Hello! Most of you reading this will already know this about me: my name is Wilden Weihn. I graduated from Parsons in 2024, and I am a fashion designer!

TL;DR: I’m broke and trying to launch my brand. Supporting me means supporting a queer, disabled designer who creates biodegradable materials and directs cash flow to local NYC artists and businesses, and not large corporations. By donating your name will be listed on my brand’s websites special thanks page!

Here is why I am asking for help:

Since graduating, I’ve learned quickly that fashion is a game for the extremely rich, and I am not that. I’ve spent the past two years focused on survival, working 35 hours a week at my day job to pay rent, plus another 20–30 hours doing custom client work. This leaves me with no money, no time, and, with having a disability (Marfan syndrome), the difficulty of getting things off the ground has felt at times insurmountable, soul-crushing, and has left me feeling as though I have exhausted almost every avenue I can in attempts to start this business.

Perhaps the most frustrating part of all of this is that I have so many lovely collaborators, so many amazing friends who are willing to help, and so many ideas, and yet, in every attempt to execute an idea that would facilitate my brand’s upward mobility, the limitation that halts the progress each time is initial investment funds. In short, one MUST spend money to make money, and, well, I have no f*ck*ng money.

This is why I have turned to crowdfunding! You see, the lovely thing about being at the absolute bottom of the tax bracket breakdown is that everything and anything is actually quite helpful!!

Here is what I plan to do with these funds:

So, let’s talk specifics about what I need and why:

in order to create a place for people to see all of my work, to have a quick place to contact me to create custom looks, and pull for shoots. This also means I need to purchase my domain and pay for hosting fees, and possibly a web designer—but most likely I will be doing the cost-effective solution that I do with most everything, which is learning how to do it myself and absolutely locking right in.

The ad campaigns would be on social media, mostly to show more people my work and what I do, of course dependent on the funds I receive.

To do my own ecommerce photography to be able to start selling accessories right away.

Pretty self explanatory. I really need to be able to print and scan for like 10,000,000 reasons.

I must be careful about my verbiage regarding this so publicly, but there is some paperwork I must do that costs money specifically for my business, if you know what I mean.

A lot of people forget this is a pretty expensive and important part of starting a brand. I don't want to use plastic packaging; I like to get or make biodegradable luxury packaging that adds to the experience of my brand and that doesn't harm people, the environment, or myself.

Here is what I do in general, and how Wilden3 works:

My brand operates as a couture/bespoke design house does. Clients come to me with a vision and budget, we develop designs together, finalize a contract, then move into, patterning, prototyping. this stage is actually the more tedious era of an order. As you can probably tell by the photos of my work, I love creating new materials from strange things, even leveraging my knowledge of chemistry to morph existing materials into new ones, so this stage is where my magic really happens. Then comes the construction and send-off/pick-up to or by the client.

Additionally, with all funds, I adhere to specific codes that most other brands do not.

I do not purchase things from Amazon, Temu, or AliExpress for business-related expenses. Period. I purchase from small or established local businesses right here in NYC. I really don't even go to Mood ( large corporate fabric store in the garment district) unless I absolutely have to, and I am hoping to phase them out of my cash streams related to the business entirely! As much of all funds that reach my brand or are used in the name of the brand go to local artists, shops, artisans, and businesses.

Another good thing about being so poor is I understand the power and value money has, and I do not take it lightly.

Even if I get $20 out of this, that is more money than I had to do this with than the day before!

Thank you so much for your time, for sharing this, and, of course, for donating.

Here is a bonus round for people curious about my story:

I am a queer, mixed-race white and Japanese designer. I was born and grew up between St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN. My mother lost her home in the 2008 recession, and since then things have been quite difficult for my family and me. We fell on particularly hard times during my freshman year of high school, during which my mother, younger brother, and I had officially become homeless, and, due to my disability, I had to have open-heart surgery all in the same year.

Things for the next few years fell into complete disarray for me while we struggled to find housing, until about my junior year, when ultimately the challenges proved too big to be able to focus, and I dropped out of high school. This was a huge turning point for me. I started to finally grapple with the reality of my situation, who I was, and the things I was trying my whole life to ignore. I was going to have quite a difficult life ahead of me, and I needed to start figuring out where exactly I wanted to go and how exactly I wanted to get there. Then, I saw a video of Rick Owens’s “Cyclops” collection, and it sounds insane, but something happened for the first time that would continue to happen even to this day: in my mind, I saw a look clear as day. Like a photographic memory of something that hadn't happened yet, I still remember that first look that wholly entered my mind exactly. Then I thought, “The most inflammatory, f*** you thing I could do with my identity and financial struggle was to become a fashion designer.” That settled it. I started making clothes that weekend. It developed into an obsession, and now I can't stop. Even if I wanted to do something else, I would see these clothes and have nowhere to put them and be haunted by them ad nauseam.

Then my really close friend that I love with all my heart, Dez, during a late and fateful night at Cafetto in Minneapolis (if you know, you know), convinced me to apply to Parsons for Fashion Design, arguably the most prestigious and sought-after fashion design program in the country, one of the most sought-after in the world. To my shock and awe, they said yes and offered me an almost full scholarship, which later turned into more than a full scholarship after I received a sponsorship from Gucci, facilitated by Parsons based on my portfolio.

Getting through Parsons was a feat in and of itself. I was helped so much by my friend Erik and his mom Sonja with housing and photography. My scholarship helped me with materials, and with soul-bound creative partnerships with Zekie, Von, and Jasmine, I was able to really hone in on who I was as a designer and artist, and what my work adds to the world. Aside from my collaborations and a few close friends, I found it quite difficult to fit in at Parsons. My tax bracket and work ethic in a sea of students who were heirs and heiresses to international blood money, who wanted to eat at restaurants I could never go to, party at clubs for bottle service I could never afford, and shop at stores where I couldn't buy a keychain. Of course, that is not everyone there, but a lot of students fit this bill and therefore couldn't relate to who I was or understand what I cared about or was going through, like an invisible blockade from whom I could receive empathy and friendship from. That started to change, though, when I met my amazing boyfriend, Jonon. We have been together for four years, and he has introduced me to some of my closest friends. Love the guy.

That sort of brings me to today, beginning the official start of my business. I'd love if you could be part of my story as well. Feel free to contact me to work together, or if you have been through similar experiences, or if I know you, say hi if we haven't spoken in a while.

With love and evil in my heart,

Wilden Weihn