Meet Marisa Scott | Creative Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marisa Scott and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marisa, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
My thought process for starting my own business came from my grandparents. They always instilled self reliance, resourcefulness and resilience in our family and it’s been like an ethos for how I work and create. I’ve always wanted to work in fashion and design but there weren’t a ton of opportunities for that in the South so I decided to venture out on my own and create something that spoke to what I love about fashion and the point of view I could contribute to the growing fashion industry in the South East.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Lately, my personal artwork has centered around ancestral discovery. It started with me working on my family tree and has morphed into creating jewelry and a series of paintings inspired by my family. Professionally, my brand’s goal is to encapsulate themes of black southern culture and African art within the medium of luxury apparel and accessories. I think it’s been a long journey artistically because I’ve grown a lot as a person and those changes have influenced my work so much. A big challenge for me is currently startup funding for production/sampling and I think that is one of the things that deters people from starting their own business. I haven’t quite overcome that challenge yet but I do believe my tenacity will be crucial in overcoming it. I think one of the biggest things I would want the world to know about my brand is that I’m very excited about the future of fashion in the South and I can’t wait to continue my journey on creatively contributing to the industry.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
The High Museum would definitely be at the top of my list, the exhibits and events are so fun and vibrant. Krog Street Market would also be on the list because there’s just so much to do in one area from walking the beltline to eating the best dumplings I’ve ever had at Gu’s Dumplings to having drinks at my favorite speakeasy-style bar The James Room.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’d love to give a special thank you to my friends Patrick Ladonis, creator of the Scales web series and Corey Bertrand of The Bertrand Circus who’ve been such a big support system for me and my brand. We’ve worked on so many projects together and its so great to have them in my corner.

Website: http://citizenlms.com
Instagram: @CitizenLMS
Linkedin: http://linkedin.com/in/marisascott

Image Credits
photography by Stanchez Kenyatta