedspread and cheetah print pillows, I am a maximalist girly!”
When did your interest in fashion and design begin?
Megan: “My interest in fashion and design began when I started watching Hannah Montana and seeing different sewing videos. I will never forget when I first saw Cinderella and all the mice were making that beautiful pink dress. I am such a girly girl, even when I was younger I got told, “you're too fancy” “why are you so girly” or “you can't wear that.” Which only fuelled my passion for fashion. I had to wear uniforms to school however I signed a waiver and wore the most pink and brighest clothes ever. When I had to wear a uniform it had to be a fitted shirt with my khaki skirt that had built in bottoms, there was also a navy sailor dress that I absolutely adored: a red tie, pointed collar, and a yoke that would hang down the back with sailor white stripes outlining it.”
Who are your favorite designers?
Megan: “There are so many designers that I love! I love going on Instagram or Twitter and seeing all the new and upcoming designers, as well as cult favorites. If I had to pick it would be Sandy Liang, Simone Rocha, Danielle Guizio, For Love and Lemons, LaQuan Smith, and Dion Lee. Some classic brands I love: Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Jacquemus, Fendi, Tom Ford, and Gucci.”
What is currently inspiring you?
Megan: “Some things that currently inspire me are movies, music, what people are wearing at the mall, Pinterest and my Instagram saves. I love Pinterest because I can find whatever I want, that helps me find my outfits or the latest makeup trends.”
What is your major?
Megan: “I’m a little indecisive so I will be majoring in Fashion Design, Merchandising, and Apparel construction, as well as the sustainability certification. The reason being that fashion is such a well-rounded industry, why not learn everything about the business and see where I can belong.”
Why did you choose OCC to start your professional career?
Megan: “I chose OCC because the price tag of FIDM was something I did not want to go into debt and risk my health for. Fashion is a subjective industry, you either have credentials or you're a popular influencer, I wanted to be in a place where I can learn and grow without the crippling debt. I heard about OCC when I was shopping at the Orange Circle/Old Towne Orange. Someone went to OCC to talk about her clothing business and she was telling me that they have the same classes as FIDM. That made me super hopeful. After high school, I did not know what I wanted to do, so I headed to Santiago Canyon College and realized very quickly I could not sit still in a classroom, write lecture notes and study all day. Furthermore, being in the pandemic, and losing my mind, made me realize that I need to do what my heart desires.”
What are your plans after you graduate?
Megan: “My plan after graduation is to go to Cal State Long Beach for Fashion Design or Merchandising. For me, being education is important, I believe that education has the power to change the world, move people forward, and ultimately connect and critically think about why we do this or what can we change. After that, I want to start working for a lingerie or swimwear company. Some places that I would love to work at would be St. John’s Knits, IPD surfwear, and For Love and Lemons.”
How would you describe your style?
Megan: “My style is all over the place. I hate having a set aesthetic/ style because there’s so many different clothing brands out there, why limit yourself when you can look hot in all different styles. I’m definitely girly, 90’s classic, with a bit of edgy. I love my staple basic pieces paired with my hot pink, girly clothes and a denim jacket. I gotta have my mini skirts and my 70’s boots!”
Are there any fashion trends that you’re excited to try this fall/winter?
Megan: “Usually I hate fall/winter fashion, but I’ve grown to love fall fashion, I mean we have New York Fashion Week and Gossip Girl! Some fall/ winter trends I’m excited to see are crew necks, laced-up tights with bows, mohair textures, fluffy coats, black heeled boots, and layering tanks and knitwear together. I’m hoping to see more “russian doll” fluffy hats, mohair balaclavas, laced gloved, and flower chokers.”
How would you describe your beauty and wellness routine?
Megan: “My beauty and wellness routine can vary. I always end my day with a warm shower to wash away my anxiety from a day. I love using my Farmacy Strawberry Shortcake cleansing balm, CeraVe cleanser, Moroccanoil Body wash, and my Gisou hair products. More of my favorites are: dry brushing, Gua Sha for face and my scalp, hair oil on hair washing days, and moisturizer. Drinking lots of water, taking vitamins, Ordinary hair peptide, diffuser, Boy Smells Kush Cashmere Candle, journaling, and getting 8 hours of sleep. For makeup, I try to keep to simple and clean, brows, lashes, concealer and I’m done, but if I’m doing full glam, I love to go all out with contouring, blush, neutral eyeshadows, with my Fenty Beauty red lipstick.”
Do you have a signature aroma?
Megan: “My staple fragrances- Golden Nectar by Nest and Soleil Neige by Tom Ford, life changing!!”
What are your favorite items in your wardrobe?
Megan: “My favorite items in my wardrobe are my Standard Stitich tees, Levi’s jeans, denim mini skirts and shorts, pink Frankie’s Biknis pink set, and my Versace coat.”
Anything else that you’d like to add?
Megan: “I am starting to curate my own brand, Megalicious. I did a screen printing project for my textiles class, I loved it so much. I am always trying out different hobbies, knitting, jewlery making, sewing, basically anything I can use my hands and create. Being at OCC and meeting new freinds has allowed me to open up and explore my creativity. I’ve been sketching different clothes for what could potentially be my brand. I’m excited to see what’s next for me and what the fashion industry has to offer.”
How are you liking the interviews on That Chic Happens? We love showcasing creatives and supporting the artistic community! Follow @victoriawaang for more and be sure to support Megan and her budding label, Megalicious. Comment or reach out on socials!
Works Cited
Megan. Personal Interview. October 02, 2023.