Alexis Durbin always had a flair for fashion. The first-generation American loved dressing up in her mom’s clothes as a child and her passion led her to the retail industry, where she thrived working with Buffalo Exchange for more than seven years, including a year as a store manager in San Francisco. Now, thanks to the San Diego College of Continuing Education, Durbin is well into fulfilling a dream of designing her own clothing line and growing her own clothing business.

“When I was working at Buffalo Exchange in San Francisco, I was making more money than I’d ever made before, but I just wasn’t satisfied,” she said. “I wasn’t feeling fulfilled. What I’m doing now makes me happy because it allows me to be more creative.”

During this Women’s History Month, Durbin is creating her own history with the help of the College of Continuing Education and a supportive fashion and textile community.

What sets her brand apart is that Durbin emphasizes vintage and secondhand materials in creating her projects as part of an effort to reduce textile waste and the impact fashion has on the climate crisis. 

Adjunct Professor Susan Suarez is among those who are impressed.

“Alexis has a very unique  style,” Suarez said. “She is skilled and committed to creating one-of-a-kind pieces. In my Sewing Fundamentals class, she excelled in all of her assignments and displayed exceptional creativity.”

Since Durbin returned from San Francisco to her hometown of San Diego after the pandemic, she’s earned a Small Business Planning certificate, and is halfway through completing a Clothing Construction certificate that incorporates basic to advanced apparel construction skills, traditional and contemporary tailoring methods, fabric and pattern selection, a variety of measurement and fitting techniques, and more. She’s eyeing a third certificate in Sewn Products Business, and has visions of opening a storefront that will be part retail shop and part studio for events and classes dedicated to all things fashion.

Meanwhile, she’s modeling her clothing and advertising popup events on her _SnatchedByAlexis Instagram account, including a ‘Jones Jeans’ Denim jacket up-cycled with vintage doilies, totes crafted with “vintage fabric older than you,” and more. _SnatchedByAlexis, she notes, was inspired by the College of Continuing Education.

“Fashion can be fun and clothing can be fun,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be mundane.”

None of this would have been possible, she said, without the College of Continuing Education. “Not only is it free and open to anybody with an interest, but it’s also flexible and allows you to work around your schedule,” she said.

Among the biggest takeaways from her courses? The benefit of networking in a close-knit fashion community. “What’s really opened up my bandwidth is just sharing our stories with each other,” Durbin said. “It’s a very supportive group and I’ve been showered with acceptance.”