Andrew Hague (Fashion Design 2008) always has his plate full. But that's the way he likes it. While he was still a student at CCA he began working for the San Francisco–based company Chrome Transport Inc as design director, and he stayed there for a year after he graduated. Then he flew to New York, where he had been hired as director of the Made to Measure custom suit division at Thom Browne. Hague describes Thom Browne as "a couture house that is straight out of the 1950s in nearly every way. I'm certain there is nobody else in New York making fashion clothing at his level of construction. Working there was one of the most immense experiences of my life."

Then, after two years at Thom Browne and the company's first show in Paris, Hague accepted a job teaching the senior menswear thesis program at Parsons the New School for Design in New York. He starts next month. In his spare time (!) he also designs for a small cycling/casual clothing company called Outlier and is working on starting a clothing line of his own.

Here, Hague expands on his career trajectory, his years as a student at CCA, and his design philosophy:

At Thom Browne, I had to do everything from sourcing factories to designing shopping bags. Thom is really busy, so he gives his employees as much responsibility as they can possibly take on. He would just give us direction, and come in and say "yes, no, yes . . ." We had to be able to look at a fabric or construction technique or color and say "that is Thom Browne" or "that isn't Thom Browne."

I distinctly remember one project at CCA where we proposed our own company. That helped me develop an inner vision, one I can follow and really believe in. It may sound trite, but CCA gave me confidence. In the real world, whatever brilliant idea you've got has to be pitched to a cynical sales team. They don't care how cool or original it is. They only care if it will sell or not, and if you aren't 100 percent on board, then you have to act like it, or it will get thrown out fast. You can't be intimidated, even by your heroes. They hired you for a reason. There was a point when I realized that Thom had more faith in me than I had in myself! That's embarrassing, but a good lesson, and well learned.

At CCA I came to realize that I don't agree with the "fashion-as-art" thing. I'm a designer. I design objects that serve a purpose. A lot of thought goes into all stages of the manufacturing process, through to the end user—although that may sound colder than the end result actually is. I let zeitgeist filter through me. My interests are many, and I make an effort not to define them. I like what I like, and saying "this collection was influenced by X-Y-Z," leaves out all the other, very relevant and very subliminal influences.

It's really easy to simply succumb to the will of a creative director and design like an automaton, but it's so much better to risk honesty and come from a real, personal place. At Thom Browne we would often see portfolios from student designers with "Thom Browne" collections, and they never got hired. There only needs to be one Thom Browne, you know! What the world needs more of is people who believe in themselves and their own worldview.

Probably the most important things I've learned are to 1) find yourself as a designer, and really credit yourself and your point of view as unique and therefore significant, and 2) follow that vision doggedly, with zero compromise. The more consistent you can be, and the more times you recite your personal mantra of design, the more people begin to accept it and appreciate it. Thom never considers trends, and he only does what he wants to do. And if that happens to be popular, then great, but popularity isn't the goal. The goal is to make the clothing he wants to make.