I have all these ideas in my head and it's my job to make them happen and to put these clothes on bodies.

My name is Melissa Fleis. I'm a fashion designer based in Los Angeles.

I started working in the fashion industry in my late teens, twenties.

However, I was more in the beauty and publishing side of things.

It took me until I was 27 to decide to go back for my master's degree.

Originally, I was pre-law and when I finally decided to go back to fashion school is when things started clicking in my life.

I wish there would've been more classes when I was in high school. It wasn't part of the curriculum.

Me wanting to own my own business, I wanted to learn everything about this industry and how to sew a garment from beginning to end, how to pattern make it.

My experience obtaining any sort of internship or job, it really takes you going after it.

And I just kept cold calling stores that I knew I wanted to work in.

For my final internship when I was in Italy, it was through the store I worked at.

She was one of the designers we carried.

I had sent a resume out. I had sent my portfolio and I also got a referral from my boss.

I definitely believe that having education and that work experience is really crucial.

I think that being on "Project Runway" definitely taught me to trust my instincts.

It taught me to realize that not everyone is going to love you 100% of the time.

There are going to be people who love your work.

There are going to be people who dislike your work and you have to be okay with that.

The design process happens differently every time.

I think getting the inspiration varies so much. My next step is to take this inspiration, create a mood board, and then sketch from that.

I also look at what's been selling in previous collections in ways that I can edit that, or create new garments from that because, in the end, you know, I am trying to make a business out of this.

I think it's really important to—number one is getting really talented at something and finding a niche for people to talk about.

You need to be well-spoken. You need to be able to do math—use a lot of math.

Learn how to sew, learn how to pattern make.

You know, work for somebody. It is about learning and working hard and getting internships and gaining experience because if you don't have that, who's gonna hire you?

How are you gonna learn and how are you gonna grow within this industry?

But being any sort of skilled tradesman in this industry, I think it's amazing.

And I think there needs to be more of it.